The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-03-28

a large number of members of congress.
and agitated for the purchase Of the ISL
ands. 1 had contracts with them both,
according to which they and through
them certain members of congress should
have a share of the commission if the
/. sale took place; but the two sgentlemen's
agitation expenses, ETC., bills in reStau-
rants and hotels, 1 had to pay The
two press associates Abner Mckinley
and Brown, Evans, Knox and others,
had promised that their contracts should
be guaranteed by the house of Seligman.
To this the banking house had agreed,
as it should in one way or another have
to be recognized by the Danish govern
ment.''
Mr.. Richardson then proceeded: ''Now,
Mr.. Speaker, I could make more of these
quotations. but 1 will not take the time
of the house.
Insists on an investigation.
at is enough to show what a report this
creature has made to the Danish govern
ment, this man whom our secretary of
state used as all agent-I was about to
say tool, but as an agent-to carry
trusted diplomat from our legation in
London to the court at Copenhagen and
there entertain this trusted agent and pro-
cure him admission and Introduction to
the prime Minister of Denmark, which re-
suited in putting on foot the negotiations
leading to this treaty.
Now, [ am not here to charge and
do not charge, that any American con-
gresham or senator has been bribed in
this matter; but here is the declaration
Of this agent of the Danish government
and of our own government that he had
contracts for $500, 900 of the money which
we supposed we were paying into the
treasury of Denmark for these islands,
to be used, as he said, for the corrupt pur-
pose Of bribing American congressman.
Now does this not demand an investi-
cation at our hands? Are we to sit here
and permit this matter to be published in
the leading papers not only of Denmark
and of the United States-because a por-
ton of this report making these charges
has already been printed in Philadelphia
and in some other papers in this country
but also in the London Times. 1t has been
printed, l venture to say, in the leading
papers of every capital in Europe. These
charges have gone forth to the world
that there is a condition of affairs in the
United States congress as described by
this minister that is simply horrible.
Would Put Congressman on Oath.
'Does such a state of affairs exist, Mr..
Speaker? Every member of congress can
be called and interrogated upon his oath
if he met this man Christmas, if he dined
with him at the Hotel Raleigh, if he
sought in any way to make a public opin-
ion in favor of the ratification of this
treaty for the purchase of the Danish ISL
ands.
81 have so far made no reflections upon
any American official; but 1 do say this
that these facts that 1 have submitted
here, the extracts from these Danish pa
pers, show that all this corrupt contract
business has been exposed and published
since the 2Sth day of January in the Dan
ish papers. I take it that the senate of
the United States did not know on the
18th of February that 100000 of that
money had been bargained away for the
corrupt purpose of buying them and you
and the balance Of us into the support Of
this measure; and yet on the 18th day of
February the American senate, almost
unanimously, as I believe, and as has
been published in the newspapers, ratified
this treaty.
Did they know, Mr.. Speaker, when
they ratified this treaty that these things