Omaha daily bee., 1899-03-01
SENATaR HANNA INDICATED
No Evidence Submitted to Committee to
Prov Bribery Charge,
jHlo msw'sa IS SECURE IN HIS SEAT
Minority Report Points out sus-
picious Circumstances Surround
ing Alleged ohers and Inter-
views by Telephone.

WASHINGTON, Feb. Ex-senator Chand-
Ter from the committee on privileges and
elections presented to the senate today the
report OF that committee on the charges OF
bribery in the election to the senate OF
Hon. NJ A. Hanna.
The report states that no direct re-
monstrance setting out that Mr.. Hanna was
not elected or ought to be expelled from
the senate has been received by the SEN
ate. 1t also shows that no one has ap-
peared before the committee ana that no pa
pers have been received beyond the formal
report of the action of the state senate.
Notwithstanding these failures the commit
tee has Investigated the charges 1t finds
that There is no proof submitted either
that % Mr.. Hanna was elected senator
through bribery, or (2) that he had any
agents engaged in carrying on his canvass
for the senate who were directly or i'm
pliedly authorized by him to resort to cor
rupt methods or wrong doing, or (3) that
he had any personal knowledge of the facts
in this case, 1t may be said that there
is no evidence which fairly tends to prove
any of the foregoing three propositions"
Election is Unimpeached.
In view Of these facts the committee on
privileges and elections has reached the
is not called upon to take any action in
the case. The utmost fact which the COM
mittee of the state senate claims to have
proved" the report continues was that
an attempt was made to brbe 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 absence OF any specification OF such
facts or of any distinct suggestion of where
,Aey may be found, the wn.le demand that
Mr.. Hanna be expelled from the United
States senate being rested on the Otis case
Whether IL this unsuccessful attempt at
bribery in the case OF Representative Otis
were fastened on the representatives OF
Senator Hanna by undoubted proof the SEN
ate would be called upon to take action
is not by any means clear.
Report of Minority.
A minority report signed by Senators
Pettus, Turley and Caffery was read This
report takes the ground that further inves-
tigation should be made and enters quite
freely into the statement of the case pre-
sented by the Ohio senate. The minority
contends that the attempt on the part of
Boyce to buy Otis vote for Mr.. Hanna is
clearly proved. Seventeen hundred and
Hlly uollars, the report continues, was paid
in cash by Boyce to Campbell as attorney
for Otis. Boyce agreed to pay 81, $50 more
when Otis reached Columbus and a balance
of $500 II Hanna was elected
They claim that it is shown that Hanra's
managers, Dick and Rathbone, were at the
Neil house at Columbus where Hanna had
his headuarters and they repeat the details
of Boyce's conversation with them over the
telephone from the Gibson house, Cincinnati,
which was overheard by clerks of the hotel
Telephone Conversations.
'It was in these interviews, the minority
says. that the terms for the purchase of
Otis vote were finally acted upon between
yce 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 CONVEX
sations. 1t also says there was other evil
dence to show the intimate relations between
Boyce and Hanna's managers, but that to
detail the facts would be to carry the re-
port to unreasonable length"
The minority then says: I'VE think the
evidence to which We have already referred.
standing as 1t does, unexplained, shows that
certain of Mr.. Hanna's managers at Colum-
bus not only knew the purposes which Boyce
had in view while in Cincinnati, but they
aided, abetted and advised him in carrying
out these purposes, and that the state of
affairs existed while Mr.. Hanna was present
at his headquarters.