The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-05-26
PRIESTS TESTIFY
THEY LAID TRAP
FOR MAYOR
Preananged Conversation Over
Tapped Telephone Wires
CHARGES ARE FLATLY DENIED
Objected to Plan of Placing Children
Of institutions in Private
Families.

New York, May 2G.--Roman Catho-
lie clergymen whose telephone wires
were tapped during the investigation
of charitable institutions took the wit
ness stand yesterday before the leg
islative committee headed by Senator
George F. Thompson and fatty denied
the charges of Mayor Mitchell that
they were involved in a conspiracy to
discredit the city administration
through attacks upon the department
of charities They made the counter
allegation that the major played a
prominent part in a conspiracy de-
signed to discredit the administration
OF Catholic orphanages. The priests
asserted that after discovering their
telephones had been tapped they delib
erately planned to trap the mayor by
prearranged conversations and that
they were successful IN their pur-
pose While admitting certain parts
of the overheard conversations which
were read to the committee Wednes.
day by Mr. Mitchell, the witnesses pro
tested that his account of these talks
was in the main. inaccurate. They
contended that the language used,
much OF which was grammatical,
was not theirs
Whatever was said in the conyersa-
tions about spiriting witnesses out OF
the city to prevent them from appear
ing before the charities investigating
commission was deliberately planned
TO delude the major and his associates
with the end in view of proving that
their telephones had been tapped, they
declared The clergymen contended
that all they sought for the institu-
tions in which they were interested
was a square DEAL which had not
been given them.
The witnesses who appeared yes
terday were Mgr John J. Dunn, Mgr,
Luke ]. Eyers, Rev. William b. Far
rell and Rev Joseph p Dineen. In
| reply to question early in the eX-
| animation OF Mgr. Dunn arraigned
| what he called the charity trust.
Its one and only aim,' he declared
lis the secularization of all institu-
tions. That explains what have said
about trying to take God out OF the
| hearts of our little ones believe
firmly that children should be in
| structed in the faith of their fathers.
| The witness declared the charities
| department had a plan to farm out
/ to 60 40 ghi1Ivat,
| who were in institutions in New York
| city. I'VE want religious influences
| surrounding our children Mgr Dunn
said. "and the Catholic church will
never permit its children to be taken
away from it,
Father Farrell denied positively
that he had ever taken part in some
Of the conversations attributed to him
by the mayor. He declared that he
had a sort of innate suspicion" thai
his wire had been tapped and deter
mined to learn positively If that was
the case He detailed at length hi;
relations with Mr.. Mitchell, whom he
charged with having broken his wore
in at least one instance
Father Higgins, another witnes;
who has jurisdiction over 800 chill
dren, he said, charged that the mayor
of New York is dangling $4,000 chill
dren on statements of misrepresenta
ton" He defied any one to show tina
the children in Catholic institutions
we're not the equals of children in an!
institutions in dress, education ant
nourishment.