The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1905-07-13

iiiSOu.-AS Inc IcSuII VI thS
investigated of the secret service
agents into be charge made by Rich
"io oneath4 secretary of the South
ern Cotton POWERS Association, that
,ilormatlontad been given to cotton
brokers' IN bw York by some person
VI persons Injected with the bureau
=. sIalstlc3f the department OF ag-
,iculture, SEetary Wilson made pub
az an oifici$report in which he states
that EdwiS. Holmes. the associate
s,a'lstlcianAas been guilty of jug
sLng it Is been found that Mr..
holmes coAunicated advance infor-
matlon to c. Van Ripper, New
1ofk brokk and M. Haas of New
1ork who, T. Van Ripper said, acted
as go-bets EN- to conveying informa-
zion from lines to other New York
brokers', iiuding Theodore Price
oteps havfaken by Secretary Will
son to preht any further leakage of
the departent figures and an entire
reorganizdon of the bureau Of stat
lstlcs and tanner of preparing month
ly crop rborts has been outlined by
nm. Thu Diapers in connection with
The lnves cation were referred to the
United Safes attorney for the Dis
trlct Of Columbia, and he has report
ed that il his opinion a criminal pros
ecution Will not lie against Holmes
Holmes bis been dismissed from the
service ofthe department.
The charges by Mr.. Cheatham were
backed up with evidence that certain
information had been given to cotton
brokers in New York by some person
or persons employed in the bureau of
statistics, relative to the acreage and
condition Of the cotton crop Of the
United States prior to the official pub
LEGATION of the information and that
the crop figures had been tempered
with in the department in the inter-
est Of certin cotton speculatiors
Secretary Wilson determined at once
upon thorough investigation and fur
nlshed the officers Of the United
States secret service all Of the evil
dence which had been given to the de-
partment. The agents then were put
IN touch with Mr.. Cheatham and d.
.rected. to use every possible effort to
i,
leak in the department and if so to
furnish the secretary with the name
Of the person or persons responsible.
Holmes is the only employee Of the
government who has been found to
have had any connection with sup
plying information to brokers prior to
the publication Of the official report.
After reviewing the charges Sec
, rotary Wilson gives summary Of tes-
stimony adduced before secret service
agents. Mr.. Van Ripper, the New York
broker, xader examination said he be-
came acquainted with Holmes in New
York in August, 1904, through a
"mutual friend.' According to this
testimony, Holmes told Van Ripper he
could get information concerning the
government crop report probably
through the report of the general
agents and the reports of the state
lagents. Van Ripper said Holmes fur
nished him with information from
time to time, for several months in ad-
vance of the publication of official
figures and that the information fur
nished by Holmes correspondent exact
ly with the figures afterward publish
Fed by the bureau as the official crop
reports. Van Ripper stated that Haas
sof. New York, acted as a go between
gfor Holmes and himself, and was CIV
Zen to understand that Haas was secur-
/ ing information for Theodore Price,
a cotton broker of New York. The
witness said that he met Haas at the
Hotel Waldorf and was told by him
chat the report for June, 1905, would
be rs per cent on condition and IL
y or / per cent on acreage which was
5 bearish as they could make it and
that he was going to see Price with
whom he would have an interview and
ganted to see Van Ripper after he saw
Price; that in about an hour Haas
Salled on him and said that at the re-
luest Of Price he was going to Wash
ngton to see if they could not get the
percentage a little higher and the
acreage little smaller to make the re-
port more bearish. Van Ripper testi-
led that the official report previously
iven him and that he took this mean
hat the effort to influence the report
ad. succeeded.
The letters produced by Van Ripper
rhich he alleged were written by
[olmes, were ell signed with the in
ial TIL"
Most of these letters were for the
Tunnel Under Mississippi.
Ct Touis. -TncOrnOration nanors