The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-03-01
HANNA'S ELECTION
|. IS UNIMPEACHED
Verdict Of Senate Committee TO InVHSti-
gate Bribery Charges.
NO TESTIMONY WAS TAKEN
Minority Report Submitted includes EYl-
denCs Given Before 0liO Senate.
The ATTEMPT TO BRIBE Mr.. OTIS
Was Either Unauthorized or Unknown
by MFR. Hanna, is the Conclusion
Reached by Majority
Not Called Upon to Act.

washington, February 2S-The committee
on privileges and elections today presented
to the senate its report on charges of brib-
cry in the election to the senate OF M. A.
Hanna as made by the Ohio senate.
The report sets forth that no remonstrance
setting out that Mr.. Hanna was not elected
or ought to be expelled from the senate
has been. received by the senate 1t also
shows that no one has appeared before the
committee and that no papers have been
received beyond the formal report OF the
action of the state senate. Notwithstand-
ing these failures the committee has nVes-
tigated the charges. 1t finds that there Is
no proof submitted either that %, MT.
Hanna was elected senator through brib-
cry or, (D, that he had any agents en-
gagged in carrying or his canvass for the
senate who were directly or implicitly au-
thorized by him to resort TO corrupt meth
-edsl or to any form of wrongdoing, or 90,
that he had any personal knowledge of the
facts.fn the Otis case. 1t may be said that
there is no. evidence which fairly tends to
prove either of the foregoing three propo-
sitions. -~
Election Stands Unimpeached
privileges and elections have reached the
conclusion that the United States senate
is not called upon to take any action in the
premises. The utmost fact which the COM
mittee of the state senate claim to have
proved, 1.-THE report continues, lis that an
attempt was made to bride Mr. Otis, which
failed. Without further facts than this the
validity of Mr.. Hanna's election will stand
unimpeached and the senate is not called
upon to search for further facts in the abb
sence of any specification of such facts or
of any distinct suggestion where they may
be found; the whole demand of the state
Senate report that Mr.. Hanna be expelled
from the United States senate being rested
upon the Otis case. Whether even if this
unsuccessful attempt at bribery in the case
of Representative Otis were fastened upon
the representatives of Senator Hanna by
undoubted proof of the senate, would be
called upon. to take any action is not by
amy means clear. Certainly, without strong
evidence that Senator Hanna himself has
knowledge of the transactions would hard
ly be justified in doing more than expose
the facts for condemnation by public opin-
ion, and the exposure of such facts as the
state senate. say were proved has already
been accomplished by the state senate re-
port, while there is no direct evidence and
substantially no presumptive evidence that
Senator Hanna had any knowledge of what
was going on.
No Testimony Taken
The remainder of the report is devoted
to giving the committees reasons for not
taking testimony in the case. They claim
that it is shown that Hanna's managers,
Dick and Rathbone, were at the Neil house,
in Columbus. where Hanna had his head
quarters and they repeat the details of
Boyce's conversations with them over the
telephone from the Gibson house in Gin
cinnati, as overheard by clerks of the Glib
son. 1T was in their interviews" the ma
Jority says THAT the term for the purchase
OF Gus vote were finally agreed upon be-
tween Boyce and Campbell"
The minority report deals at length with
the conversations over the telephone, giving
full extracts from the testimony before the
committee of the Ohio senate as to what
was said in these conversations. They also
say that there was other evidence to show
The intimate relations between Boyce and
Hannas managers, but they conclude that
/ TO quote 1t would carry the report to I'M
nappSS.lrV LAM