Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-12-11


| Those are the facts In the case in re-
| gard TO those checks, and they are all
! the facts In connection with II at all. AS
! said to you, / have never seen those
| checks from the day they were given un-
I'll to-day. I have never had my bank
| account written up in the bank TO which
these checks went. / knew what amount
or money had In there-I kept memo.
| checked out: and i did not bother about
| having the bank write up my account at
all; and / never called on them for the
checks until the other day. and / asked
had any old checks over there belonging
TO me. had heard so much about
checks passing from the American Book
| Company, and so much about bribery
none OF which ever did occur at all-that
i thought / would 20 over my checks
and look at them. / had almost forgotten
| about that transaction with Senator
Stubs: and 1 thought / would go over
| them and see II there were any checks
| there that / had given Senator Stubs.
In fact, 1t had all passed out OF my
memory, and was recalled just this morn
ing in Washington. All the facts came
statement In the papers, and l resolved
to come here and tell the facts as they
occurred.
HE HAD FORGOTTEN.
IF anybody had asked me some time
ago IL i had given Senator Stubs any
no. 1 had forgotten the incident entirely.
knew l had never given him any checks
as a representative OF the American
Book Company. and 1 had forgotten all
about that other transaction until this
morning. when / saw Colonel Booker $
statement in the paper, when 1t all came
back to me, and / remembered the en-
tire transaction, circumstances and all.
And l remember that Captain Henry in
stituted suit, or sent money down there
TO institute suit. At my advice he sent
Sl5 to a lawyer there; L can't remember
the name of the lawyer but If Captain
Henry were here he would give you
the facts; he knows all of them.
He asked me what / would do in his
place about making the hotel pay him
that si75 he said he was robbed OF, be-
sides the watch and chain that he said
was worth 800. l told him l would sue
the company. He saw q lawyer down
there, and he said that he would go home
and think the matter over, and write him.
He asked me what / would do in his
place, and told him L would sue. Then
he showed me letter from his lawyer,
which said that he would have to send
SIS for costs before the suit would be in
the suit will be instituted" and he sent
1t. A few days afterwards l saw in the
papers that the hotel had burned down,
and few days later that he had re-
ceived a letter from his lawyer in which
he said that the hotel had burned down:
that they were bankrupt, and he couldn't
make anything out of them, and that he
had better drop the matter, which think
he did.
Now, as to my statement in the tele-
gram, i want TO repeat 1t. and say, with
all the emphasis / can put on the words,
that l never at any time authorized any
body, nor have L myself at any time
sought TO influence any member of the
History Committee Of the Grand Camp
of Virginia. or any member Of any his
tory committee in any State in the Union.
hnxT hnh I'd fol lyn NIT h 10
members of the History Committee of
the Grand Camp of Virginia, and l may
say that have had more talks with Cap
tain CussonS than with anybody else
on it,"
MEANT NO REFLECTION.
Captain Cussons: Is Captain Cussons
the same Grand Commander that you
referred to in that dispatch?
A. Yes, sir; but / did not mean to re-
fleet on Captain Cussons; not in the least.
Captain Cussons: / call for a reading OF
that dispatch.
Mr.. Womacks telegram to Captain
Woods. chairman, was again read, and
witness added: 81 will say that / had no
intention whatever-did not have the
slightest intention-of saying aught that
would reflect on Captain Cussons. never
had a word to say to Captain Cussons
that / would not say before any other
man, or all the men in the world, for
that matter; nor he to me, in any man.
ner, shape, or form. l have high opln-
ion Of him. and the greatest respect for
him as man; no man in Virginia has
more respect for Captain Cussons than L
have. Nor have / ever had anything to
say to any member of the committee re-
ferred TO, nor any member OF the Con-
federate Veterans Association. that 1
would not be willing TO proclaim from
the housetops. 1 do not think that 1
would be the man TO seek to influence
unduly a member Of the ex-Confederate
Veterans. 1 have such a high respect for
them, and the cause for which they
fought, that / would be the last man in
the world to do that And / can say
truthfully that I have never thought OF
doing such a thing, and have never done
such thing.
A HIT AT THE SONS.
IT have been asked several times why I
did not volunteer to testify heretofore. l
simply wanted to wait until the facts
came out; and another reason was that i
am the representative of a great publish
ing concern; and l act, so far as that Is
concerned, very much as a lawyer does
to his clients; and did not want to come
before body that had no respect for the
rules Of evidence and the rights OF man;
that would try TO destroy mans cha
racter by casting foul suspicion on him,
and by raking up the testimony of dead
men-a thing that would not be tolerated
in a court Of justice. / did not want TO
go before such a body as that, but felt
when this body was organized, that | !
could come before A., and that they would |
be governed in great measure by the !
rules of evidence; and felt that, because |
Of the knowledge had of the chairman or |
this committee have known him not |
intimately, but / have known of him for |
n number of years. He knows that L |
have always entertained high opinion |
of him. He Is a lawyer, and knew ne |
would restrict the testimony within pro-
per bounds, and would not require man |
to give away things that our competitors |
would give a great deal Of money TO get \
hold of-that is, as to the amount Of our |
called before that body d. e., Sons or !
Veterans Investigating Committee), i IN |
tended to refuse TO appear; but prepared |
this statement for them, which the COM
mittee can look over If they care to do \
so. But after the seemingly damaging |
testimony that came out in the paper /
this morning, / felt II was my duty 10 |
come here and testify; that l would be |
and the secrets of my bust |
ness would not be drawn out of me, and |
given to the competitors Of the American |
Book Company.
HIS TALK WITH CUSSONS.
'I will say that 1 have talked to Cap
tain Cussons about our histories, and |
have asked him what would be a salts
factory history to the people of Virginia
I have never tried TO impose Barnes's
History upon the people of this State,
but 1 have tried to get it out. My house
gave me orders three years ago to get |
Virginia. have been working diligently
% get 1t out, because L thought we ought
10 get II out. / went around to the coun-
lies to have them put it out, and all OF
hem agreed to do Ii, except three, that
went before. went before the board of
Augusta county and besought them TO
get IL out. That board, under the infiu-
snce of Colonel Llley, refused to put IL