The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1901-12-27
MAD AT RICHARDSON.
Congressman Gaines oriticises the
Leader.

"A short while after the adjourn
ment Of the House this week, o
Thursday, believe, | was sittin
at my desk writing letter and
heard some one from behind m
call John aud a second tim
John, to winch I paid no atteu
ton, being rarely called by tina
name, but Immediately following
the last call the same voice calle'
out John Wesley
Il Immediately turned aroun'
and saw that Maj Richardson, sit
ting few PAGES behind me, ha'
called me, and walked back /,
where lie was, and lie said: 4 wan
to get you right soon in some pri
vate room here, shut the door anC
have talk with you about whaf
you saw and heard in the Philip
pines, to which I instantly replied
1t comes. sir, in poor grace from
you to make such request Of me
when you slipped around here and
| prevented me from being placed on
committees that / desired, where
my information might be impaired,
perhaps prohtably, and where !
might do some good for the COM
mittee and the country. No, sir,
neither You nor any one else can
put me behind closed doors tor any
such purpose. When am heard !
will be heard in the House, where
everybody can hear me and what |
have to say.
"Mai. Richardson denied the
charge, and / replied: u have it
from DISTINGUISHED and absolutely
reliable authority that you did do
it. and want to say furthermore
that you cannot bury me politically
here nor elsewhere, even if you
have succeeded in RELOCATING me to
the Mining Committee and to the
very tail end Of it at that, when
you know that that committee has
not, as I have been told, had
meeting in years, and you will hear
from me again about this.
"With that | returned to my
desk, and he followed me and said:
John, say to you that the man
who said to you that did this told
lie, to which | replied: He was
totally disinterested and believe
he told the truth.
II would have passed by my fail
ure to get on the committee | de-
sired and said nothing about it, as
have done heretofore, because
find that | can do about as much
work or more for my people off |
than on, but l could not and would
lot pass by the insulting request
If Mai. Richardson without resent
ng it. In addition to this, ] knew,
because had heard him incident
lily state to brother member,
hat he had farmed out all Of his
'wn time for debate on the pend
ng measure, the Philippines tariff,
nd yet he had failed to reserve for
ne any time or even ask me if / i
wanted any, utterly ignored me,
nd this, too, IN the face of the
act that from my advent into Con-
-ress l have unfalteringly aided
daj. Richardson in all OF his ambi-
ions and upheld him as leader.
Mutual friends have interviewed
0 prevent the publication of this
flair, but have replied each time
hat | did not care what the papers
aid so .ong as they told the straight
# it; and now that it is in the news
papers without the facts fully stat
d and without my procurement, it
S but just and right that the public
should know them Knowing that
10 Democrat would be placed on
he Rivers and Harbors Committee
)ut one from the Mississippi Val
ey, abandoned all practical hope
# getting on that committee, and
bought that under all the circum-
stances 1 could best serve the coun-
ny and my people by being placed
IN the insular, military, building or
.oinage committees, and in the
rider named / have served two
erms on the coinage committee and /
expected to be continued on that, |
md | asked the Speaker, who has
Ilways treated me With the kind :
ST consideration, to place me on
ne Of The above named commit
ees, and had some reason to be-
ieve that he would do so, derived .
through more than one person
shom know to be thoroughly reli- /
HE