The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-03-29
He Admits Using n Cipher Code That
Anybody Could Purchase
and Translate.
TWO OF HIS LETTERS OPENED
FOR WHICH THE MILITARY CENSOR
At DURHAM APOLOGIZED.
Submitted by Secre.
tary Hay-Consul General stoves
Efforts at Mediation.

WASHINGTON, March S.-Charles 4.
Macrum, of East Liverpool. o., the Amer
lean ex-consul at Pretoria. appeared before
the House foreign affairs committee to-day
and told of the alleged indignities he suf-
fered at the hands of the British during his
incumbency. When he gave out his state
ments here some weeks ago. declaring that
his official mail had been opened by British
officials, Representative Wheeler. of Ken
lucky. introduced resolution for an in
vestigation. 1t was subsequently arranged
that the foreign affairs committee should
take the matter up on its own motion with
out any action from the House. and Mr.
Macrum was summoned to Washington to
testify. There were many visitors in the
committee room when Chairman Hit called
the committee to order.
Mr.. Macrum was asked by Chairman Hit
to make such statement as he saw fit re-
garding the opening of his mail by the
British censor. Mr.. Macrum recalled the
statement he had made some time ago to
the Associated Press. That statement, he
said, practically embodied all he had to
say. He explained that when he asked for
leave of absence he desired to come home
for private business reasons and also be-
cause he desired to place before the United
States government certain facts which he
deemed it essential should be known here.
He understood. he said, that the British
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 de-
c;r inf to-, l.; he
settlement came at the end of the war.
Further, he had a petition from some
American residents in the Transvaal ask
ing that the United States maintain abso-
Lutte neutrality, which he wanted TO pre-
sent to the State Department. The petition
he read to the committee. Ii was signed
| by Gordon, the consular agent at johann
nesburg.
| Asked as to when he was first satisfied
| that his mail was being tempered with he
| said that war was declared Oct IL. He did
not receive any mail between that date and
| the second week in November. Ordinarily
| he had a box of mail every week.
did other people receive mail during
that period?" asked Mr.. Williams, of Mis-
| sissippi.
mot that / know Of" replied Mr.. Mac
TWO LETTERS OPENED.
Pressed for specific information as to
| how he got the intimation that the British
were opening and delaying his mail he re-
| piled that when his mail did not arrive he
| telegraphed our consul at Lourenzo Mar
| ques requesting him to inquire of Cape
| Town why ii was being delayed The con-
| also had received no mail Mr.. Macrum
| said the delay of his mail created a con-
viction i'm his mind that the British au-
| thorities 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 private citizen, addressed
| to the United States consul at Pretoria, and
| the other to him by name, from Con-
/ sui Stowe, at Cape Town.
| William Alden Smith, of Michigan. in
terrogated the witness sharply on the rea-
sons for stating his belief that the British
authorities had possession of the State
| Departments cipher.
| Mr.. Macrum said he could not affirm
| that fact from actual knowledge, but there
| were certain facts which convinced him
| that such was the case. He explained
! that on Nov s he had cabled the State De-
partment in cipher asking for leave of alb
| sence. That message had gone through
| Durham. The next day, Nov. z. he said. he
| had been Informed newspaper at Durham
| printed the fact that he had asked for
| leave of absence.
| Mr.. Smith was proceeding to interrogate
| Mr.. Macrum to the character of the
| code used by him in this dispatch. es-
| pecially as to whether he had used what
| was known the Slater CODE a common
| code purchasable everywhere.
Mr.. Hit thought 1t improper to touch the
| ment, hut 1t was finally agreed that no
| harm could come from a direct reply as
i to whether the Slater code was used
| 1.-The message" said Mr. Macrum, twas
| sent I'm the State Departments cipher of
1 the Slater code"
land you claim the substance of that
dispatch was made public?" asked Mr..
Smith.
/ ~ do"
/ "Where?'
| I'm Natal"
WAS IL an accurate publications.
II do not know.
NEVER SAW THE PUBLICATION
Mr.. Macrum said he had never seen the
publication. He had only been informed
that the fact that he had asked leave OF
| absence had been printed. He affirmed that
no one knew of this fact save himself.
| At this point Mr.. Howard. of Georgia. in
| terposed to question the utility of the ex-
PLANTATION of Mr.. Macrum. "It looks 10
| me-" said he, like effort to concoct a
sensation out of nothing" But the COM
| -nittee decided to proceed, and In reply 10
| some questions from Mr.. Burleson, Mr..
| Macrum stated that he had been granted
| leave of absence by Secretary Hay on Nov.
| Is. He read to the committee message
| from the cable company saying cipher
| cable sent by him to the secretary OF state
| Nov. Ii had been held up by the military
| censor until Dec 2
Asked IL other consuls had suffered any
| inconvenience I'm the matter of communi-
| eating with their home governments, Mr.
Macrum said they had. The Belgian and
German consuls both told him that nc
| cipher kilograms were allowed TO &C
| through.
| did you report to the State Department,
that your mail had been opened?" asked
| Mr.. Berry. of Kentucky.
| II did not
did you mention it upon your arrival IN
| Washington?