davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20

pursuit OF criminals. The same method
is proper when we are protecting law
abiding citizens from crooks.
The question came up about our right
TO tap a wire and the Corporation Coun-
sci told me 1t was lawful and the Dis
trict Attorneys of New York aud Kings
counties told me II was lawful. what
the Legislature thought about It Is clear
from the fact that a bill which was
introduced to take away the. right OF
tapping wires was decisively defeated In
the Senate.
u am Just as much Interested in pro-
tecting honest persons from having their
wires listened In on as I am to have
the right to listen in on people who are
dishonest. No wire Is listened in OH for
any other purpose but for the detection
Of crime
The Commissioner justified the value
OF overlapping by reciting a series of
murders and other crimes In which In
formation gathered over q tapped tele-
phone wire had brought about convic-
lions.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20
Wire Tapping Inquiry
by u. S. Urged by Loft

W~AsntSGroN, May ia resolu-
ton asking q Congress investigation
Of the wire tapping controversy now
engaging the attention Of officials and
citizens OF the city OF New York
was offered in the House to-day by
Representative George W. Loft. a
New York Democrat. Mr.. Lofts reso-
luton reads:
Whereas 1t has been stated on
the press that there has developed
4 gigantic scandal growing out OF
the practice of tapping telephone.
telegram and cable wires III the city
Of New York and
Whereas 1t has been stated on
high authority that the pWctice
has grown TO become "A menace 10
International relations and. as
stated, 1T has tu 40 with important
matters affecting the national Gov
crumeut,'
Rssoired. That the Speaker APP
point A seiect committee of five
members Of the House and such
committee be Instructed to inquire
into all the facts connected with
this matter and report its findings
and recommendations as soon as
practicable to the House of Repre-
sentatives and the committee Is
authorized 20 subpoena witnesses.
administer Uaths and send for per
sons aud papers In the prosecution
Of said Investigation.
The resolution was referred 10 the
House Committee on Rules.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20
LUSTTANIA MEETING CHEERS
CALL FOR GERMAN BREAK
Three Speakers at Carnegie Hall Memorial Urge Sew.
erance of Relations-Mayor Criticised for Causing
Postponement From Anniversary of Disaster.

the Church Of the Epiphany, W.sh,-,
ton, was introduced as AN old co.
federate soldier
THAT is true" said ~. McKim ,rp,
no man exceeds me In the love to, o.,
stars and Stripes. What would NV ,,f
commander. Robert " Lee. think a, p.
were he alive to-day? The sinking a.,
the busitania was an Infamous rr ~.
The monsters responsible remain n,,.
buked. Would that have take, r',.,
If Lee or Grant had directed tia nation
I think not
Prof Giddings referred to "the s.o,
dainnation OF the taking of ~ The w..
TINS OF the Lusitarid." He WAS Afraid
that the people Of this country b,t
grown TO cherish their ease and CONT p.
more than the great prlucfnlr. i,
fathers had fought for.
"N are gathered tonight le sad
TO make upon our Government the ,-e
citic demand that 1t hold no more par.,g.
ings with the Central European Powers
The time for discussion has gone he
our Government should act fo-,nvr,
No other course ~ consistent with on.
national self-respect."
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20
BLOCKADE WON'T BE RELAXED.
Lord RObert Cecil Replies 10 Ger
MRny's Suggestion 10 wilson.

LoNpoS. May l9.-Lord Robert
Cecil, Minister OF Blockade, declared to-
day in the House of Commons that
there is no chance that the British will
relax their economic pressure against
Gt rmany as eNerted 10y the blockade.
He made the statement in reply to the
German suggestion in the reply to Presi-
dent Wilson'S note that Great Britain
should modify the blockade Oh account
OF the change in the submarine war. q
The Minister asserted that the block
AIDE is strictly legal under existing IN
ternational law.
The rigid enforcement OF he block
ade,'' he said, "ls merely an extension
ot our rights which we had not hitherto
found It ~oxpedient to USE"
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20
MOSS INQUIRIES INTO
THE PRIESTS CASE

