Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1900-02-23


opportunity to make an official state
ment in reply to charges contained in
the statement given out by former
Consul Macrum. Without a dissent
ing vote the house of representatives
to-day passed resolution introduced
by Representative Wheeler of Ken
lucky calling on the secretary for in
formation, and Mr.. Hay will give the
state department side of the contro-
yersy without delay.
Mr.. Macrum arrived in Washington
tonight and will be on hand to sup
ply critics of the administration with
all the information in his possession
to facilitate any attack that they may
wish!te make upon Secretary HAY
after his reply to the Wheeler resolu-
tlon has been sent to the house of
representatives.
He called on Wheeler tonight and
thanked him for having introduced
the resolution. After Macrum had
left, Wheeler said that the former con-
sui told him his whole story in conf
dence, had shown him the envelopes
which he claimed had been opened by
the British censor and closed again
with stickers bearing the coat-of-arms
OF Great Britain and the initials "V.
r.
Wheeler said he had told Macrum
l1n ho1 hal \
said in his statement, and had intro
duced the resolution of inquiry for the |
purpose of affording the state depart
ment an opportunity to reply. He had |
thought that there was nothinss-m5re
IN Macrum 5 statenaenntt-tha than an effort
on the part of the refractory consul,
who had been disciplined, to get re-
yenge.
After hearing what Macrum. had to
say, Wheeler said he was convinced
that the British government,had been
guilty of a mean system of espionage,
and that Secretary Hay had made a
mistake in not hearing what Macrum
had to say. He thought a genuine
American secretary of state would not
rest until he had compelled Great
Britain to make abject apologies
He said the envelopes Macrum
showed him bore the official seal of the
state department, and they could not
have been inadvertently opened by
the censor. They had been opened
with deliberation and without any at
tempt to excuse or conceal it.
The 18th of February, Representa-
tive Wheeler of Kentucky introduced
into the house the following pream-
BILE and resolutions:
Whereas, Charles Z. Macrum, late
consul of the governments of the Unit
ed States to the Transvaal republic,
over his own signature, charges "when
this (his) mail was finally forwarded
to me after Colonel Stowe, the Ameri-
can consul general at Capetown, had
secured its release, had the humilia-
zion as the representative Of the
American governments of sitting in my
Office in Pretoria and looking upon en-
yelops bearing official seal of the
American government opened and
officially sealed with sticker, notify
ing me that the contents had been
read by the censor at Durham, and
Whereas, He further states in the
same article "When / accepted my
post as consul, knew nothing of any
secret alliance between America and
Great Britain, therefore, be it
Resolved, BY, the house that the
secretary of state is directed to inform
The house of representatives if said
Charles E. Macrum as consul of the
American government informed the
state department that his official mail
had been opened and read by the Brit
ish censor at Durham and if SO what
steps if any have been taken to obtain
an explanation and apology from the
British government.
Section,2. lie is further directed to
inform the house of representatives
what truth there is in the charge that
secret alliance exists between the
republic of the United States and the
empire of Great Britain.
The speaker referred the resolution
to the foreign affairs committee.
Hoa Ell