The Minneapolis journal., 1906-03-29

the better element was unfavorabie 10
him in Shanghai.
Charge number one relates to alleged
illegal fees for probating Will; the
second to the false registration of .the
steamship Kiangsi, and is made !the
subject of an extended report; another,
the improper issuance of passports.
list of fees not accounted for is still
another given.
AS to MIR. Goodnow.
As to the Goodnow charges, Mr..
Peirce says:
"I propose to submit to you the re-
suit of my Investigations ON serious and
well-sustained charges which give evil
dence of corruption in office. If Mr..
Goodnow is unable either to refute or
explain them they appear to disqualify
him from holding the responsible posi-
tion of consul general of the United
States at Shanghai.
"Mr. Goodnow is man of strong
character and marked ability, and it
must be admitted that in many respects
he has performed the duties of his of
flee exceedingly well. Ny investiga-
tion showed me that he had many warm
friends and also many strong enemies
in Shanghai, but on the whole the opin-
| ion of the better element was lnfavor-
able to him.
Moral Standing Low.
CT find many ugly rumors rejecting
| upon Consul General Goodnow's moral
| standing, but as these were matters Of
gossip and hearsay / have not felt it
proper to include them in the charges,
but / may say it is unfortunate that
an official occupying such responsible
! position should be the subject of such
scandalous reports: The employment OF
such men as White and Derby is In
itself discreditable. If there were moth
ing else to be said regarding them. they
are men whose language in the Offices
is grossly indecent and profane. White
has resigned, but Derby remains as mar
shall ~.
Then. follow the charges. The first,
the will case, the report says, would
indicate that the consul general or some
one in his office acted as an attorney
before his own court and collected the
fees as official court fees. None OF
these fees, it is stated. has been ac-
counted for to the department.
The transfer of the ship Kiangsi to
i American register, the next charge,
occurred during the Boxer troubles.
1t states that, at this time Mr.. Good
now placed Chinese vessels under the
American flag, the vessels being osten-
reporting these transfers Mr.. Goodnow
took occasion to say that in each case
the money specified in the bill cf sale
was passed ,eVer-in his presence.
Like High Finance. :
Mr.. Peirce< here remarks:
, "The sale of five large steamers by
: a rich corporation to one of its en-
{ ployees, a man known to have only
: moderate means, could hardly. fail TO
, arouse suspicion, especially so when
, the seller had so much to gain by
: placing the vessels under a foreign
: flag. :.
Goodnow made any Investigations to
satisfy himself Of the facts, but that
,, the transfer Of these vessels was fraud
. ulent is placed practically beyond dis
y pute by the fact that On Jan. 80, 1902,
Captain knights transferred the ves-
! ! sells back to the China Merchants
u u Steam Navigation company
= The improper issuance Of passports
= is the next charge and several specific
' instances given.
sNMuch more grave is the evidence
/ that Mr.. Goodnow was using the great
judicial powers, which the law has in
vested our consuls in China with to
/ obtain improperly large sums of money
: for himself. The evidence of this IL
y certain cases is SO strong that cenclu
e sive evidence in rebuttal on Mr.. Good
: now's part is necessary to acquit hil1
> Of the charge of maalfea g sRaIlee sal = 4