The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-26
ONE FARCE ENDED.

The decision OF the supreme court OF
the United States in the case of Car
ter a Washington broker, who refus-
ed to answer questions put to him rel
alive to the purchase of sugar trust
stocks by senators during the inVesti-
cation of the scandals growing out Of
the senate's manipulation of the Will
son bill, ends one of the farces always
attending legislative Investigations. 1t
will be remembered that charges were
freely made that several senators were
utilizing the sugar clause Of the tariff
bill proposed by the senate finance
committee to speculate in the stocks Of
the sugar trust that f1uctuated widely
in price as it seemed likely that sugar
would remain on the free list, where
the Wilson bill put it, or go onto the
dutiable list with a differential that
was clear bonus to the trust SEN
ator Cameron, we think, was the only
senator concerned who admitted buy
ing, and justified it as one of his
inalienabIe rights; but several lodged.
Mcpherson, of New Jersey, cutting
a sorry figure by claiming that an or
der to buy, left on his desk at home,
must have been sent off by a servant
girl.
Carter was a broker through whom
these purchases were made. Called be-
fore the committee, he was asked re-
garding purchases of sugar stock made
through him or his firm by any SEN
ator, and refused to answer on the
ground that the senate had no right to
inquire into his private business. Have
meyer and Searle, of the trust. also re-
fused to answer questions on the same
ground The senate directed the prose-
cution Of the recalcitrant witnesses.
and Carriers was made a test case. He
was convicted in the district court and
fined 800 and thirty days in Jail. An
appeal was taken to the supreme court,
and the decision Of the lower court
is affirmed. The defense relied on the
famous Kilbourne case, where the
court held that correspondent of
newspaper was not obliged to reveal to
an investigating committee the source
of his information. But the court dis
tinguishes the two cases, holding that
as the senate is the Judge of the quail
f1catiOns of its members, with the right
to eXpel for misconduct and as this
inquiry was directed to matters in
volving possible expulsion of senators
and therefore the inquiry might be
made of one engaged in buying and
selling such stocks, whether senator
had employed him to buy or sell them.
The cases of Havemeyer and SearIe
and Of & couple of newspaper CORE
spOndents, have been held in abey
ance, waiting the outcome of the Car
ter case. Whether the investigation
will be resumed or not remains to be
seen. These things get stale after
awhile, and public interest, keen
enough at the beginning, slackens and
dies away but the senate will neglect
an important public duty if it suffer
the investigation to lapse on that ac-
count. The barrier of private affairs,
which has always made these serious
Investigations end in a farce is now
removed by this decision, and a strong
shelter taken away from those loosely
moraled senators and representatives
who feel no restriction upon their spec
largely affected by their votes. The.
knowledge that hereafter an investiga-
ton can compel the unmasking Of
their transactions will be something
of a deterrent, at least, to their ras-
cality.