The San Francisco call., 1897-03-23

on their way back and it was arranged
that at s O'clock in the morning the man
ager of the telegraph company and myself
would be at the committee-room; We
would unfasten the box, take out the dis
patch they wanted and give 1t TO them.
They said this was entirely satisfactory.
"Instead of doing as they agreed they
went down TO the depot between and Z
o'clock in the morning, took the dis
patches by force from Wells, Fargo & Co.,
carried them TO room 72 in the Capitol
and rifed and examined all the dispatches
that had been sent from Sacramento
from the 4th day of March down to the
18th.
This was done with locked doors. No.
body was permitted to go in or have any
access to them whatever.
"It was reported, and Mr.. Burnett
stated it in speech, that Mr.. Jaynes
broke open the door. He did nothing of
the kind. The door was opened Tor some-
body to go in and he followed. There was
no breaking of locks or doors or anything
else.
1--WE regard the whole performance as
an outrage, indefensible from any point OF
view.
"In the first place, no demand had been
made for any other than the one dispatch,
and that we were ready to give them.
'In the next place there had been no
authority conferred upon the committee
to take any such course, and if the Legis-
lature had attempted to confer such
power it would have been illegal. These
dispatches were our property. The COM
mittee had no right to them whatever. 1t
laid no foundation for securing any OF
them, except the one of March IL.
1T goes without saying that it is illegal
and a public offense for any telegraph
company's agent, mana-er, operator 'or
any other person to take the dispatches
that belong to the company that have
been sent by its patrons and examine
them and make them public.
''Our rights have been invaded ruth
lessly by this part of the committee. What
course will be pursued in the future l do
not now care to discuss. The Western
Union Telegraph Company has large
property Its entire value consists of its
good faith and the secrecy ofits dispatches.
If every demagogue, because he happens
to be in the Legislature and on commit
tee, can violate the sanctity OF those dis
patches and destroy our property ruth
lessly, we may as welt know 1t and go into
some other business"
How the Examiner figured in the case
and how the natter was viewed by the
committee is shown in this statement
made by Chairman Melick at Sacramento
on Saturday:
After the adjournment of the Legisla-
tnre last night there was tender of a
special train by the Examiner people TO
take Us 10 Truckee, and get the box which
contained all the dispatches sent from
Sacramento from the 9Th of March up to
the present time. l considered that the
Examiner was doing this for sensation
rather than for the good OF the State. and
felt that ii was notri hit for US as officers
OF the State to accept the tender OF a train
in that way.
''After We had declined the offer the
com mIttee again held session until about
A. NJ, and we d cided that three of us
should go up to Rockiin. Afterward we
found that we could not get through IN
time, and we decided to meet at the depot
as The train came in at $50 A. NJ. Messrs.
Burnett. Anderson and myself were at the
de pot as the train came in and met Con-
stable g. W. Long OF Truckee, who told
US that he had got off at each station be-
tween here and Truckee, and he was posi-
tive that the box which he had taken into
his possession was on the train in the
eXpress-car.
1--WE did not see any box put off, and
Just as the train was about to pull out we
rushed into the car and served blanket
subpoena through the sergeant-at-arms OF
the Assem- bly,. who accom- panied MS, and
we demanded TO know where that box
was, and we said that the train would be
held until he told US.
1.-The conductor held the train, and the
messenger said that the box had already
gone into Wells, Fargo & Co. S express Of
fee at the depot. We went into the de-
pot and found that the agent had un-
locked large box, and inside of that was
q box weighing about thirty pounds. We
demanded it under the subpoena, and after
signing receipt for it we entered hack
and returned to the com mittee-room 72 in
the Capitol at about $50 A. NJ.
"There Anderson, Burnett, John Wray,
our clerk, and myself locked the door and
went into executive session and examined
all the dispatches in the box from March
TO the present date. We separated out of
the whole batch fourteen that had a direct
bearing on this case. We tied up the 9TH
ers AS they were before and sea ed them in
the box, and delivered them to Jaynes in
person.
From the kilograms and the fact that
Bert Packard was con ptlnually on the floor
lobbying on be ehalf of the coyote scalp bill,
l would infer that money was used, but
frankly confess that there was no absolute
proof before the committee that Packard
was not bleeding Banker Blodget for his
own gain"
Later Mr.. Melick added the following
statement: "ln two respects l think the
w cStcIu uldue
grave mistakes to put it mildly. First, in
undertaking to defeat the ends of legisla-
ton by thus hurriedly sending desired
kilograms from the State, and second, by
its superintendent breaking into room
where a legislative committee was at
work. l had no personal ends in view in
this Investigation. l did not desire to
take it up, and twice vigorously objected
on the floor of the House to undertaken
it, but as it was forced upon my COM
mittee L made up my mind to leave no
stone unturned in doing the work directed,
regardless OF whom 1T might hit, or
whether poor person or great corpora
ton is directed to do anything
Attorney General Fitzgerald's impress
sion of the action of the committee is in
dicated in the following few but signifi-
cant sentences:
THE committee sent down to me to ask
my opinion as to whether they had the
right to open the box of dispatches. l
found that they had already opened it,
and refused TO give them any opinion. No
committee has the right to require me to
give an opinion, but the Legislature may
request me to do so, and then must give
1t in writing"
Opinions OF Legislators.
SACRAMENTO, CAL, March 23.-The
general consensus of public opinion as ex-
pressed by such OF the public officials as
could be prevailed upon to talk upon the
subject, by the attaches Of the late Legis.
lature and by sundry shrewd members of