The morning journal-courier., 1908-05-21

flecting upon the honor and integrity
Of members OF this house.
Fourteenth--That Mr., Lilley acted
Ia contempt OF this house In not dis
avowing openly upon the floor Of the
house the letter to Goff, published
over his signature, rejecting upon the
honor and integrity of members Of
this house.
"'Fifteenth-That no official Of the
navy has been induced by the officers
Of the Electric Boat company or any
one else, to act In his official capacity
from corrupt or improper motives,
''SlXteenth-That Mr.. Lilley's
charge of excessive profits sin the
submarine contracts was based on
fictitious figures, composed by an
agent of the Lake Torpedo Boat COM
pany by perversion of the testimony
Of Admiral Bowles in 1902.
'Seventeenth-That the charge that
an excessive profit In the submarine
contracts was due to special and ex-
elusive legislation in favor of one
company was false, and Mr.. Lilley
knew that the charge was false when
he made 1t.
"Eighteenth-Tha no representa-
tives Of the press have been bribed or
corrupted by the Electric Boat COM
pany,
"Nineteenth--That no member of
the committee on naval affairs has
beens induced by the officers OF the
Electric Boat company or any one
else to act In his official capacity
from corrupt or improper motives.
"Twentieth-That no member Of
this house has been induced by the Of
fcers of the Electric Boat company
or any one else to act in his official
capacity from corrupt or improper
motives.
Twenty frst-That the only two
attorneys employed by the Electric
Boat company in, the districts of
members Of the naval committee, and
remote from the business of said COM
pany, did not exercise a corrupting
influence upon either Mr.. Lilley or
Mr.. Loud, In whose districts they
| lived.
"Twenty-second-That no campaign
or other contributions were made by
the Electric Boat company to any
member of the house or to any cam
palgn committee or fund of any polit-
ical party,
"Twenty-third-T Mr.. Lillev has
sworn repeatedly, including his last
appearance before the committee, that
he had no further suggestions, facts
or sources Of information and that
he had withheld from the committee
nothing that would tend to sustain
his charges"
In the first paragraph OF Its report
the committee declares that Mr.. Lii
ley's charges were not sincerely made.
This extract of his statement before
the committee on rules Is given and
on 1t the committee hangs its open
ing opinion:
This Electric Boat company has
been a stencil in the nostrils of the
country for years, and, in my opin-
ion, It has done more to corrupt legis-
latlon than all the other corporations
/
this house is of the very highest quail
ity, and that they are the best men
usually from the districts from which
they come. But with flock of asa
here It would be strange " there were
not sheep In II that did not have foot.
rot or scabies." Here the committee
adds
In,,, ,et~ Il
that the motive Is neither vel
grounded nor sincere and that GER
tain secondary and Interior motive,
kinstigated and encouraged the intro
duction of the resolution"
In the opinion OF the committed
there was nothing In the resolution
submitted by Mr.. Jilley 10 the house
on February 20, and referred to the
committee on rules, that merited ar
Investigation or even consideration
OF the resolution by the committe,
on rules To establish reasons FOL
this belief the committee calls attcn
ton to the peculiar wording of the
resolution itself II does not contain
any charges. but merely calls for {
sweeping investigation of the Elcctri,
Boat company
Action on the part of the hous,
was made necessary, the committe,
observes. by the publication Of news
paper articles purporting to give in
terviews with Mr.. Lilley In which h
charged the Electric Boat eompan
with bribery and corruption an,
coupled members of the house witt
these charges, and mentioned severa
members by name. The select com
mittee says that the grounds upo'
which the committee on rules report
ed It's resolution directing It's invest
cation are to be found In IN
charges that Mr. billey made In hi
first statement before the committe
on rules and In one newspaper inter
view which he acknowledged as au
thentic. Such grave charges, tn
committee says, made by Mr.. Lille
on his responsibility as member o
tho house could not be ignored. IN,
Lilleys singular attitude toward III
investigation which his charges ha
lnstigated." the report continues. hi
somewhat incoherent and irrelevan
statements to the committee and hi
unwillIngness to give the commtte
those facts on which his charge
were based. and which they though
he ought to be quick to impart, puz
zled the committee more az the tim
than they would have done had tn
committee known what the evidenc
subsequently disclosed, that Mr.. Lille
: expected, when he introduced his res
olution. to be made chairman Of tn