The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-05
GOOD DEED OF A BURGLAR.
HOW CREDIT NOBILIEa FRAUDS
WE'RE EXPOSED.
Secret Papers Published in the New
York sun Caused Sensation ard
Precipitated Congregational in
uuirN.
From the Washington Post.

quiry.
From the Washington Post,
/ The allusion made in the recent notice
of the late Mr.. Gibson, former Washing
ton correspondent Of the New York sun,
! 10 the exposure OF the Credit Mobiier
frauds by Congress in 1873 recalls the in
! tense excitement made by the publication
/ In the New York sun of all the original
! papers. which led to the congressional in
| vestigation and The exposure of so many
| of the s0-called christian statesmen of
that period. Il was known that such
| an organization was in existence, but IL
| was such close corporation that it seem
| ed impossible to obtain any knowledge
which would avail TO awaken the pubic
| and Congress to the enormity and the ex
| tent to which the liberanty OF congress
was being abused. An eminent Demo
| crat had become possessed OF the knowl
| edge that the papers were securely lock-
| ed in safe in the Office of the counsel
| of The organization Col. William i.
| Wood of this city and Robert Murray,
| United States marshal of the district of
| New York, were consulted and it was de
| cided to call TO their aid one of the Eaost
| experienced "cracksmen'' out of a job To
obtain the coveted papers. The job could
only be done after office hours on some
| returned before office hours on Monday.
| Messrs. Murray and Wood had arranged
| with Mr.. Gree.ey 10 deliver the papers ON
| the saturday they We're obtained, put
! some delay occurred in their delivery as
| carry as was expected, and when they
| were delivered to Messr. Wood and Muir
| ray al Taylor's Hotel Jersey CITY, they
| lost no time IN going 10 New ork TO the
| Tribune Office with them on the Satur-
| day before their publication; Mr.. Gree
| ley was absent, and Mr. Reid, who was in
| charge heSitated to receive them. Ihere
| was no time for cons -deratlon, so Mr.;
! Wood recognized their value, accepted
| them and at once put them IN tyoe ana
| by Sunday afternoon the original papers
| were returned TO the safe before the office
hour on Monday morning. The cracks
| man. Nosbur9, was Literally paid Tor his
| work. and the publication in the sun ere
ated more intense excitement than any
| prior expose had ever done.
A Congressional Investigation.
| The appearance in the Sun Of these con-
| hdental documents occasioned such uni
! versal attention that on the assembling Of
| Congress a se.eet committee was appoint
! ed TO Investigate the connection OF mem
| bers of Congress with the colossal steal.
| Mr.. Poland Of Vermont was chairman or
| the committee, and his report, prepared,
| it was said, by Judge w. IA. Alerrck then
| a member of Congress from Maryland,
| caused many of the distinguished states
/ men of the day no little trouble 10 explain
| how they came 70 be involved in the net
| work woven by the memorandum book
Of the Hon. Cakes Ames, which the COM
| mittee reproduced in their report. Messrs.
| Blaine, Garfield Dawes. Kelly of Pennsyl-
| vania James Brooks of New York, Pat
| terson of New Hampshire, Schuyler Cot
| fax, Elliott of Massachusetts, Bingham OF
| Ohio, Schofield and Henry wilson were
| the names found in The Cakes Ames men,
oTandum book.
The Poland report mildly censured all
| but Cakes Ames and James BROOKS, ana
| the report recommended their expulsion.
| MIR. Brooks, who had stood so high IN
| political and social life, did not long sur
| rrfr~ No IN
| witnessed the scene when Mr.. Brooks rose
| to address the House for the last time can
ever forget IT, so changed was his appear
| ance. After the investigation began he
| seemed unlike himself The deepest sym
| pathy pervaded the House as the vote was
taken on the report which expelled him.
! In the investigation Of the Credit Mo-
| biller Joseph b. Stewart was a recalei-
/ trant witness, as he refused to divulge
| what disposition he had made Of certain
Kansas Pacific Railroad bonds placed in
| his hands. Stewart was accommodated in
| the bastile of the capitol with board ana
| lodging for several weeks, and then, as
| usual, was discharged
other Explosions for Fraud.
The expulsion of Matteson, of New
York. had preceded the Credit Mobiier
case. In 1857 the House of representatives
was called TO act as a court having Ju-
risdctiCn over its own members. The
charges of corruption had been made by
the Washingto ton correspondent of the New
York Times James w. Smonton in an
ton Lobby-The Land RobberIes, charged
directly that certain land schemes then
before Congress designed the surrender or
very nearly the whole territory Of Mime
sofa to land spectators, and the Des-
Moines railroad land grant was a fraud
of the most gigantic dimensions. The
correspondent charged that c0mbina ton
existed of members of Congress and lob
by agents numbering from thirty 10 forty
members of the House, who were interest
ed in 1.-The great steal" The publication
caused intense excitement, and as the cor
respondent was well known, a committee
of investigation was ordered consisting Of
five members of the House. Gen. Banks,
then speaker, appointed the committee,
with Henry Winter Davis as chairman.
Mr. Payne of North Carolina had declared
on the floor of Congress that a distinct
proposition of corruption had been made
to him by member Of the House. This
announcement was followed by cries of
Name him! Name him" Mr.. Payne
said he was ready to do so when called
on by the committee of investigation.
After three weeks sessions of the COM
mittee Mr. Davis submitted the report,
inculpating four members of Congress,
Messrs. O. B. Matteson, w. A. Gilbert and
Francis p. Edwards, of New York, and
w. w. WEIGH, of Connecticut. 1t was
proven that Matteson had told a witness,
one of the parties interested, that he must
have 100000 to carry the bill through the
House, and il was given to him. a letter
was produced, written by Matteson, and
marked private" to the president of the
DesMoines Railroad Company, from whlcA
an extract was taken, confirming the
charge made. The committee reported
resolutions in accordance with such over
whelming evidence and his expulsion was
ordered, but Matteson had resigned before
the report was made and consequently
escaped expulsion. Edwards and Gilbert
followed Matteson's example and resign
ed, and WEIGH was given the benefit of
doubt and escaped. Matteson, with the
money so obtained, 1t is said purchased
the old Globe building, now the Lawrence
Hotel and out of il he evolved the Impe-
rial Hotel kept by Pierce, Of New Hamp-
shire, for some years.
Some Early Land Grabs.
The modern cry of corruption in Con-
gress has led to the belief that such a
thing was unknown in those. better days
of the republic" but In looking over the
annals of Congress we find as cary as
1895 a case of bribery and corruption was
before Congress. Robert Randall and
Charles Whitney were arraigned before the
bar of the House of Representatives on
Dec. 30, 1895, upon the charge of offer
ing a bribe to certain members for their
advocacy of a bill to grant all the lands
lying between Lakes Michigan, Erie and
s.sntr n TUn m