The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-03-25

the postmaster general instructed me
| to send certain telegram to Mr.. Dice.
United States District Attorney Dyer
here offered the telegram referred to in
evidence, but the court refused to ad-
nit It.
| Q.-When did you next see Senator
Burton when this matter was referred
| to?
| At was on February. 5 believe,
at his office in the senate annex.
Q.-How did that come about?
A--Col. Smith, Senator Buttons sec
rotary, teleDhoned me to call at the
senator's office on my way home if it
was convenient, and | did so.
Q.-What was said2
A-Senator Burton showed me a tel
egram from Mr.. Harlan, saying they
/ could not get possession of the books,
and that Col. Dyer had said the gov
eminent had no further use for them.
Senator Burton asked me to order the
books given up. l would not make the
order
Q.-What did Burton say, if any
thing, relative to practicing before the
department?
Ale said, cochran, I want to
appear in this and other cases before
the department, but I won't antag-
onizc the department but VIII work
for a harmonious adjustment of dit
ferences." He said if he could make
some money that way he wanted to DO
/ it. He said he had lost heavily during
the panic, and had paid back am
not sure that he specified the time, but
1 believe it was since he had become
senator-he had paid $4,000 of debts
for which he was not legally liable lie
also said that if he went too far in
this sort of thing he wanted me to
warn him. He said he had asked an
other senator about it and had been
assured there was no Improperly IN
doing as he was doing.
Q.-When did you next see Senator
Burton when this matter was talked
of?
until he was indicted. On the after
noon of the day the indictment was
made public Colonel Smith asked me
to call on the senator ard DID SO
with Mr.. Vickery, the inspector IN
charge at Cincinnati. He started to
talk to me about the Indictment, but 1
told him that 1 thought it would be
only fair for me to warn MIN tnat L
had been called before tie grand jury
with reference to his case and would
perhaps be a witness against him, but
he insisted on discussing his indlct-
ment anyway. He asked what law he
was accused of violating. l said L
had not seen the indictment but I'M
derstood it was section 1882 of the re-
vised statutes. He asked what it was
about and [ told him 1T was very
broad but in general prohibited mem
bers of congress from accepting ices
for pracdclng sDetOre the departments:
He said he had done the same sort Oh
thing in the pension bureau that he
had in the postoffice department and
he did not see where he had violated
the law.
Hector c. McRae, comptroller of the
Rialto Grain and Securities company,
detailed a conversation between Bur
ton. Mahaney, the vice president of the
concern, and himself at the office of
the company. The witness quoted Ma
4 TOW tf0fl
had severed his connection with tbs
company. and he had paid him I'D to
date, and that the senator had felt
that he was not earning his fees IN
view of the fact that there had been
nothing doing for some time past, and
that everything had been cleaned up in
| the department. Before leaving Sem
ator Burton gave Mr.. Mahaney his ad-
dress and said he was always at hand
| if the company required him, and the
question of retaining fee was spoken of.