New-York tribune., 1912-02-11
N'CABE GIVES VERSION
Of EVERGLADES CASE
Agriculture Solicitor Says lrreg-
uIarities Only Caused Dis
miSSaI of Men.
MoRGAN'S LETTER DIFFERS
nrsinage Engineer Wrote to
Florida Representative Effort
Was Made to Shield
Wilson"

U.shington. Feb 10.-The Florida Ever
.,odes investigation ordered by the House
S.r,nittee OH Expenditures in the Depart
."nrt Of Agriculture was we'll under way
,o.day Solicitor George p. McCabe recited
the department's version of the Dismissal
=, e G. Elliott, chief drainage engineer
and 4. d. Morehouse, his assistant, declar-
,rg Secretary Wilson's action was due en-
,;relv 10 the financial irregularities charged
s,ainst the men in transference OF public
frnds. and had nothing to do with the Ever
,lades reports, which, II IS charged, were
suppressed.
REPRESENTATIVE Clark, of Florida. whose
charges against Secretary Wilson caused
the investigation. made public letter from
Arthur F. Morgan, Of Memphis, president
~ the Morgan Engineering Company. for
uerlv supervising engineer Of United States
drainage Investigations, and now special
drainage engineer i'm the Department ot
Agriculture. charging that the dismissal
NJ Elliott and MOrehouse was directly due
70 the Everglades controversy and that
,bev were being Sacrificed 10 shield Sec
retary Wilson" Mr.. Morgan wrote:
Il has been a matter Of common kuowl.
sdpo among the officials Of the Cnted
states drainage investigations for more
,ban a year that the suppression OF the
FLORIDA Everglades report. which was pre-
nared by Mr. Elliott. had been an en-
barrassment to the higher officials OF inc
department.. 1t has been known by tnose
familiar with the situation that the fIotiua i :,
isnd Companles have been circulating
brosdcsst Mr.. Wright's original report as
the official report of the department, where-
as different report, prepared by MI ~,
liott. stating the facts OF the sItIsIlon' an
project. had been suppressed by secretary
Wilson. ,z.,od
II has also been generally understood
that the situation would come before Ine e
nubc in time and that some one hluS'
he thoroughly dscredited. I would not pre-
sume to write i'm this manner concerning
the head Of the department in which ! am
an official did II not seem so unJust 10
dismiss Mr. Elliott, presumably on other
charges when the real cause of his as
missal is to cover the embarrassment OF MS
superiors.
Solicitor McCabe admitted onfthe stand
to-day that the charges against Elliott and
Morehouse had been brought by Wright
formerly Elliott's subordinate, but now
chief engineer i'm charge Of the state drain
age work in Florida.
Mr. McCabe took up two phases OF the
charge Of Elliott and Morehouse and the
suspension of +. F. Singleton. the auditor.
He said that the engineer. J. o. Wright,
OF Florida, first called the departments at
tention to the alleged irregularities In ac-
counts Of the drainage division. Mr.. Nc
Cabe said:
On January 20, 1912 Wright called at the
department and said, in substance that
chief Engineer Elliott was trying TO IN
.ure him in his profession, and was not
treating him fairly, and that he knew OF
some crooked or irregular accounts which
Elliott had submitted. Wright said thet
Elliott had placed men on the payroll who
had done no work. but who, in 1909, had
advanced money for completion OF drain
age work and had been placed on the pay
roll and reimbursed from the 1910 appro-
priation. He gave the name of J. A Will
kinson. Of Belle Haven. y. c., as one Of
the men who had been paid by such a
voucher Wilkinson admitted 10 an In
spector Of the department that he had ad-
vanced money for the work in North caro-
lima
Elliott was sent for, and when the in
formation was communicated 10 him he
said that Or. True. his superior. had
known all about II. This DR.. True denied.
Representative Clark to-day made pub
lie letter he received last October from
Secretary Wilson. after the Florida Repre-
circular on the Everglades ana the Wright
report had been suppressed.
1T is impossible to furnish you with the
names Of all the persons who advised the
suppression Of the circular letter and the
report" wrote Secretary Wilson. I'VE
have no record of them. and my recOllec-
tion is that these persons made their re-
quest upon me verbally