Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1901-06-06

A fsN~~J - 1SAf@1a t0b Wv
ernment was repetition OF shat had
gone before. there were several in
teresting minutes.
! Mr.. Albert said .a saw Abel
the day Of his arrest in Washington
and had conversation with him OF
about half en- hours duration. The
prisoner was embarrassed aud ner-
yous at first, but vas qnieter as he
proceeded. He said he had been
appointed on the recommendation
OF Mudd and did his duty. | ask
ed him il he could think Of any
circumstances which might have
caused bis arrest. He replied that
ne had put down q good many
names OF which he was in doubt at
at the time. He gave six or eight
snch names as examples. Taking
two of them, he said one vas dead
and the other in Washington.
81 asked him where he got his
Interpretation of the law. The re-
ply was. From Mudd, Joseph Fl.
Ching and Enoch B. Abell.'
IL asked him specifically il he
meant the .Mudd in Congress. He
replied he did. / asked him why
he consulted them to the exclusion
OF others. His answer. accompan-
led by deprecatory gesture, was
that they were Republicans, he was
q Republican; they were his friends
and they all worked together. /
asked him under what understand
ing of the law he could put in the
names ne did. He replied he was
told to enter anybody who had died
since the census before (1s90), u.s.
ing his discretion, and to enter all
those who had died since 1899 He
seemed to be confused in his mind
as to the laws relating TO taxation
and the census.
II saw Abel again that night and he
denied all those portions of the inter.
view relating to Dir. Mudd, saving he
wanted Mr.. Mudd's name excluded.
though he again admitted the connec.
tion with Enoch B. Abel and Ching.
carefully went over his first interview
with him and he admitted that every
word was correct except that portion
relating to Mr.. Mudd. told him tha.
he had talked with freedom in the after
noon, and that it was only since he had
been visited by. Mr.. Mudd that he had
desired to retract anything"
Charles ii. Guyther, who had pleaded
guilty, was the second important wit
ness. Mr.. Cans examined him for the
Government. The witness threw some
new light on Mr.. Ching's share in the
alleged conspiracy. He said:
"A few days after mailing my returns
got letter from Supervisor Rollins
asking me to make another count, and
with the letter came two more schedules.
The letter said that /! I went over the
district carefully should get from 100
to $50 more names. did nothing for
awhile and then got letter from Ching
saying that the names could be secured
and that ! had received two additional
schedules. / went to see him and he
told me to get the people in the district
who had moved away; also to enumer-
ate people stopping at the hotels. AsI|
left he asked me il / didn't have a grave
yard
IL went home and enumerated those
who had moved away, some for one or
two years and one for 10 yoars. Ching
told me the other enumerators had done
the same or had it to do. Ching told
me to enumerate Whit Monroe. my broth
er and several others who were out of
the county, but don't know how he
knew they were not enumerated on the
first sheets. put down about 40 or 80
people who had moved away. got the
rest of the names at the hotels, mostly
from nurses and servants. waen saw
nurse with child got both of their
names, together with those Of the rest of
the child's family, filling In the other
particuIars as choean
The most important point in Guyther's
testimony was the Identification Of a let
ter received by Assistant Postmaster
William j. Bean, Of Valley Lee, from
Ching, dated February &C. The letter
was as follows:
FEBRUARY q 1901.
To William j. Bean, Assistant Postmaster.
Valley Lee. Nd:
Dear Bllly-Ae soon as you receive this see
two special census experts from " %ashInRtoa % rnas
viii call on him 70 verify the census returns
from his district,
Tel him . state tia. the census as returned
oy nsfn was correct In every shape and all
names returned BY him were people actually
residing In the county At that time.
This is very important TO hIm. presume
Post him and do not let him slip up. as il e
very important 70 him. I know, too. that the
census must be all right
Jos. II. CHING.
The startling feature of the letter
10 that it is dated the day before
the experts left Washington. show-
ing that Ching must have had ad.