"tn Father Farreli's case did you look
over all the groundT' asked Mr.. Moss.
Yes" said the Commissioner but ]
think YOU ought not to ask about h a
because ] testified very fully before the
Grand Jury and they haven't finished
yet"
We'll, there are Just two questions
that ] want to ask whether you passed
on that case and whether you kept the
reported conversations or passed them
on 10 others"
Senator Thompson interrupted TO say
that the committee would go into this
case next week, but Senator Law son
and Mr.. Moss we're insistent, 20 the
commissioned replied
81 personally passed on the question
az TO whether the wires should be lis
tened in on or not The conversations
were brought 10 me and certain PARTS
OF them which we're thought TO be Of
value TO an Assistant Corporation Counsel
in developing evidence of the crime hat
we were looking for were passed to that
Corporation COUNSEL. our practice from
the beginning has not deviated, except
~ one case. As soon as the inforna-
ton Is acted on VIC always destroy the
paper on which they are written.
Were the Seymour n seymour n
versations told or reported to Mr..
Burns"
The conversations over the wire In
the Seymour & Seymour case were
known only to the Police Department.
1t there was any other listening IN I
don t know about II. Deputy Commits
sioner Lord handled that case. We
found tina Burns was on the case aud
We used Burns. We may have told
him certain leads W. got so n. could
go ahead and develop them"
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20

bold, Fibre r,nn,nv Is tina, III, Gov
nm. have requested samples and
they are iucljued tn accep, IN. offer.
provided oualIt, is su,,a bi.
They are also asked TO cable at
one. how In, uumboldt SAMPLES COM
pare with rrevious sample sen,
,hem ana q reply 10 this Wds sent ou'
Iast hisht recommending mat 'heS
make IN" purchase mat the anples
we're OF pet'r quality thah 'hs pre-
N'ous s'tllPIea supinittco.
iours yer! ,ruis'
o. - Phillips
.So, vli s.," .JuJp, Swami snid.
"tb,, ,bo writer refers 70 I'm, grpuryinn
rou,e' also nav. here , copv of Z,
cabjcgr,m from Morgan. uaries A co.
the Paris branch of the MORGAN firm,
addressed to J. T. Morgan u Co. and
dated February !. 1915. 1t WIS received
here on February :. The letter bearing
the Phillips signature, which is dated
February I. az you VIII see, is almost
u direct quotation Of the cdbl"gram
which ] will read
.,.,., --, , a,,
onos,s ,nn ami ,s .onu - nossihIc
i t,', -. - az
49, 4. - u,..H.it, 49,, ,n,,n,ny
"a i" |,,,o, \iiiis t,tonI
@ru ..ia,, ~ ,.rt,od !, nc'
.an, ,hoso CO. nro,bi.d m, ou,i,,v
~. IT,. a. a.hnva
s., Ia t,,op' wt,b .,,.
"ne"s,o.eu 1911 o.rH,n,r -, .nnarv
p.e 81. ~ r S,a,a
.e'opi a as h,a.'t,aJ ,a,,on
49, G,anoJ u,,,rs
'"'''i' "N
Il have here, too, = letter addressed
20 Sey mour q Seymour, dated March :,
1916. from the Humboldt Fibre Com
49,, w., ,.tt, ,rtN.. that ~ rafsrG Tn
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20
AMERICANS BRING AER0s DOWN.
Kihin Rock well and Lieut.. Thaw
Each LAWYERS German Machine.

49, 80 S''
PARIS, May lS-Ktfin Rockwell OF the
American flying squadron brought down
u German aeroplane by firing at II at
a distance of thirty yards. killing both
the gunner and the pilot. The machine
fell into III. German trenches,
AZ the result of his exploit he has
been proposed for a military medal.
which carries with u the war cross.
This vas the first time that Rockwell
had seen a German machine. He was
in the trenches for eight months with
the Foreign Legion and was wounded
at Arras on May 2. He then Joined
the aviation corps.
Lieut., Thaw brought down another
German aeroplane within the German
lines,
Ferdinand C~apdcvll!c is in Paris for
four days. Permission was granted to
him because he was awarded the war
cross for his services in the fighting
around Vcrdun,
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20
HOW DETECTAPHONE
WAS PUT IN ROOM

