People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1897-05-28
The Story of Senatorial Corruption.

We have already explained what it is
that Chapman did for which he must
go to jail to morrow. But Chapman is
only an agent, a scapegoat. He PRO
tected his clients" and his clients were
the rascals. 1t was they whose con-
duct blackened the fame of the Senate
and brought the integrity of legislation
itself into doubt among the people.
The story is certainly the most shame
full one related since Cakes Ames drew
forth his little memorandum book and
told how he had placed Credit Mobilier
stock where it would do the most
good"
Briefly this is the story: A Demo
cratic Congress and a Democratic
President had been elected on a pledge
to revise the tariff in the direction of
free raw material and free necess aries
of life.
The House in March, 1894, passed a
tariff bill intended to fulfill this pledge.
Among other things it put sugar of all
grades on the free list. Havemeyer,
the sugar king, declared in a published
interview at that time that his people
could do nothing with the House but
would find means of controlling the
Senate. They did so.
The bill went to the Senate on March
20 and was sent to the Finance Com
mittee A Sugar Trust lobby, with
John e. Searles at its head and Have
meyer in consultation, met the measure
there with scheme of sugar duties
which would impose a very heavy tax
on all imported sugars, with the heav-
lest rates on sugars that might compete
with the Sugar Trusts product-a
scheme carefully arranged to give the
Sugar Trust a secure monopoly and a
chance to levy an enormous tribute
upon the people, not for the replenish-
ment of the Treasury but for the en-
richment of the Sugar Trust itself
This scheme of duties was drawn up
by John G. Carlisle Democratic Secre-
tary of the Treasury, as he himself con-
fessed before an investigating COM
mittee.
He submitted it, and after consulta-
ton with friends of the Sugar Trust in
the Finance Committee made altera-
tons in it in his own handwriting. He
also gave Havemeyer a letter of intro
duction to enable him to get favora-
BILE hearing from the menu ers of the
committee. This last proceeding was
so shocking to the moral sense of SEN
ator Mills, to whom the letter of intro
duction was addressed, that he fatty
refused to receive it, though its writer
was a member OF the Cabinet.
Mr.. Carlisle's chief President Cleve-
land, afterwards characterized the
adoption of the schedule thus prepared
by the Secretary as an act of "perfdy
and dishonor," but to the end of his
term he did not ask for Mr. Carlisle's
resignation.
In behalf of this change, this flag
rant violation of the Democratic party's
pledges, the Sugar Trust lobby list
Searles according to his own testi-
mony, repeatedly saw and conferred
with such Democratic Senators as Nc
Pherson, Brice, Smith, Murphy, Cor
man, Jones of Arkansas. Camden,
Faulkner and Morgan, and on June S,
1894, when the vote was taken on the
acceptance of the schedule, David B
Hill alone of all the Democratic Sena-
tors stood up like a man and vote
It was currently reported and be-
lieved-not without reason-that Scar
less eloquence in thus winning sena
tors to betray their party's principles
and pledges consisted of something
more potter than words, more persua-
slve than eloquence. In plain language,
it was believed that some at least of
those whom he converted were directly
or indirectly bribed.
Then came an explanation. During
the long discussion the price of Sugar
Trust stocks had fuctuated enormously
in the market accordingly as the Sen
ate appeared likely or unlikely to adopt
the schedules prepared by Mr.. Carlisle
at Searles's solicitation through Sena-
tor Jones. The Wall street prices
ranged all the way from SO to 100 So
changing from day to day by leaps and
bounds that meant fortunes for any
body who could know or influence the
course of affairs in the senate.
The newspapers discovered that
number of senators who both knew
and could influence the course of af-
fairs were all this time specializing in
Sugar Trust stocks-iu other words,
making shameful market of their Sen
atorial votes.
An invest cation was compelled by
the force of public opinion. The com
mittee appointed went through the
motion of trying to find out the facts.
The active man on the committee was
Senator Allen, who, when the test
came, voted for the Sugar Trust SEIZED
ules.
The committee drew from Secretary
Carlisle an admission of his agency in
framing the Schedule lOT bu6 sugar
Trust. 1t drew from Senator McPher-
son the exceedingly lame story that he
had ''unwittingly" speculated in stocks
which his vote helped to control; that
he had written and left on his desk
dispatch ordering his broker to buy;
that servant, under general instruc-
tions." had sent off the dispatch, and
that thus he had Internationally
bought and sold stocks which under
the circumstances he could neither buy
nor sell without disgrace. 1t drew
from Senator Quay, of Pennsylvania.
the insolent admission that he had
specialized and the Tweed-like def
ance of the committee to do anythit &
about it.
The committee summoned one New
York broker, Chapman, who admitted
that Senators had specialized through
his house. but declined to give their