The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-03-29


Washington, March 2S.-Charles E.
Macrum of East Liverpool, O., the
American ex-consul at Pretoria. ap-
peared before the house foreign affairs
| committee today, and told of the alleg-
ed indignitieS he suffered at the hands
of the British during his incumbency.
When he gave out his statement here
| some weeks ago, declaring that his Of
hclal mail had been opened by British
| officials, Representative Wheeler of
| Kentucky introduced a resolution for
| an investigation. 1t was subsequently,
arranged that the foreign affairs COM
mittee should take the matter up of its
own motion, without any direction from
the house and Mr.. Macrum was sum-
| moned to Washington to testify.
There were many visitors in the COM
| mittee room when Chairman Hit call
ed the committee to order Mr.. Ma
crum was asked by Chairman Hit TO
make such statements as he saw fit
regarding the opening Of his mail by the
British censor.
In opening, Mr.. Macrum recalled the
! statement he had made some time ago
to the Associated Press. The state
ment, he said, practically embodied all
he had TO say. He explained that when
he asked for leave of absence he de-
sired TO come home for private business
reasons, and also because he desired to
place before the United States govern
ment ertain facts which he deemed it
essential should be known here.
British Had Our Cipher.
He understood, he said. that the Brit
ism had possession of our cable cipher.
He was not certain of this, but he had
since had information which convinced
him that his suspicious were correct.
He Also des sred h,f0IInatioIt is - rs
course Wnen the settle mem. came al tals
end of the war.
Further. he had a petition from some
American residents in the Transvaal
asking that the United States maintain
absolute neutrality, which he wanted
to present to the state department. The
petition he read to the committee. 1t
was signed by Gordon, the consular
agent at johannesburg.
Asked as 10 when he was first salts
/ fed that his mail was being tempered
with. he said that war was declared
| Oct. u. He did not receive any mail
I between that date and the second week
/ in November. Ordinarily he had box
Of mail every week.
Did other people receive mail dur
/ of Mississippi.
mot that I know Of" replied Mr.. Ma
crum.
! Pressed for specific information as to
/ how he got the intimation that the
| British were opening and delaying his
mail, ne stated that when his mail did
| not come he telegraphed our consul at
| LourenZO Marquee, requesting him 10
inquire of Cape Town why it was being
delayed.
Received No Mail.
The consul at Lourenzo Marquee re-
piled that he also had received no mail.
/ Mr.. Macrum said the delay of his mail
! created a conviction il his mind that
| the British authorities were responsible.
/ The first actual evidence he had was
| the receipt OF two opened letters. He
| produced the envelopes which. he said.
contained those letters. One was from
a private citizen, addressed to the Unit
ed States consul at Pretoria, and the
other was TO him by name, from Consul
Stowe at Cape Town.
Mr.. William Alden Smith Of Michigan
Intercepted the witness sharply on the
reasons for stating his belief that the
British authorities had possession Of
the state department. cipher code.
Mr.. Macrum said he could not affirm
| there were certain facts which con-
WINGED him that such was the case. He
| explained that on Nov. he had cabled
the state department in cipher, ask
ing for a leave of absence. That mes
sage had gone through Durham. The
next day, Nov. T. he said, he had been
Informed a newspaper at Durham
printed the fact that he had asked for
leave of absence.
British Message Made Public.
Mr. Smith was proceeding TO inter
rogate Mr.. Macrum as to the character
Of the code used by him in this dis
patch, especially as to whether he had
used what was known as the Slater
CODE" a common code purchaseabIe
anywhere.
Mr. Hit thought il improper to touch
the matter of the codes employed by
the government, but it was finally
! agreed that no harm could come from
a direct reply as TO whether the Slater
code was used.
1.-The message" said Mr.. Maerum,
was sent in the state department
cipher of the Slater code"
And you claim the substance of that
dispatch was made pubIic?" asked Mr.
Smith.
Il do
: w mere
"In Natal"
''Was it an accurate publications."
Il do not know.
Mr. Macrum said he had never seen
the publication. He had only been in
formed that the fact that he had asked
leave Of absence had been printed. He
affirmed that no one knew Of this fact
save himself.
Fears a Sensation.
At this point Mr. Howard Of Georgia
interposed 10 question the utility Of
the examination Of Mr.. Macrum.
1T looks 10 me-" said he, like an
effort to concoct a sensation out of
nothing"
But the committee decided to proceed,
and in reply TO some questions from
Mr.. Burleson, Mr.. Macrum stated that
he had been granted leave Of absence
by Secretary Hay on Nov. 10. He read
TO the committee a message from the
cable company, saying cipher cable
sent by him to the secretary Of state
Continued on Page S.