The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-05-12

The fact that thlrIeen witnesses
were examined may have nothing
whatever to do with the failure Of the
committee to reach any convicting
conclusions. The committee winds UP
fits report by saying that 1t makes no
recommendations because it was not
authorized to do so.
Among the thirteen witnesses ex-
amined there were not more than four
who gave testimony Of a character
even interesting. The story told by
Representative Wall himself was made
public before he went before the COM
nittee, and this is pretty well known.
He was handed a telegraph envelope
by House Messenger James w. Ed
wards upon leaving the state house
Monday evening, May /. The aged
representative stuck the message in
his pocket and didn't open it until af-
ter he had reached his boarding house.
He found enclosed a hundred dollar
bill and two fifty dollar bills, which he
Immediately returned to the house
messenger with the request that he
take the money back to the man who
had given it to him for delivery The
house messenger denied from that time
that he knew the man who gave him
the message, but he took the envelope
containing the money and delivered 1t
TO a man at the Leon hotel. This per-
son was described as a man of me-
of three or four days on his face. The
messenger stated that he approached a
group of men and asked IL any knew
who the man was who was sending
out messages to the members in tele-
graph envelopes. The individual re-
ferred to said he thought he knew,
whereupon the messenger gave him the
money with the request that he return
It to the owner.
WANTED TO TALK TO MASoNs.
The night upon which Mr.. Wall re-
ceived the money he attended a caucus
of the anti-race track men, which was
held in the basement of the Methodist
church. He divulged to the members
present the incident and a committee
was appointed by the chairman of the
caucus to visit the messenger and try
to get more information from him.
This committee was composed of Rep
re5entatives w. M. Igou, ]. H. Brown.
o. K. Reaves, r. B. Porter and W. e.
Baker. When they reached the lodg-
Ing of the messenger they found him
in bed. They began to quiz him, but
without obtaining any definite infor-
nation from him. The members of
the committee testified that the mes
senger grew FESTIVE under the exami-
nation and showed signs of nervous
ness. and finally asked If there was
Mason present; If there was he desired
members of tie committee were Ma
sons. but they declined to have a pri-
vate interview with the messenger.
PUBLISHER A WITNESS.
Among the witnesses were Mrs. j.
Hinton Pledger and her husband, who
run a boarding house in Tallahl ssee.
Representative Nj. o. Leslie of Pasco
county, was boarding at the house.
Mrs. Pledger testified that B. o. Bow
den, editor and publisher of the Dade
City Star, procured board at the house
and did good deal of talking in favor
of the race track and against the
anti-race track bill. She said that
that he called her husband back into
the dining room after supper and told
him to talk to Representative Leslie
and find out If he could be interested
to vote against the anti-race track
bill Mrs. Pledger stated that the
people would be willing to pay from
200 to $1,000 for votes against the
measure. Pledger, who is a clerk in
the department of agriculture, sub
stantiated his wife's evidence in the
essential particulars. Pledger and his
wife denied that they had talked with
Leslie on the subject. Mrs. Pledger
testified that Bowden had stated that
all his savings of the past seven years
were invested in the race track.
EoWDEN FOR FINELLAs.
Editor Bowden, upon being exam
ined, denied the testimony of the
Pledgers in toto. He said he had never
had a private conversation with them:
that he was against the anti-race track
bill, and had talked frequently and
generally at the boarding house about
the pending measure. He denied that
ne had asked the Pledgers to talk to
Representative Leslie about voting
against the anti-race track BILL He
denied that he had any money invested
In any race track or fair association.
He said that the statement was alb
surd. because he didn't have any money,
He denied that he came to Tallahassee
to lobby against the bill, but said he
came first to attend the meeting of the
press association, and later came to see
his son, who is an attache of the SEN
ate, who was i'll. Upon cross exami-
nation he said he was interested in the
passage of the Pinellas county bill. as
he expected to make some changes In
his business If the bill went through
He said that he expected to acquire
one or two more newspapers in West
Florida, contingent upon the passage
of the measure. He testified, upon ex-
animation, that he didn't have anv
money, that he didn't expect to get any
from the Pinellas people, that he had