The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-05-01
ri ana inauirea with susplcious Een-

port and inquired with suspicious gen.
tleness:
was Nero and the burning OF
Rome a figure OF speech, Mr.. Daven-
port?"
mot exactly, Mr.. Twins"
Was Mr.. Barnes fiddling?
mo. Mr.. Barnes was not adding.
believe. But he was ruthless like
Nero"
Quite so. quite So But was he
fiddiing?" nagged Mr.. WINS.
mo. but the term is involved with
ruthless. Nero was both a fiddler and
ruthless. Barnes was ruthless as Nero
was" @4s
Everybody In court had been smiling
or chuckling. You couldn't keep your
face straight under such provocation,
but after Mr.. DueIl's Stag and after they
put him out, or he put himself out.
the distinguished heckler took a new
hold on the topic. He was thoroughly
enjoying IL himself, was Mr.. WINS, and
greedy for his share OF the fun.
Now, Mr.. Davenport" he resumed,
"wss Rome really burning in your
Imagination
institutions In Danger.
II believe" said the witness earnest
~. that our Institutions were In grave
danger on account of what / had seen
going on, the usurpation of authority.
over the Legislature by a power out
side the Legislature"
Mr.. Davenport's testimony. all show
inn MFR. Barnes domination of the
Senate by means of a combination
with Tammany, was not the only eff
fective point scored by Colonel Roose-
Welt today in his effort to Justify his
charge that Mr.. Barnes and Mr.. Muir
ply were links between crooked
politics and crooked business. 1t was.
in fact, the Coloners day and expected
~ so because he was arraying the
strongest points OF his case. putting
his best foot forward. Mr.. Barnes
turn will come some time next week
and something of his attitude may be
gathered by a remark he made to-
day. The truth is going to come out,
make no mistake about that"
other Witnesses On Stand.
In addition TO Senator Davenport,
Colonel Rooseveits counsel called to
the stand Harvey ID. Human and
Josiah r. Newcomb for the purpose of
corroboration of his own testimony
about Barnes notions of the right of
the people to rule and Barnes grip
on legislative machinery. Both Mfr.
Human and Mr. Newcomb, senators
at the time, improper acts on Barnes
part is alleged, backed up the Colonel,
squarely testified that primary meas
ure. the HinmanGree bill, was
choked to death by Barnes and Grady
because 1t meant the end<of organiza-
ton rule, and that the weaker, harm
less measure which Governor Hughes
vetoed. the Cobb bill, was driven
through the Legislature by a by-parti-
san combination.
Their appearance stood out, perhaps,
as the most specifically interesting
feature OF the day. Their testimony
had certain dramatic quality which
caught the imagination and carried
the minds OF their hearers back TO the
hard-fought battles of Hughes tur-
bulent terms. Actually, however, the
most important feature OF the day. al
though lacking in spectacular interest,
was the courts ruling that Colonel
Roosevelt had a perfect right to show
IL he can that Mr.. Barnes was a bene-
nciary OF public printing graft. State,
county and city. and that testimony
concerning the operations of this pub
fishing concerns Mr.. Barnes was In
terested in, the concerns forming the
alleged printing ring. may be intro
duced, even though 1t deals with print
ing done for Albany city and county.