The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-20


 possible.
 Frank Moss, special counsel to the Thompson committee, stated that Burns, his son, Sherman and four operatives, one a woman, had been subpoenaed, but had suddenly left town.
 CONFLICTING ASSERTIONS
 Conflicting assertions were made re- garding Seymour & Seymour, although the committee dissolved the firm from any connection with the documents taken from the Morgan offices District At torney Swann declared he had obtained sufficient evidence to institute proceed ings against persons whom he would not name. The district attorney alleged that one member of the firm, Frederick Sey- mour, admitted that he, together with four other men, previously reported to have had only desk room in the Sey- mour offices, conducted a munition bro- kerage business. Seymour, according to the district attorney, admitted that he and his colleagues made money by sup plying information concerning war con- tracts of the entente allies to intuition manufacturers.
 A cable message, alleged to have been removed from the Morgan offices, was introduced in evidence and is now in the possession of the district attorney. He claimed that the cablegram was found oii tuo uoSh Ol OIlo or seymour aSSO- ciates and that the document indicates money was realized from the sale of Morgan secrets. MT. Swann also declared that one of the men claimed to be a representative of the Morgan firm.
 Frederick Seymour denied imputations against his business and declared he had handled munition contracts for the Nor gan firm. He was supported in his con- tention by Senator Thompson and Spe- cl9l (snlnSH1 Moss who mour enterprise to be a legitimate one.
 MITCHEL'S STATEMENT
 Mayor Mitchell, in his statement, de- manded that Woods be given an op- portunity to explain publicly the ac- tivities of the police in tapping tele- phone wires so far as they relate to the local situation.
 Treason to a government" read the mayors statement, is defined in the law as giving aid and comfort to the enemies of a government or a nation. To deliberately destroy one of the most powerful weapons in the hands of gov- ernment to detect and prevent the op- erations of public enemies, I brand as treachery. Every repetition of these attempts to disclose the operations of the city police force, made in the i'm terest of self-advertisement constitutes accumulative act of treachery toward the United States.
 'Now, on behalf of the city and peo- pie I demand that this committee de- sist in it's attempt to suppress and divert the truth in this ma tier and that the police commissioner be given the opportunity that he is entitled to to state the facts so far as they relate to the local situation and the detection and prevention of local crime
 Senator Thompson has been warned by representatives of the national gov ernment that the interests of the na- tional government are vitally concerned in these cases of telephone supervision. That warning l myself supplemented in an interview with Senator Thompson about week ago and again yesterday and pointed out to him that these cases handled by the local police force in many instances have this national signifi- ca nee"
 eolice Commissioner Woods denied to- day that the wires into the Seymour of flee had been tapped so that the Burns agency could be let in on conversation.