Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-06-15
BLAMES
ROOT AND HAY
Ressnts What He Terms
Perjury limitations.

Washington. June Is. Secretary
Knox told the Hamlin committee that
the scandals which have been turned
np in the state department are specters
of past administrations, which cannot
be laid at his door. He explained the
5000 payment to Frederick Hale,
which Elihu Root contracted for, and
traced the Rosenthal portrait affair
back to the administration Of John
Hay. He resented what he regarded
as an intimation that perjury had
been committed by some Of the present
clerical force Of the state department.
Chairman Hamlin denied he was re-
1ecting upon the witness and gave as
surance that he had never connected
Secretary Knox with the matter.
Secretary Knox was referring prin-
cipally to the c%hairman's conduct of
the inquiry into the SO called Day por
trait case. Secretary Knox thereupon
laid before the committee the long
lost voucher for S2,450 and other docu-
ments in the case that have ~reappeared
after having been missing for five
years.
The documents submitted by Secre-
tary Knox threw no definite light upon
the final disposition Of the $1,000 that
was paid out by the treasury on the
voucher over and beyond the $3.50
charged by Albert R%osenthal, the Phil
adelphia artist, for painting the por-
trait of William Day, then secretary
- ,k1&1 oNA oceaoiafo JrStien Of
the supreme court.
A letter from William H. Michael,
who was chief clerk of the state de-
partment at the time and who In the
first instance received the $2,450, says
that the difference of $1,000 was turn
ed wei to Secretary of State Hay to
pay confidential accounts of the state
department, as he recalls it, in connec-
ton with Chinese affairs. The entire
S2,45O was drawn from a fund author
lied by congress for expenditures of a
confidential character and for which
the secretary Of state is required to
make no public accounting. Mr..
Michael adds that signing of the
voucher by Rosefthal must have been
an inadvertence, as 1t was to have
been signed by Michael himself. Mr..
Michael Is now consul at Calcutta.
Secretary Knox acknowledged that
the only information that the depart
ment had as to what had become of
the $1,000 was in Mr.. Michael's own
statement.
As to the mysterious finding of the
voucher on the floor Of the disbursing
clerks In the state department
after 1t had been missing for years,
Mr.. Knox could give no explanation.
On this point he could throw no more
light than the office boy who found
the document at sos o'clock on a re-
cent afternoon and who testified when
asked how he knew the exact time
that he was always looking at the
clock when he had to work late"
"Do you think that the voucher has
been in the state department all this
Time" asked Chairman Hamlin.
Eyes, there is no doubt Of it." said
Mr.. Knox.
The voucher was withdrawn from
the departments file about five years
ago, when Elihu Root, then secretary
of state, undertook an investigation of
the Day portrait case. The present
state department authorities DO not
know whether 1t had been in Its regu-
lar place in the files since that time.
AS Don as Secretary Knox heard Of
the questionable character of the
voucher through the house committees
activities he instituted an investiga-
ton and could get nc trace of 1t. That
was two weeks or more ago.
II directed" said Secretary Knox,
that a most thorough search should
be made In the state department, and
l personally inquired from day to day
as to the progress that was made.
Every place in the department was
hunted, even the old safe In the base
ment."