Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-14
Dangerous as a Snake.

| so under its constitution we nave IlOt
| in the federal Constitution any such pro-
hibition.
Dangerous as a Snake.
These corridors have been-probably
| more in days gone by than now-infested
| with lot of slick and Shiny self-seeking
individuals seeking to profit by the con-
fidence that men here assembled exhibit
in their constituents and in those who
petition here in good faith for relief. A
character such as this Bieber, who comes
forward again and again behind commit
tee doors. insidiously and continuously
pressing his claim, not in any public in
terest, but for private gain, is just about
as dangerous in the presence or seen In
the company of a public man as an ordi-
nary Montana rattlesnake near your cot
at night. This is the class of people who
make 1t business to trade on their sup
posed acquaintance with public men. one
of them will approach you in the street.
manage to walk with you a block, and
then go out and point to the fact that he
Is on chummy terms with you; and SO
pointing out. will seek TO profit, When
your acquaintance with him is limited and
your confidence does not exist at all. This
sort of creature when foiled in his pur-
pose or detected from his course shows
the venom fang of the reptile
"The Abe Ruef of the City"
iuIFiuudl, HISDSt, SccHiS
to be an expert hand. 1 am informed
he had himself placed on the retirement
roll of the firemans fund in the District
of Columbia at $40 per month for life on
the ground that he was totally disabled.
If he were III possession of all his faculties
and full strength. think really he would
get the Capitol away from us in very
short time. Uaughter) So there is some
compensation in this mans misfortune
and disability. He appears to me, from
the general description, to be the Abe
Ruef of the city eff Washington-capable,
slick, INSCRIPTIONS and persistent. trading
upon his acquaintance and imposing upon
the confidence of men, and obtaining for
himself unconscionable advantage through
enactments surreptitiously passed in the
closing hours of a session Of Congress.
Now, Mr. President, in order to es
cape, this individual here in question
would have it understood that all the land
might not reach as broad an area as
claimed and might not strike at vital
public interests as deeply as claimed, but
that is not the fault of Mr.. Bieber. He
did the best he could. and 1 venture to
predict that if he had not been discovered
he would have come back again to get
! another slice Of this country along the
AnacOstia river. which. according to gov
eminent projects, is to be improved by the
expenditure of something like $3,OOOOOO of
United States in taxation. If he does not
threaten to cut off the navy yard with the
bill we have voted to repeal 1t is so much
the better for the government, but it Is no
credit to him, because he got all he could.
Tax-Title Sharks.
FINALLY, Mr.. President / think this
ought to lead to clear understanding
here that a gang of tax-title sharks, said
to have been operating in this District for
long time, should be in some manner,
by the District authorities. disposed of
and rendered innocuous. at least. This
great government of ours is an impassive
though mighty force. If it's public OFF,
GERS do not protect it. it will be plundered.
The most extreme vigilance is evidently
which has no legislature of its own. in
order to protect private right and pubic
property as well.
II wish that Mr.. Wayne MacVeagh.
through whose pamphlet or brief tn .se
| facts were brought to light, might get
due credit. Notwithstanding the fact that
he happened to be the employe of cor
sure that every one desiring to
prosecute an inquiry into this matter will
| be interested in reading what he wrote.
| War to hold the enactment of 1907 up.
| and in his own language, as quoted to
me, the Secretary ordered the Sidney
Bieber bill to be kicked about the depart
ment until Congress could further con-
slider it. 1t was first passed from one
division of the War Department to
| torney General for an opinion as to
whether the Secretary of War was COM
PEELED by the act to make any conveyance
at all. | ask, Mr. President. that that
| statement, which is instructive and eX-
haustive. be printed as document, to the
end that any one desiring to become
familiar with the facts as set forth by
Mr.. Wayne MacVeagh may do SO. l ask
| that it be printed only down to the APP
| pendix.
Cloud ON the Title.
| One of the most interesting portions of
Mr. Carter's speech referred to section p
of the public building act of 1906, by
which section Mr. Bieber was given an
additional grant of government land.
Now, Mr.. President, this block was
subsequently conveyed by the War De-
partment. having been surveyed as re-
ouired by the bill. and the conveyance
was made by the department for the sum
| of $1,000 The block is 2SJ feet by BOG
feet. The bill was passed to remove what
was denominated a cloud on the title of
the block, the title being claimed by Mr.
| Bieber. The cloud on the title was Gre
ated by the deciding of the block before 1t
was surveyed. by a man who had no more
| claim to it than the man in the moon
to a woman whose name appears on the
| District records as the grantee This
woman listed the lot for taxes 1t was
| sold for taxes by the District Commits
| sioners, and repeated sales occurred until
finally the various tax titles became
| merged in the grantee from the govern
ment under the act of Congress, Mr.
Bieber.
| There is some semblance of shadow or
claim of righteousness to that legislation
notwithstanding it may be justly alleged
| that the tax title had it's inception in
fraud and that the fraud was consum-
s.sa,ed when the transaction was accom-
,lished by alternating the title OF the
United States to perfect the mere shadow
| which MIR. Bieber'S title constituted.
LAS to that there can be no complaint,
however, because, as alleged. there was