Perhaps tho most interesting part OF
the days developments related to the
installation OF the detectI phone In the
Office of Seymour n Seymour at the in
stigation of the Burns people. Appar-
entity the Thompson COMMITTEES learned
much to its satisfaction about this phase
of the subject in the executive session.
The first witness called when the COM
mittee began taking public testimony
was Cllrence 7. Coley. operating man.
ager OF the Equitable Building.
Were you recently introduced TO
william J. Burns"' asked Mr.. Moss of
Mr.. Coley.
Yes" answered the witness. George
T. Mortimer. president OF the Equitable
Once Building Corporation. introduced
me to him"
what did Mr.. Mortimer say to YOU
"He said. This is Mr.. Burns. want
you to do what YOU can for him.
Il talked with Burns that afternoon.
He said he wished to investigate one
OF the tenants of the building and asked
me to meet him that night and allow
him to go into the office Of that person,
which | did. 1t was about : clock.
When he came the mex, day ! gave
| Inn d key to the Office OF Seymour II
Seymour. When took him In he just
looked around and left. When he came
again ne asked me If | could show him
some details about the wiring construc.
ton in the office. ! sent for the cleo
trician. ksld. and told klli to do what
he could to help Mr.. Burns
The next witness was Bartlett Smith
OF AZ Broadway, who. with his father,
now dead. has conducted a d~t'rctdphonc
mauufactury at that address.
Smith said that he had sold William j
Burns seventy-three d.tectaphones. lie
also said h. had sold Burns "A telephone
tanning instrument. Mr.. Moss wanted 10
know II with sucn an instrument one
| could tap a telephone wi!e without the
knowledge of the subscriber and Wlthou'
the assistance OF the telephone company,
and If such a thing could be done IN a
modern office building. Mr.. Moss nae
reference. IN this regard to "A statement
OF John l., Swayze, general counsel o'
the telephone company. that It was al
mos, beyond probability that "a telephone
could be tapped secretly without the t"le'
phone company's aid in a modern build
ing like the Equitable. To Mr.. Moss
question MIR. Smith replied IN the afiirina'
tive.
I'VE only made one" he said, a II
sold that to Burns In March
do YOU know wher. lie used IT.
'In the ottic. of seymour Il seymour
Smith testified that he had been in the
office Of Seymour a Seymour with Will
lam j. Burns, Sherman Burns, James
Lynch, a Burns operative, and a st,nog'
rapher, Miss Murray. He had also beer
in an adjoining room which had beer
used by the Belgian Relief Commission
lie said sherman Burns asked him tt
bore a hole through the wall into th'
Seymour office. and he got "A brace and
' bit and did IL.
What else did you dor asked Mr.
Moss
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20

1--WE nut the wires through the wall
and placed the detectaphonc behind thu
table in tn. office of Seymour Il seymour
We tested Il TO see II II worked. Nllliain
J. Burns and J listened in the next room
! while Lynch and sherman Burns were IN
the Offices. The next night
William j. Burns and l went into thu
Seymour Offices
What did you do"
Burns opened a roller top desk and
searched all around and took out a hand
full Of small cards and other papers
Have you ever done anything Ike this
in your life beforc"'
NO. sir"
"D.d you instruct Burns how to use
| this telephone tap"
yes, sir" said the witness, who de-
scribed the instrument AZ an eight inch
square box which one puts on the tele-
phone wire and operates by plugging IN
a receiver wire. Then he gets II sigma
that the line is being used.
burns didn't mention any tapping
continued the witness. but ] surmised
when he got the machine what he wanted
to do with IT."
you didn't want to do IT."
no, my father said 1t would be a
felony"
But you told Burns how to use i'?'
yes, sir" said Smith. explaining also
that the instrument left no trace except
the cut in the Insulation.
He also testified that when he was
at the District Attorneys Office he heard
some one say that the tap had beer
put on the Seymour wire.
so We may assume" said Mr., Moss
that the District Attorney knew about
IT,"
YES, I told the District Attorney
substantially what | have said here"
Mr.. Moss then called the names OF
half a dozen OF the Burns agency, in,
GLIDING three members OF the Burns
family, lie said that the Office manager
William J. Caravan, had refused to obey
the committees subpoena
Before continuing the examination
Senator Thompson made a statement
for the record about what had gone or
In the executive session. II appea red
he said. that Frederick Seymour. Hills
Dewitt, Sultzcr and Phillips had asso,
clated themselves In u brokerage busi,
ness for munitions. They had only two
contracts. he said. n for cartridge
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20
%. Altm1at1 & On.
A Sale of Young Mems Suits

