The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1910-04-12
BUIBE PROBERS
BEGIN INQUIRY
Will Investigate Methods En-
pIoyed By Telephone Lobby,
SULLIVAN WILL CONDUCT WORK

For Work In Hand-Langdon Sc
lected as Chairman and Russell!
Secretary Of Committee That viii
Examine Every Member of House
Relative to Eison Telephone Bill.
Columbus, o., April S.-Representa.
tive Howard w. Pears of Allen coun.
ty, in his testimony before the house
committee investigating charges Of
bribery in connection with the pas.
sage of the Elson telephone merger
bill through the house. named Simon
Cronin, an employe of the Bell Tele.
phone company in charge of the
booths in the smoking room of the
house, as the man who offered him
500 to vote for the measure.
Cronin, who is a resident of Akron,
emphatlcally denies the charge and
says he is willing to appear before
the committee and make his denial
under oath However, the commit.
tee will not grant his request, accord
ing to one member. To do so, he
says, would give Cronin immunity
from prosecution. The requests of
Lewie Bernard and John Murphy of
Cincinnati will also be turned down
according to this member.
At first Pears fatty refused to
name the alleged briber, saying that
his attorney had advised him that It
would do no good, as the investiga-
tion would result in a farce, but after
being given time to consider the
matter named Cronin as the man.
Smith contradlcts Elson.
Representative w. T. Smith of Ma
rion fatty contradicted the testimony
given before the bribery investigat-
ing committee by Representative Asa
w. Elson, author of the telephone
merger bill. Elson swore that no.
body had assisted him In drafting the
measure.
"Elson's and my desk adjoin, and
in more than one conI ersation about
the Elson bill, Elson told me that
for the Citizens Telephone company,
the Independent system controlled by
the j. Z. Morgan interests, had help
ed him draw the bill" Smith testi-
fed.
Smith, as a member of the house
committee on railroads and tele-
graphs. told how Elson had managed
TO get his bill out of committee. Gle
said 1t was just little telephone bill
referring to local conditions in his
own county" said Smith "a major.
ity Of the committee voted to report
the bill on the understanding that
the Woods public utilities bill would
be passed first. Later this was not
done"
Representative Degenhart of Gin
clnnati told of his regret that he had
voted for the bill, because of the ru-
mors that money had been used to
procure its passage. He said that
he wanted to clear himself and had
announced that he would move for a
reconsideration of the vote by which
the bill was passed. On Thursday
following the passage, the Iast day
on which the vote could be reconsid.
cred, he tried twice unsuccesfully to
get the floor and then made an ar.
rangement with the speaker to be
recognized. The house does not
usually adjourn until between 5 and
6, and shortly after he was called
to the hall outside by John Murphy,
telephone representative from CinCin.
natl, and they were joined a few min.
utes later by Representative Bren.
ner. Both urged him not to make
the motion to reconsider. He would
not be persuaded and Brenner wont
back into the house while Murphy
continued the conversation. When
Degenhart got away u few minutes
later he found that the house had
Just adjourned, an hour earlier than
Usual, and that the last chance TO re-
consider had been lost
Woods Springs Sensation.
The testimony of Representative
Frank Woods Of Medina county ere,
ated sensation. Representative
Fred Morltz of Cleveland told me he
had been offered $50 by another
member of the house TO vote against
motion to reconsider the Elson
merger bill" Woods testified. 81
asked him II he could prove It, and
he said nobody was present and over
heard the offer"
The house judiciary committee has
reported favorably the Spiegel bill
which makes II manslaughter for the
driver OF an automobile to kill per,
son through reckless driving.
In the senate Mr., Deaton's bills au-
thorizing the detachment of Cedar
Point from Sandusky and to enable
Cedar Point to incorporate as sep
arate municipality were passed
Among the hills introduced in the
senate was one by Mr.. Patterson OF
Ashland abollshlng the state fire mar.
shal's ofllce.
Two new state normal school build,
ings for northern Ohio received i'm.
petus when the senate passed the
| bill OF Representative Lowry of Hen.
ry county providing a commission to