Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-07

tate dealers were engaged in a promotion
scheme that the department should have
nothing to do with
Difficult to Get Report.
Mr.. Elliott also comments on his let
ter to the Secretary on the trouble he
had in getting ]. o. Wright, then, as
stated, a department engineer. under
Elliott. but now chief engineer in
charge of the Everglades drainage
project, to go to work on a report on
the submerged lands: He says that
after ordering Wright to make the
report he tElliotD was sent abroad
by Secretary Wilson, and when he re-
turned found Wright had dropped all
work on the job.
I'm answer to my request for an ex-
planation. says Elliott in his letter.
MIR. Wright replied that Gov. Brow
ard of Florida would undoubtedly be
defeated in the coming election and
that the succeeding administration
would probably have no interest in the
Florida project. and he did not think
1t worth while to complete the report.
Il informed him that was no concern
of ours. and did not in any way release
us from the duty of preparing prompt
and careful report of our investigations.
and requested him to proceed at once with
his work on the report
The circular letter to which the repre-
SeUtdl1NeS Vi TIE Ever sIdOcS I<dhu SoAi'
pany took such violent exception. seems
a harmless enough document, although IL
is easily understandable that 1t would
not help the sale of the Florida lands
and probably would have the erect OF
making the intending investor think DIT
and put his money back in his pocket
1t called attention. for instance. to the
annual rainfall i'm southern FLORIDA OF
from sixty to seventy inches, TO the Iact
that the temperature ranged from "A to
arlxaI that ''thp long and hot sum-
mers are usually very irksome 10 the
people from more northern states and
declared that the soil of the lands was
of the nature of muck or peat.
The circular also remarked on the ne
cessity for irrigation after drainage, II
the drainage could be accomplished, in
order that the peat soil might be pre-
vented from catching fire and burning.
cular wound up. would be necessary In
any event to the successful cultivation
of the soil.
Report Favorable to Project.
Mr. Elliott adds that when he finally
got the report from Wright it was UNI
satisfactory in many particulars, being
entirely too favorable to the Everglades
project, and had to be extensively re-
vised and rewritten. Mr.. Wright, he
says. refused to revise it, sa-.ng the re-
port was entirely accurate, but Mr.. Elliott
says he and other engineers both in and
out of the department agreed that
Wright's deductions and conclusions were
erroneous.
Later Wright left the government serv-
ice and became chief engineer of the
drainage project He returned to WASH
ington January 10 last to prefer charges
against Elliott. Morehouse and Single
ton before Solicitor McCabe.
The charges upon which Elliott. More
s1nty s,v,d Cfv,rr1 ofr bod 70
back to 1903. In that year it appears that
the drainage fund under Chief Engineer
Elliott became exhausted. He contends
it was drawn down to the limit without
more money, and there was work that in
his opinion had to be done. So he per-
mitted several men-one of them in North
Carolina, another in Oklahoma--tO ad-
vance certain amounts necessary to
gay for this work, and the following
year he put these men who had advanced
the money on the rolls as government
employees and kept them there until they
had received in salary the amount they
had advanced.
There was no accusation that Elliott,
Morehouse or Singleton profited by the
transaction or that the local men VINO
had advanced the money received any
more than the amount of such advances.
Representatives Clark and Bathrick in
tend to make a hot fight for the REIN
statement of the officials punished. Mr..
Clark said last night that Solicitor NC
Cabe threatened to have Elliott prosecut-
ed criminally il he attempted to make
trouble.
II propose to find out said Repre-
sentative Clark. lat whose instance the
circular letter was suppressed and why,
and also how and why and at whose IN
stance the report was suppressed. l am
not opposing the drainage OF the Ever
glades as an internal Improvement. but l
am absolutely against the discreditlng OF
the state through the exploitation OF
these lands to real estate sharks and the
robbery of the people"
Departments Hand in Project.
Statements made last night by Solicitor
McCabe were to the effect that the mat
ter would appear in a different light when
explained by the department heads
The history Of the departments connec-
ton with the Everglades proposition. as
given by Mr.. McCabe, is as follows:
j. A. Wright, then an engineer for the De-
partment of Agriculture, prepared re-
port on the subject, which Mr.. Elliott OBJ
jected to, in part, and in which he made
q few minor changes. Mr.. Elliott sub
mitted this report to the Secretary of
Agriculture and asked for it's approval.
Secretary Wilson did approve it and sent
it to the government printing office.
Meant1me All engineer WIZ Hdu dpSo-
lutely no connection with the Department
of Agriculture, but who had seen the adj
vance proofs Of the report, Informed Mr..
Elliott that the report contained incorrect
statements. Thereupon Mr.. Elliott. ac-
cording to McCabe. proceeded to prepare
a circular of his own, without authority
from the Secretary. and also without any
investigation. McCabes charges that FL
lott changed the engineering data In the
report without any attempt to make an
investigation of his own.
When this circular was called to the at
tention of the Secretary of Agriculture
he asked for an explanation. When 1t
was submitted to experts of the bureau
of plant industry they held, according
to McCabe, that the engineering data
in. it were SO incomplete as to make it
valuable only as waste paper. Further
more, they held that the information In 1t
in regard to soils was misleading.
On that ground and on that ground
alone McCabe contends Secretary Wilson
suppressed the circular. Mr. Mccabe
appeared before the House COMMITTEES