The morning journal-courier., 1908-03-21
Congressman, Home for Two Days Rest, Declares Five of the Accusations
 Confirmed.
HAS FLING AT COMMITTEE.
Testimony Switched to Irrelevant Tecmicalities Whenever Proof of Corruption is En-
 countercd.

WdlerDury, March 20.-COngreSS- man George l.. Lilley returned to this city tonight from Washington for a rest of two days, which he said he needed. I've never had to work so hard and continuously in my life." he said, ''as during the past two weeks. With the. odds so heavily against me. only the knowledge that my constitu- ents had faith in my motives has en- abled me to keep up the fight, and their loyalty as expressed by the Con- necticut press has touched me deep- ly.
 T didn't come home to talk, and don't want to talk, but if you insist upon knowing what think about this muss that has been kicked up about submarines. I have this to say: The public has only partial knowledge of the proceedings before the inves- tgating. committee. because the press associations have reported them very inadequately. The omissions have been as important as the matter they have published to the country.
 Not line, for instance, came out yesterday about the testimony of Erly, the former newspaper correspondent, who admitted not only that he is now drawing $6 8 day as secretary of congressional committee for doing nothing, and of his confession on the stand that he and Congressman Broussard, one of the judges in this investigation, discussed me over the bariof Washington saloon the other night.
 q believe l have proved to the sat- isfaction of any impartial jury, five of the six charges made:
 First, that the Electric Boat Co. has maintained for years large and expensive lobby at Washington.
 Second, that an attorney for that company was the author of the meas ure providing for submarine boats that passed the senate in 1907.
 Third, that the lobby subsidized newspaper men to peddle tainted news and lecturers to shout war scares to promote the purchase of submarines.
 Fourth. that lawyers have been un- der retainer and used In the districts of members of the naval committee to influence their votes.
 Fifth, thlt the Electric Boat Co., lobby has represented 10 members of congress that 1t could get them com mittee appointments through its pull with the speaker.
 My sixth charge-that the Electric Boat Co. has contributed to the cam pagn funds of members of the naval committee I will prove if they will bring out the books of the company, give me a chance to put an auditor on them, and let my lawyers cross ex- amine the officers of the corporation.
 Without this privilege of looking at the books and going deep into the testimony by cross examination the investigation. so-called, must be more or less of failure. leave 1t to the public to say whose fault that will be. This privilege of cross examination throgh counsel has not before been denied the meanest criminals in any civilized country since the middle ages.
 Not only the shell of this thing has been punctured at present When the committee hits nerve-whcn it gets to a vein that promises real knowledge of corrupt or reprchens- ble practices, it switches off onto technical discussion about submarine boat capacities or something as ir- relevant as that"
 Are the detectives still on your track?" MT. Lilley was asked. Not 60 many of 'em, anyway" he said There were twelve at one time--so many tha; they got in each others way. It didn't bother me much, but don't you think it strange that twelve detectives should be put on my trail by company that has nothing to conceal ?''
 Washington. March 20.-In sup port of his assertion that more than s1,000.000 in unnecessary profits has been paid by the United States gov ernment to the Electric Boat Co.,. in the purchase of submarine torpedo boats, and that similar high profits are contemplated in contracts it is proposed to award to that company, Representative .Lillcy of Connecticut, has preparcdd for submission to the special submarine investigation com mittee of the house certain state ments. comparisons and conclusions
 Regarding this Mir. I.illey said. Easing calculations upon the figure of dnliral Bowles, which he says would give a handsome profit to the builders of the Holland boat-namcly. sS9,459 for l21 ton boat or s745.45 per ton--it will readily be seen hy comparative statements that there has been an extra handsome profit of s1,- 519.73s since the United States con tracted for the first Holland boat, the Plunger, in March 1899. and it will be seen that the excessive profits to be made on the eight boats which it Is now proposed to buy from the Electric Boat company would be s1.471.5 .520.