The record-union., 1896-04-14
SENATOR WHITES CONFESSION.

Recently Senators George C. Perkins
and Stephen NJ. White joined TREY L.
Ford in a letter to the Secretary of the
Interior declaring that the Central Pa
cific Railroad Company frequently OBJ
tained United States patents to mines,
and that the miners were never apprised
of the effort being made to obtain the
patents until after the patents were re-
ceived by the company and recorded.
This is not question relating to the
railroad, nor do we take it up because
1t is related to the Land Department of
the Central Pacific Railroad Company;
nor for any other purpose than of ex-
posing the outrageous character of the
transaction itself.
Here are two United States Senators
in their official capacity certifying to a
state of fact which does not exist and of
which they themselves were totally ig-
norant. We called upon these Senators
tc cite instances. They had asserted
that they existed, and could therefore
without embarrassment to themselves
cite the cases. We stated then, and re-
peat now that whoever asserts for fact
that which he does net know to be true
violates the law Of veracity. No man
has respect for his veracity who in a
sober, serious matter, and in his official
capacity as United States Senator de-
clares for a truth that which he himself
does not know to be true. To do this is
to abase the dignity Of his office and
trifle with his own word
Now comes Senator White with the
humiliating confession that he did not
know of any instances. notwithstand-
ing he had asserted as a fact that they
existed.
The San Francisco Examiner which
Is suffering from anti-railroad paresfs
due largely to the exposure of its own
venal practices, confesses for Senator
White that the honorable gentleman
did not know Of any instances We
quote from the Examiner" as follows:
Senator White, who did not have at
Mr.. Mills had challenged him to cite,
telegraphed to the Miners Association in
this city to furnish him with sufficient
facts to show that the general denial
entered by the Record Union" on be-
half of the monopoly bore such a SIM
fbtude to mendacity as to stump it at
cnce as product of the railroads Land
Department.
This is a specimen OF bad grammar OF
which perhaps Mr.. White himself was
not guilty. But Mr.. White was guilty
Of not having at hand references to in
stances which he had been challenged
to cite, and he therefore telegraphed
the Miners Association to get him out
of his dilemma
The Miners Association knew of no
instances. so, the Examiner proceeds
to say, the Miners Association referred
the request to A. H. Ricketts,, an at
torney, a prominent member Of the as.
eociation, etc.
Here Senator White had certified to q
state Of facts of which he had no knowl-
edge, and telegraphed the Miners Asso-
ciatton, upon whose authority he prob
ably made the statement, to support
him in his charge. The Miners Asso-
citation being without facts, and being
unable to support him. referred the
matter to A. II. Ricketts,.
This clearly outlines the story and
places Ricketts, In the attitude of being
the party who invented it in the first in
stance.
The Miners Association got it from
Ricketts,. Senator White got it from the
Miners Association and transmitted II
as an officially certified state of fact tc
the Secretary of the Interior, one Gov
ernment officer certifying to another
Government officer a statement which
must necessarily constitute the basis
OF official action. A more monstrous
and humiliating instance of disregard
of personal veracity has never come un.
der our notice. A more complete con.
fession has never appeared in public
print.
Ricketts, could find no instance Of 3
mine having been patented to the Cen.