The advocate., 1897-06-16
elected clerk and Miss Lizzie Achenbacb,

|
"The taking Of testimony was begur
April and continued until April q
when T. G. Davis refused to answe
material questions. The committe'
thereupon declared him guilty OF con
tempt and placed him in charge Of tht
sergeant-at-arms. Mr.. Davis applied L
the Supreme Court for a writ Of hGbeG
corpus. On the hearing Of the applica
tion the court held that, while the com
mittee was legally organized and had thu
right to sit after the adjournment OF thu
Legislature, il had no power to punish
recRlcitrant witness and ordered tht
prisoner discharged. The effect Of thiI
decision is to render any further investi
CATION by the committee useless, anC
the committee therefore decided to ad
journ.
"The people have the right to expect
that their legislative servants viii
carry out explicitly their demands fol
laws that will relieve them from the
extortlons Of corporations. A failure to
do this, caused by improper influence
brought to bear upon legislators by
individual or corporate interests, cannot
be- too severely condemned. Where such
charges of corruption are made the people
have the right TO know all the facts 80 that
they may be able to fix the responsibility
where 1t belongs, to punish their Gis
honest servants and to guard against
similar treachery in the future. The
people are Justly indignant at the failure
to secure needed legislation. They will
have additional cause for Indignation and
disappointment in the premature ending
Of this investigation.
"The committee has honestly endeav.
ored to bring out the whole truth and
all the facts in regard to the charges OF
bribery, but has been hampered from
the beginning by attacks on it's legality
and powers, emanating, apparently, from
men learned in the law, whose names,
in popular estimation, are connected
with those measures concerning which
the corrupting influences Of the lobbies
were most in evidence. Their views
have been disseminated by certain Of the
daily papers and have served to create
in the minds Of the public the belief
that the investigation would be farcicsl.
"During the closing days of the LegislR.
ture q determined effort was made to
discharge the committee; failing in this
those interested in preventing an inves.
tigation endeavored to prevent an ap.
preparation TO carry on the investigation,
and, when this attempt also failed, the
appropriation was hedged about with
restrictions and provisions that have been
embarrassing to the committee. From
these circumstances, those arising during
the progress of the investigation and
from a careful review Of the evidence
adduced, the committee is led inevitably
to the conclusion that we'll organized
lobbies, with distinct purpose Of con.
trolling legislation, infested the legisla-
tive halls at the last session, and that
their methods involved corruption and
bribery Of members Of the Legislature.
ut is to be regretted that the commit
tee is not clothed with authority to con-
tinue it's work in an effective way. The
evidence, submitted herewith, will dis
close the fact that in several instances
attempts were made to bribe and corrupt
members Of the Legislature. Facts
known to different members justify the
conclusion that additional, direct and
conclusive evidence of bribery would
have been developed.
''The committee believes that the pres
ence Of professional lobbyists in legisIa-
tive halls is a menace TO the peoples
rights, disgrace to the State and an
unmitigated nuisance. tt is therefore
recommended that laws should be passed
fCOnttEaed on page M