The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-03-10
PRESSING GEN. WOODS CASE
MATTER BROUGHT UPINExECU-
 TIvE SESSION OF SENATE.

Senator Scott, Who Leads fhe Oppo- sition to Woods Appointment as Major General, Has Read the Docu- ments in the Case Prepared by Senator Hanna-Foraker Determined to Push Matters
 Washington, March 9.-The contested appointment of General Leonard Wood to be major general of the army, was taken up to-day in executive session of the Senate and after listening to a brief proposed by Senator Hanna, summing up the testimony which had been given i In the hearings before the committee on military affairs and several affidavits obtained since the hearings closed, the Senate adjourned. Senator Foraler lannounced that he would move to take l up the case at every possible oppor- tunity. At the opening of the execu- ltive session, Senator Scott of West Vir- ginia, who leads the opposition, asked 1 to have the clerk read the documents
 whicsh had been accumulated by Sen l ator Hanna shortly before his death. 1 Senator Pettus objected to the clerk reading the papers, whereupon Senator
 Scott responded that if it were neces- sary he would read them himself. Ob- 1 jection, was withdrawn and the clerk l read the matter as a part of Senator
 Scotts presentation of the contention
 of the opposition to confirmation. A
 copy was furnished each senator. Un-
 der such heads as the case of E. C..
 Rathbone, the veracity of General l Wood, the Runcie article criticising l the administration of General Brooke
 as military governor of Cuba, the con- cession to the Jai Alai company to con- 1 duet a gambling establishment, General l Woods intimacy with the defense of
 the convict Bellairs, General Brookes s
 charges that General Wood was insub-
 ordinate, General Woods Santiago accounts, and the Castenada case, Sen- ator Hanna discussed the evidence
 brought out at the investigation before
 the Senate committee on military af-
 fairs, which he summed up in the open
 ing paragraph of his argument, as fol- | lows
 The testimony given before the com-
 mittee has developed points to which
 no answer is attempted by General l Wood in the various communications
 submitted by him prior to his departure
 for the Philippines nor can those com
 munications be accepted as refuta- 1 tfon of testimony given bv witnesses
 under the soemnfty of an oath To ac- cept them as contraversion of sworn testimony would brand those giving such testimony as unworthy of cred- ence. Among those who would be thus l branded are men in the military and naval service of the United States. It
 is impossible to accept the mere state
 ment of General Wood, made prior to his departure for the Philippines and
 covering only a part of the matters at
 issue, in preference to this sworn evil dence. Some of the testimony given by
 these witnesses has cast serious reffec-
 ton upon the veracity of General Wood,
 and it would appear that neither he nor the Senate, which is asked to con- l firm his appointment, should rest con-
 tent until he has been given opportun- ity to disprove, specifically, and under oath, the damaging statements made on
 oath concerning his conduct. The facts
 to which attention will be called would
 honor of the army would seem to de-
 mand it.'