The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-07
SECRETARY WILSON FACING ANOTHER
 INVESTIGATION
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 suppress circular sent out on the everglades Elliott Threatened Some time in January 1910, if I re- member correctly" said MT. Elliott, in his letter to Secretary Wilson, "E. C. Howe and Thomas H. Will. agents for the Florida Everglades Land company, called upon A c. True, director of ex pertinent stations, and protested against our sending out these circulars. 1 was called into the directors office and in the directors presence they demanded of me that the circular should be dis continued and threatened me personally with public exposure if any further information concerning the everglades should be furnished to correspondents. "A few days later they called at my office, and in the presence of the offl- cers repeated their demand not that the circular ictters be discontinued. but that we send to all to whom we had sent cir culars a retraction of certain statements in them which were especially displeas- ing. Upon my refusal to entertain such [ proposition. MT. Howe informed me in somewhat strong language that unless 1 exceeded to their wishes they would take the matter up higher and compel me to suppress all information regarding the everglades. Both Director True and my self refused to discuss the matter further with them.
 Wilson Was Reached"
 Soon after, l received instructions from your office through the director to send no further copies of the circular nor fur
 nish information of any kind to inquiries concerning the Everglades.
 "The direction from you to furnish no further information concerning the Ever folIf yifaa
 manner when l was called by you into your office and emphatically cautioned to i1ve no information whatever to anyone about the Everglades. As 1 remember you remarked that the state and real
 estate dealers were engaged in a promo ton scheme that the department should
 nave nothing to do with"
 Circular as Evidence The circular said to have been sup pressed by Secretary Wilson also will be in evidence before the committee. This circular was made up on account of public demand for information while the printed report from Engineer 1 Wright, which was bulky, was awaited Engineer Elliott outlrned portions of l the circular. unfavorable to the ex- ploitation schemes of the land syndi- l cates which he declared Howe and Willis demanded that he retract. The
 
 ernment reclamation and drainage plans for the everglades and included many favorable references to the pro- | ject.
 In his statement to Secretary Wilson, | Elliott says he directed Wright in | April, 1908 to make a complete report | of the Everglade investigation and that in the June following he, Elliott, went
 to Europe, at Secretary Wilson's d- | recton to study drainage. When he returned in September to his surprise he found the preparation of the report had been dropped as soon as he had departed.
 Tn answer to my request for an ex- planation'' wrote MT. Elliott, MT Wright replied that Governor Broard of Florida would undoubtedly be de- feated in the coming election and that the succeeding administration would probablyNhave no interest in the pro-
 ject and he did not think it worth while to complete the report. l I informed him that was no concern
 of ours and did not in any way release us
 from the duty of preparing a prompt and
 careful report of our investigations, and request him to proceed at once with his work on the report.''
 Report Finally Completed The report was eventually completed in May, 1909, according to MT. Elliol., and he says it was changed in many partic- ulars by himself and MT. Morehouse after consultation with an outside expert en- gineer. Copies of the revised report, he said were sent with Secretary Wilson's pei mission to Henry Clay Hall. secretary of the Florida land syndicates in Colo rado. It was June IA. 1910, Elliott reported. | that Secretary Wilson decided not to have l the report published at all. Nothing more 1 was heard of the matter until last sum- mer, when the Senate committee on | printing called for all documents in the | department relating to the Everglades cases. All documents in his possession, Elliott asserts, before his dismissal, were 1 dems nded by Solicitor McCabe, and he 1 was even unable to obtain his own copy of
 one of the records which the department solicitor now has in his possession. | eve want the committee to find out l at whose instance this report was kept from publication" said Mir Clark to- day. "and we want also to know at
 whose instructions the circular on the everglades lands was suppressed after | Elliott refused to alter it. We think that the committee upon investigation will find that the dismissals of the engineers may be traced to the land promoters
 The Charges
 The charge against the discharged officials is that several years ago they ran short in the appropriation for tho drainage division because the funds had been irregularly loaned to the irriga- tion division of the department Drain age work was in progress in North Carolina and a private contractor was engaged, who finished the work, and was compensated from the next years appropriations. He was carried on the 1 pay roll as an employe. Singleton, who Is suspended, Is declared to have sug- gested this means of carrying on the uncompleted work.
 l Ths total was about $9O0. but no financial gain accrued to any of the