The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-05-27

the senate-"It Was None of Their Bus
 iness," He said-The Presiding Judge
 Scores the National Upper House.
 Washington, May 26.-The trial or Henry o. Havemeyer the president Of the American Sugar Refining company, for declining to answer questions of the senate Investigating committee, was resumed this morning before Judge Bradley in the criminal court. The at tendance was almost as large as at yesterdays session, which closed after taking the testimony of Senators Gray, Lindsay, Lodge and Davis as to the questions which MT Havemeyer refus- ed to answer.
 offered again in evidence the extract of the senate journal showing the re- cusancy of Mr. Havemeyer, to which the defence objected unless the other journals, showing the whole action of the senate upon the case, be admitted.
 Judge Bradley agreed to admit all relevant extracts from the senate jour- nals, and thereupon MT. Johnson of MT Havemeyer'S counsel withdrew his ob- jection. Accordingly the extracts show ing the three reports of the committee to the senate paragraph detailing the fact of MT. Havemeyer's contumacy were admitted.
 MT. Johnson objected to the admis- sion of the printed record of the senate sugar trust Investigating committee as evidence and a long legal debate fol- lowed on this point
 The governments counsel strenuous ly insisted that it was admissible as an official senate report. Mir, Davis said that he was driven to the neces- sity of offering the document as evil derce because the original stenograph- ic notes of MT. Havemeyer's testimony 1 had been lost.
 1 The defence offered to admit the whole printed record, but objected to | the extract relating to MT. Havemey- CTS testimony.
 | The court said that if the contention of the government was correct, then | the whole record was evidence, and much time of the court had been vast ed He convulsed the court room by his sarcastic reference to the "sanctity" with which the district attorney had l clothed the proceedings of the senate. In the apostolic days, he said, clothes 1 taken from the bodies of the apostles were supposed to have healing virtues, and even the rags that subsequently, came in contact with them. Those days" said the judge, while Senator Gray laughed outright, "are past. The court sustains the objection"
 l This ruling compelled the district att torney again to call the senate commit tees stenographer, MT Prentiss, to the stand More than half an hour was consumed in comparing the printed record with the testimony as given in the Indictment. The attorneys then announced that they had agreed that certains extracts from the printed re- port of MT. Havemeyer's testimony should go in as direct evidence.
 The extracts admitted showed the ev- ident purpose of the defence to contend that MT. Havemeyer had answered all pertinent inquiries and had refused to furnish only data as to political con- tributions in state and local elections. The court held for the defence that these extracts having been admitted. it was competent for the defence to bring out all other things in the testi- mony In making the ruling the judge remarked significantly: Suppose it can be shown that MT Havemeyer in substance gave the committee the in- formation asked for on the question to which answer was subsequently, re- fused"
 The government rested its case at 1:26 D. m., and MT Johnson, for the dfence, moved to dismiss the indictment
 MT Johnson made an exhaustive ar gument in support of his motion, dwell ing particularly on the fact that it did not lie in the province of jurisdiction of a senate committee to go beyond the scope of it's inquiry and to ask imperti- nent questions. With regard to the real objects of the senate committees in- quiry, with regard to every question af- fecting the honor of the president or the senate with regard to all questions of national administration, said MT. John- son, Mir Havemeyer had been ''brutally frank" He had held back nothing. If, as a matter of fact, MT. Havemeyer had testified that state and local con- tributions had been made and if it had been proven that they had affected the elections, the offence would have been against the states, not against the United States. The witness had not said that 1t was none of the business of the committee. said MT. Johnson.
 But I say 1t was none of their busi- ness," he added.
 Mir. Johnson was bitter in his sar- casm. With extreme irony he declared the alleged ''purists" should devote some of their virtue and time to "at- tending to their own business" The questions put to MT. Havemeyer as to his contributions to local campaigns, he said, were as impertinent as if he had been asked how many children or how much money he was possessed Of
 While admitting the right of legisla- tive investigation. he argued that the purpose of such investigation must be remedial legislation, not a senseless prying into the private affairs of the citizen. He cited the decisions in the Kilbourne case in support of his conten- tion. He noted the fact that two of the five members of the committee were al- ready on record as of the opinion that the question to which answer was re-