New-York tribune., 1909-02-10
USE WALLIS AS PAWN
SENATOR'S TRY TO DIS
CREDIT GOVERNOR.
Insurance Nan at Hearing Presents
Statement and Then Is Grilled by
Grady, GrattGe and Big Tim.
tBy Telegraph to The TrIbune.I

tan and big Tim sullivan, at q meeting VI IiiS
Senate Insurance Committee. to-day put into
execution what looked like a concerted plan to
attack and discredit Governor Hughes at every
conceivable point. AS a second exhibition OF
the tactics of the bipartisan alignment Of Sen
! ators against Governor Hughes it was un1nis-
| taxable; but the enimus Of the entire proceeding
was so obvious that the Senators overreached
| themselves. and the only impression left on the
| minds Of most of the audience was the length
| 20 which the anti Hughes men would go.
Mr.. Wallis thought he going to get his
desired opportunity to refute charges against him
growing out of the brief time his name was
under consideration for Superintendent OF In
surance. The committee did not care much
| about that. He was permitted 10 read a pre-
pared statement giving his defence-and a good
one. Then those Senators turned loose battery
| Of questions intended to show that Governor
Hughes, believing himself to be in an embarras-
sing position, because Of the charges against his
| appointed, had coerced Mr Wallis into with
| drawing his name.
| Singly and together they endeavored to get
| the witness to give details Of his interview with
! the Governor at the Executive Mansion at the
| time his letter OF withdrawal was written When
| he made it plain that he considered this inter
| view confidential. and seemed TO be shielding
| somebody questions cunningly framed to leave
| the inference that he trying protect the
| Governor hurled at him The idea that
somebody besides Governor Hughes might have
wanted him to withdraw from a position Of
strife never seemed to occur to them. When
| Senator Grady and Senator Grattan had ex-
| hausted their inqusitorial skill Senator John
| Raines. who acted with Grady in the rejection
of Herbert E. Cook as minority member of the
Highways Commission. prompted his Democratic
| ally, until even he refused to make further in
| terrogatiOn.
| No. no, John" he said in an aside audible
| through the Senate Chamber, I've gone far
enough"
| STRESS ON WALIIS'S LETTER
Much stress was laid on Mr. WaIIiss letter TO
| the Governor requesting the withdrawal of his
| name and the phrase political opposition" in
| that letter. Ingenious efforts were made to
| show that this letter was forced from him by
| the Governor, and that the idea Of political op-
| position 10 him insted in his mind by the
| Governor. These notions in half a. dozen forms
| MI Wallis refuted. He declared fatty that he
wrote the letter, and withdrew voluntarily
not because he afraid of the charges
half hedged-which had been made against
| him. but rather because he did not want to form
| the bone of any sort of contention He ai-
| mitted that the phrase political opposition
! was unhappy and disclaimed any intent to give
| offence by it But he maintained stoutIy that
no idea of politics came to him from the Gov
| ernor.
- The drift Of this whole proceeding was so
| manifest that Senator Harvey Hinman. of Bfng-
| hamton who at the Executive Mansion
| through part of the Wallis interview, tonight
made this formal statement:
! Mr. Wallis, with his counsel in q room by
themselves for a long time composed that letter
| and suggestion made to him to change
| it by so much the dotting Of 1 the
crossing Of a Z"
The rough draft of the letter was shown to the
| committee. 1t showed by erasures, crossing out
| of words and interltneations the and time
spent in its writing. and bore out Mr.. Walis's
statements TO the committee that he was per-
turbed and fustered at the storm Of which he
found himself the centre.
TAKE NO ACTION ON HOTCHKIss.
It may or may not be significant that the In
surance Committee took no steps to-day toward
! considering the confirmation William Horace
| Hotchkss appointed Insurance Superintendent
| by the Governor No indication given when
this question would be taken up.
Mr.. Wallis's formal defence was soon disposed
of The interesting discovery made that in
the compilation of material in the files Of the
! Insurance Department important letter
pressly giving Superintendent Kelsey's consent
TO holding two places had been overlooked or
omitted in some fashion
After that. which did not cause ripple in the
committee, Senator Grattan asked little about
how Mr. Wallis came to Oe chosen by the Gov
ernor. and Mr. Wallis related the circumstances.
| Senator Grattan wanted to know if any pressure
had caused him TO withdraw his name. Mr.
| Wallis said there was general pressure
Il didn't think you'd weaken declared big
Tim Sullivan You've answered all these
questions very nicely. and you didn't weaken.
1t was somebody else
Senator Grady declared that the committee
wanted to give Mr. Wallis full opportunity to
refute the ideas that he had away and quit
| under fire
You didn't withdraw from fear Of these dis
closures?" leered Big Tim"
Absolutely not" answered Wallis.
DO you think you offended the Governor by
vvithdrawing?" queried Senator Grady amid a
General laugh Mr.. Wallis said he had COM
rnunfcated with the Governor since, hardly
was in a position to answer
QUESTION IN VARIOUS FORMS.
was any suggestion made that night at the
! Executive Mansion except that you withdraw"
asked Senator Grady He repeated that ques-
tion in various forms. as Mir, Wallis showed un-
Willingness to answer. Finally the insurance
| man said
Il thought with these papers coming up in the
| Senate there would he big debate and oppos-
| tfon and stir thought the Governor would not
| want that So ! said casually to somebody.
How, could that be avoided@ And somebody I
| don't remember who. said, Well if you sidestep
it,u keep these papers out of the discussion
Later I said I sorry my name had not been
| ,,{tbdrawn."