The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-01-19

ton of the committee.
Seconded and carried.
The chairman-At the time you expend-
ed this $500 in your fight you knew that
the money was Grants money, did you?
A. No, sir.
q. You did not?
A. No, sir.
@ Do you now know that It was Mr..
Grants money?
A: have learned so since this investi-
cation.
Q. BY what means did you learn 1t?
A. BY the testimony of Mr.. Green.
G. That was your first knowledge?
A. Yes, sir
Mr.. Bacon-Now. Mr.. Chairman, do you
desire me to make an objection to every
leading question that you ask?
Inc chairmanaI do not desire to direct
your fight, Mr.. Bacon.
Mr.. Bacon-I want you gentlemen to
understand me, that ! do not want to sit
here and make needless or trivial nor
tfme-wasting objections; but 1 have sat
last night to hear the trial of a case In
which Mr.. Wright has been charged in
the public prints with taking money I'M
lawfully to influence his vote on the ques-
ton of United States Senator for Cali
fornia, and tonight the same tactics are
being, pursued. Mr., Wright is not being
is proceeding on the theory or with the
evident purpose of somebody not to try
Mr.. Wright, but, over his shoulder, in
Jure the candidacy of some gentleman for
you get down to the facts and ask Mr..
Wright these questions?
The chairman-Mr. Bacon, If you have
any suspicious of that sort you will kind
ly keep them to yourself until you make
your final argument mere, because the
committee cannot be inundated by such
case and We propose to do it as we think
proper. 1 hope you understand that
Mr.. Bacon-Mr. Chairman, there is no.
body on earth has any higher regard for
nntrammpIl6 action
or a court than l have l have not at
tempted to intimidate anybody. 1 have
sat here and listened to this thing and
have hardly raised my voice during the
entire proceedings; but l objected to n
leading question a minute ago and an
other one follows it almost Immediately
three follow it and / didn't object.
The chairman-And there are very
likely more to follow It,
Mr.. Bacon-Then l shall have to pro-
coed.
The chairman-If you wish to enter into
the record, Mr.. Bacon, your objections to
all leading questions you may make that
entry now and they will be overruled, and
they are now overruled unless this COM
mittee shall overrule me upon my ruling
and you do not need to make any further
objections. You can have 1t entered in
record that such questions are objected
TO and the objections are overruled. If
you want such record you may make it.
Mr.. Bacon-I do not want any such
record. desire to reserve the right to
Mr.. Melick-I look at it this way: that
there is some reason for Mr.. Bacon's OBJ
lection, yet at the same time I can ap-
preciate the delicate position in which
our Speaker is in in regard to these queS-
lions. Now, he don't want to bring out
any conclusion or any testimony against
any man, and perhaps would rather have
them brought out by questions, 1 sup
pose. Now. so far as these leading ques-
tons are concerned, would like to under
stand which way Mr.. Wright would
rather be examined.
The witness-Mr. Mellick, have no de-
sire. gentlemen of the committee, to be
examined except to get at the truth. The
questions that may be leading or be re-
garded as leading, if they lead to the
truth, are the questions to put to me.
have been charged by a newspaper with
accepting money from a candidate in re-
turn for my vote for that candidate for
Senator. They have attempted to prove
it and l declare 1t untrue. Now, the way
to proceed is within the hands of this
committee; and if the proof can be got
here and from me now by questions that
this committee PROFOUND, and they are
proper, | have no objections to answering
them at all.
The chairman-At the time that Mr.
Green gave you this 5000 was there any
consideration thereof you should vote. If
elected. for Z. S. Grant Jr for United
States Senator.
A. No. On the other hand there was an
agreement absolute and complete, that the
Senatorial question should not enter into 1t
in any degree whatever between Mr.
Grant and myself. The relationship exist
ed simply upon the friendship that was
known to exist in the community and
throughout the State between him and me
for years.
O. Prior to receiving this $500 had you
expressed yourself to Mr. Green as beng
favorable, if elected, to his candidate for
United States Senator?
A. No, sir, except in this way: ] said in
talking to him one morning just leaving
him-I remember the morning and the in
cident well--just parting from him at the
ferry-I said, well, Mr.. Green, if the Is
sue should get to be Grant and De Young,
l am for Grant"
o. At that time was the candidacy of
D. NJ. Burns for. the United States Sen
atorship under discussion by the politi-
clans at all?
A. It was undreamed of so far as
knew anything of it.
Q. Nothing had been said of it in the
public print so far as you knew?
A. I never had seen word.
@. No intimation had been brought TO
you?
A None whatever:
O. That he would be a candidate?
A None whatever.
O. Did you have at that time an under
standing as to who would probably be an
important competitor of Mr.. Grant for
that posluion?
Young would be a candidate and, in fact,
knew that he was an active candidate, de-
spite his letter announcing that he was
not, printed in the Examiner and the
Chronicle. I knew it from politicians
who are active in Republican councils.
O. Who are promoting his interests?
A Promoting his interests?
@. Did you at any time after having
received this $500 from Mr.. Green receive
any other money from Mr.. Green or from
Mr.. Grant through any other sources
that was used in promoting your candi-
dacy?
A. Not one cent.
@. Did you receive any other money
from Mr.. Green subsequent to the receiv-
ing of this 5000?
A. Yes, sir.
@. What money did you receive? State
the time, occasion, manner and the use
you put it to.
A was in Sacramento on some bust
ness: stopped over here on my way
north, where I was going TO close up some
land matters. While here / received a
letter from an intimate friend of my fam
lily and whose name, 1t has been of keen
regret to me, has had to be brought into
this matter at all. who knows no more of
politics than a child. He and l had had
some business relations and he held my
note for $3.50, which, at the time | was in
Sacramento, was not yet due. He wrote
me a letter telling me that his father in
the State of Washington had written to
him. asking him if he would send him
$1,000 to take up a mortgage which existed
and which was just due and which he
wished to pay off. My friend wrote to me
asking whether I could accommodate him
IT, Il Af f1na rof lon of f1n YNNfn