Arizona republican., 1904-01-07

| less. He called attention to the con- gressional inquiries into the official conduct of MT. Machen, while he was superintendent of free delivery.
 Beth the senate and house investi- gated Machen." he said, ''at the very time in which he was engaged in the practices for which he was in dicted as a result of the departments Inquiry and both cleared him of the charges upon which the inquiry was predicated."
 MT. Carmack implicitly denied any intention on his part to reflect on the | postmaster general but contended that all that had been brought out empha- sized the necessity for investigation.
 Mir. German said he was willing to have all the resolutions calling for an | investigation of the postoffice depart ment referred to the committee on | postoffices and post roads, as he had received assurances from the chair man that prompt action would be talk en. In this connection, however he said, he wanted to Crll attention to the fact that all of the facts on this sub ject had emphasized the necessity for an investigation of the postoffice de- partment. He said he had no desire to investigate any particular officer; that he believed the investigation should be much broader than that as the irregu- larities had crept in by degrees and corruption possibly had been extended through three or more administrations. It now has reached the point. he said, where men who are corrupt themslvs, have disclosed the corruption of the others.
 My purpose" he added, lis not so much to expose this corruption as by the action of congress to make pro- tective laws to eliminate the chance of such corruption in the future in the postoffice department"
 MT. Spooner asked if MT. German would not be willing to supplement that suggestion by calling on congress for thorough Investigation of all the departments at stated periods.
 MT. German answered that he would be willing, but for the present he was content to deal with the question in hand
 Continuing, he declared that the cor= ruptiOn was not d party matter; that the present postmaster general could not have been responsible for the state of affairs in his department as it started before he entered upon his duties at the head of the department.
 He declared that it had been the policy of the president to ignore his cabinet ministers in this matter, and had given credit for the exposure in the postoffice department to M. C.. Seckendorff and William Allen White, newspaper men, of sagacity.
 The senator expressed his willing ness to do justice to the president. Fin this time of trouble in his official household" but he said he could not understand why republicans in the senate had consistently refused to give to the minority official information concerning the department.
 He declared that the determination to ignore the wishes of the minority had been manifest at this session for the first time since he had been a member Of the senate. He called at tention to the resolutions introduced by himself, MT. Carmack and by MT. Penrose asking for the Bristow reports of the postoffice investigation and he declared that every effort to get this information had been thwarted by re- publicans.
 A severe denunciation of the charge of suppression 2 of information was made by MT. Lodge who said he was thoroughly tired of that old weazened story which had been made over and over again by senators on the other side of the chamber. He said it is true that the republicans had nearly two thirds of the members of the senate and he wanted to inform the other side that they were thoroughly re- sponsible for their conduct of affairs and that as they were responsible they proposed to conduct their affairs in their own way.
 He said: We are not afraid of day light: We are not afraid of the senator from Maryland and least of all we are not afraid of that old time worn story of the suppression of public informa- tion."
 MT. Teller arraigned MT. Lodge for the statement that the republicans were responsible for the government by saving that he wanted to place his caveat on the boast that the repub- lican caucus would do business for the senate.
 NIT. Spooner denied that the repub- licans had a caucus.
 MT. Spooner wanted to know if the democrats who voted for the Cuban bill were controlled by republicans,
 
 ocrats were divided according to their individual beliefs.
 MT. SpOoner said that the republican caucuses do not bind the consciences of senators any more now than they did when MT. Teller was a member of that party. The duty of senators, MT. Spooner continued, was to serve the interests of the whole country and for himself he would not consent to hold a seat in the senate if he was to be controlled by others.
 MT. Teller recalled that MT. Spooner had cast many independent votes, but he thought that in late years there had been a growing tendency on the republican side of the chamber to con- solidate. He spoke of the duty of the senators to act in accordance with their own convictions, when MT. Bur- ton interrupted him to ask if he had reference to the recent decision of the democratic caucus for party solidity on questions, coming before the sen ate.
 MT. Teller replied by saying that