Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1899-03-07
OUR CANDIDATE IN 1900
HANNA WAS VERY HONEST
At Last Senate Committee Exonerates Him
on Bribery Charges

Washington, D. c., Feb. 2s.-Sen-
otor Chandler, from the committee
on privileges and elections, presented
to the senate today the report OF
that committee, on the charges of
bribery in his election to the senate
by Hon. M. A. Hanna.
The report sets out that no direct
remembrance, 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 re-
port of the action of the state senate.
Notwithstanding these failures, the
committee has investigated the
charges. 1t finds that there is no
proof submitted either that, first, Mr..
Hanna was elected senator through
bribery, or second, that he had any
agents engaged in carrying on his
canvass for the senate who were di.
rectly or implicitly authorized by him
to resort to corruptmethods or wrong
doing, or third, that he had any per.
sonal knowledge of the facts in this
case. 1t may be said that there is nc
evidence which fairly tends to prove
any of the foregoing three PROPOSE.
tions.n
The remainder of the report is de.
voted to giving the committees reas
ons for not taking testimony in the
case which are summoned up in thit
sentence from it: ITO go over the
ground covered by the state senate
merely for the purpose of additional
exposure would be tedious, expensive
and unnecessary"
A minority report, signed by Sena.
tors Pettus, Turley and Gallery, was
read. This report takes the ground
that further investigation should be
taken, and enters quite freely into the
statement of the case presented by
the Ohio senate. The minority con.
tends that the attempt on the part Of
BoYce to buy Otis vote for Mr.. Han.
ma is clearly proven by Mr.. Hanna
Seventeen hundred and fifty dollars
the report continues, twas paid il
cash by Boyce to Campbell as attor-
ney for Otis. Boyce agreed to pay
$1,750 more when Otis reached Column
bus and balance of $500 if Hanna
was elected.
They claim that it is shown that
Hanna's managers, Dick and Rath.
bone, were at the Neil house at Col.
umbus, where Hanna had his head.
quarters, and they repeat the details
of Boyce's conversation with them
over the telephone from the Gibson
house, CINCINNATI, which was over
heard by clerks of the hotel.
ut was in their interviews, !" the mi
nority report says, that the terms
for purchase of Otis vote were finally
acted upon between Boyce and Camp
bell.
The minority reportconcludes: "We
think the evidence to which we have
already referred, standing as it does
unexplained, shows that certain of
Mr.. Hanna's managers at Columbus
not only knew the purposes, which
Boyce had in view while IN Cincinnati
but that they aided, abetted and adj
vised him in carrying out these pur-
poses, and that the state of affairs ex-
listed while Mr.. Hanna was present at
his headquarters, This view is
strengthened by two facts:
First, that many of the witnesses
whose testimony apparently would
have thrown much light upon the
subject under inquiry, denied the
jurisdiction Of the committee and re-
fused to testify under advice of coun-
sci, who stated that they represented
the interests of Rathbone and Dick
and Senator Hanna, and, second,
that Senator Hanna and his repre-
sentatives had subpoenas sent them
by mail, which seem to have reached
hem, calling on them to appear be.
2 the state senate committee, to
-s4-n they made no response"
4 No member Of congress, no senator,
40 cabinet officer or othar b;o.b No