The Daily Missoulian., 1909-01-27
RAINEY CHARGES CONSPIRACY
AND TREASURY OF UNCLE SAM
Accuses Cromwell Farnam and c. Taft of Being Parties
Infamous Railroad Proposition Ever Made Government
| Impugnes Motives of W. H. Taft and Roosevelt

Washington, Jan. 26.--Charging that
William Nelson Cromwell. Roger L.
Farnham, Charles P. Taft and others
are parties to the most infamous
railroad proposition ever submitted to
any government" and that they ARE
being permitted not only to rob the
republic of Panama but indirectly the
treasury of the United States, Repre-
sentative Rainey of Illinois today di-
rected the searchlight of publicity
upon the affairs in the canal zone
in a startling speech in support of his
resolution providing for an tnvestiga-
ton by congress of the Panama
canal.
'In their efforts in this direction, -
he continued, they have had. so far,
the complete cooperation and active
assistance of the present administra-
ton and of the next president of ;he
United States"
Mr.. Rainey traced the history OF Tie
proposed canal 400 years back and
warned that I'VE have already started
in the direction of the rocks upon
which the French companies We're
wrecked"
Referring to the governments libe.
suit against the New York World
and grand jury Investigations now
under way in this cit. and in New
York, Mr.. Rainey said:
Avoid Graft.
"If we are to carry this project
%1 cat
must avoid graft 1t is not the part
of wise craftsmanship to dispose of
resolutions asking for al investiga-
tion of any phase Of the canal ques-
tion with the sweeping and absolutely
unsupported official declaration that
there Is nothing 20 investigate. 1t Is
not the part of the sound statesman
ana true patriotism to attempt to re-
vive the obsolete common law GUS
toms Of 200 years ago and to employ
all the tremendous agencies OF the
government in attempting to crush the
newspapers Whic!, nave had the cour-
age to call attention to a questiona-
BILE transaction in connection with the
canal"
Mr.. Rainey was particularly bitter
in his denunciatlon of Mr.. Cromwell,
general counsel for the new French
Panama Canal company and counsel
and director of the Panama railroad,
which is owned by the United States
government. He charged that
through the manipulations of Mr..
Cromwell the French Canal company
was permitted to steal from the Unit
ed States government 100000 or ST.
10000" and that after he had be-
came an officer in fact of the United
States, he became a party to an at
tempt to collect from the United
States fraudulent claim on the part
of the canal company Of $4,000 000.' .
Very Corrupt.
He also was unsparing in his at
tack up on Don Jose Domingo de
Obaldia, president of Panama, who.
he said, represented "as no other Span
ish state in his generation. all that
Is corrupt in Spanish American poll
tics"
Without Obaldia," ne stated,
Cromwell's career would have been
impossible. without Cromwell, Obal-
dia would have been impossible"
Against President elect Taft, now
en- route to the canal zone, Mr.. Rainey
directed the accusation that on the oc-
casion Of his last trip to Panama in
May che did nothing on the isthmus
except to openly push the candidacy
of Obaldia for the presidency"
He asserted that very thinly veled
threat to seize the republic If Obal-
dia was not elected was contained in
a letter written by Mr.. Taft to the
then president, Amador, and that to