Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-02-11
M'CABE BEFORE COMMITTEE
Solicitor Outlines Attitude Of vii.
son on Eyerglade Case.
ELLIOTT CIRCULAR SUPPRESSED
senator Fletcher Says Secretary
Wilson Refused 20 Approve u
and II Was Never Off,
efaI Document.

WASHINGTON. Feb. io.--George P. Nc
cabe. solicitor Of the Department OF Az
riculture. appeared before the house COM
mittee on expenditures In that department
today TO outline the attitude Of Secretary
Wilson and himself with relation 10 the
Fioirda Everglades land case. the charges
Of suppressed reports made by Represent
atives Clark and Bathrick and the dis
charge Of Chief Drainage Engineer c. @.
Elliott and his. assistant. A.~As More
house. Mr.. Mecabe was called too COM
plete statement he began before the
committee early In The week preliminary
TO the inquiry. which will begin next
Tuesday.
II has been charged before the commit
tee that a report q j. o. Wright, for
merry a department engineer ard now
drainage engineer for the state OF Flor
ida. was not printed in a senate d"eu-
ment on the situation In the Everglades
until Wright had revised the proofs to
conform with his original notes.
wright Report Censored.
Senator Fletcher Of Florida, who had
tho Everglades papers printed as docu-
ment. declared today that the senate
document does not contain the full re-
port made BY ]. o, Wright and that Il
appears 10 the document precisely A.
ordered set up and printed by the proper
officers OF the department.
Why publication OF the report was
stopped originally in 1910, Senator Fletcher
declared. was not known.
Another phase to be investigated by
the committee Is why the circular on
the Everglades. published by order Of
Engineer Elliott and afterward sup
pressed. 1t IL said by order Of Secretary
Wilson. was not printed in the senate
document.
The Elliott circular" said Senator
Fletcher. was not put In senate docu.
ment No. 50 because IL was never author
ized by the secretary, but on the con-
frary, as soon rs he saw a typewriter
copy Of the proposed circular he conl
demned II and ordered that II be not
printed or distributed. The reason. II Is
supposed. was the circular expressed opln-
Ions or offered advice. and II did not
purport to give data gathered in scien-
tific research. That circular was never
an Official document and. therefore. had
no place In any document giving authentic
official records on q subject"
Irregularities In Pay Roll.
Mr.. Mccabe said that Engineer J. o.
Wright Of Florida first called the de-
partmsnts attention TO the alleged irr@g-
ulsrities in accounts OF the drainage
division.
''on January %. Isi2.+ he said. Wright |
called at the department and said. In
substance. that chief Engineer Elliott
was trying to injure him In his profess
SION. Wright said that Elliott had placed |
mca on the payroll who had done no
work. but who in lss had advanced |
money for the completion Of drainage |
work and had been placed on the payroll |
and reimbursed from the 1910 appropria- !
ton. He gave the name Of J. A. wilkin-
son OF Belle Haven. n. C.. as one OF the
men and Wilkinson later admitted that
he had advanced money for the work in
North Carolina The amount involved
vas us.
~Eiliott said that DR. True. his supe-
rior. had known all about H." said Nc
Cabe. hut DR.. True denied IT,
Representative Clark today male pub
Tic a letter he received last October from
1ecretary Wilson after the Florida rep
iesentAtive lad asked at whose instance
the circular on the everglades and the
wright report had been suppressed.
1T Is impossible 10 furnish you with
The names Of all persons who advised
The Suppression Of the circular letter and
he report" wrote Secretary Wilson. We
have no record Of them and my reeolIec-
ton Is that these persons mace their
requests upon me VERBALLY