Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-19
JUDGE HAIGHTS ELECTION
Witness Lockwood Says BE Was Aided by a
Corruption Fund.
Dispute in the Industrial Commiss ion
Over the Introduction of Testimony
which is Finally Admitted.

During the latter part of the afternoon
session of the industrial commission on
Saturday there was an interesting debate
over the statement of the witness. NJ l..
Lockwood. an oil producer of Zeltoaople
Pa. ,hat Judge Albert Haight of the New
York court of appeals had been elected by
a corruption fund supplied by corporations,
because of his action in what is known as
the Matthews Casa proceeding of the
railroad combination against the independ-
cnt refiners. He afteTward said that while
convinced The facts were as he had stated.
he had not actually seen the fund. there
fore the statement was an inference only.
A, this point Mr.. Farquhar of the COM
mission. to protest against the charac
ter Of the testimony. saying that Judge
Haight was his next door neighbor and one
of the purest men he had ever known He
had never before heard an imputation upon
his character. He appealed TO Mr.. Lock-
wood to have the statement stricken out of
his testimony. THE statement, he said,
was not testimony. but 1t was pure libel"
Mr.. Lockwood said that he also knew
Judge Haight and that he had been sur
pr1sed at the apparent developments. The
issue had been raised in the campaign and
he had understood that he ran behind his
ticket
After a few general remarks by other
members OF the commission to the ad-
visibility of striking out the entire state
ment. Representative Bell made d vigorous
protest against the demand to eliminate
any of the testimony 1t was not, he said,
the province of the commission TO tell a
witness what he must say. He said he had
noticed that some members of the COM
mission were very sensitive when
thing was said which did not entirely fail
in with their predictions. 1t was par
feCtly competent for any man coming here
to entertain opinions upon any of these
subjects and to advance them or 10 cT:tj--
said that Gov. Larrobee of Wyoming had
said that there were two judges the
supreme court bench who We're put there
FOR the purpose of securing the nullifica-
ton of the granger law. He also instanced
other cases in which the railroads had
cured the appointment of judges whose
sympathies were with them. If this was
so. said Mr.. Bell. why should man be
barred from saying so? And if the COM
mission was not going to permit such tes-
timony he would be compelled to say when
IL came to making the report of the COM
mission ii had not been nOn-par;isan.
As another Illustration of the manpula-
tons on the part of the railroads, he quoted
a republican member of the congressional
postal commission as saying that its pro-
ceedingS would come to naught because
the second assistant postmaster general
who has charge of these matters. is in
sympathy with the railroads. A man was
not sacred. he declared. because of the
place he occupied, and if judge on the
bench is elevated to his position by devious
means II was not the duty of the commits
sion to screen him.
Former Congressman Phillips presiding
held that the testimony was competent.