VERY SPECIALLY PRICED
will take place to-day, m the Department .,
the Fourth Floor Madison avenue section.
IL will offer
Gr1lartiy-tailored Suits of most d~es;ra,.e
fabrics for present and early Gurrrler Wes-;
the coats skeletor-lired with silk and c-e
waistcoats having silk backs. E;Zceptio-s,
value GZA.5C
Wel1-rrade Suits of blue or gray flame.
with silk-fi7ed sleeves excellent for bushes
wear), are ON sale at $3.50
(AGl Suits are i'm S yes 80 to 40 chest)
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20

MAKES EXPLANATION

Frederick Seymour made a complete
explanation of his firms connection with
the correspondence which Judge Swami
produced, Mr., Seymour said he remcm-
bered the Phillips letter, In which tho
grapevine route was referred to. but
10 denied that he or anybody in his
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20

More than 1000 men and women.
close packed IN Carnegie Hall last night.
a~pplauded George Haven Putnam. the
Rev. Or. Randolph Mckim OF Washing
ton and Prof Franklin II. Giddings OF
Columbia University, the three speak
ers at the mass meeting In memory OF
the %torpedoing Of the Lusitania, when
they declared that the United states
should break on relations with Germany
forthwith.
Tho memorial meeting was TO have
been held on the night OF May Z, the
anniversary Of the sinking OF tho Lrsi-
tania and the death of 1,20J persons,
more than 100 OF whom Wero American
citizens. but In Difference to tho wishes
Of Mayor Mitchell the meeting was post
poned until Iast night.
Major Putnam in explaining why the
Mayor requested a postponement, the
reason being that President Wilson was
then awaiting an answer to his latest
had committed a grave error Of judy
nent. one that hadn't tended to increase
respect for New York city. II oc-
CURED to Major Putnam that a singular
state Of affairs existed In this city when
II became 'injudicious" for ANY set Of
persons to meet and express themselves
freely.
says Redress Demand IL Dropped.
The demand for redress. for the Lusi-
tania murders has been dropped alto
Sether.' said Major Putnam. but the
crime remains zone the less a crime.
Have these men aud women and babies
Died IN vain? The German ~ander
who Killed them was decorated, n FOR
a month aftcrward the killing the great
naval achievement was celebrated in the
German public schools.
Germany is a state gone mad. I hold
that AZ the beginning of the war the
United states. heading the neutral ma
tons, should have protested against
every violation of international law,
against every crime. our neutrality Is
when crime IL committed
The time has come for the United
States to take direct action with France,
England, Belgium and the other Allies.
Their fight is our fight. They are de-
Tending principles that all Americans
ugh {" hold dear"
The Rev. pr. Randolph r. McKi-r Of
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20
Contract Was Regulated.

me- . conv ~ , con,rac; ALLEGED "a n y.
heen entered into between the ooldt
F,bre Comn,ny and seymo,r & s.vmour
ana a letter in which 4, anpears tina.
when IN. manufacturers learned that
che neonla in S,vm,urs office were NOT
associated with Morgan A. Co. the manu-.
facturers apparently having commun!-
Gated with the Morgan nrn,. they re-
pudiated their contract. This letter is
- follows:
Marc, ., 1918
1red~r,cl. Scu,o,,. N,r YORK. ,itu
Dr,p SIR f.v DAVIS ago we re-
re,ved , letter frou - "A pbiu,ps
reIatiy, ia me commission wc agreed
40 al,yv ON the r.,,u, sale we made
OF b,.ach.d unters 10 /. =. Morgan 4
Cn tho contract h,.irp for ,vanty-tya
metric tons per month Narch.Jun.
inclusive. and ,so m,tri,, tons for Julv.
1915 The letter was signed q n
ph,Ilips. however and NOT nv vo, and
As mr. agreement WA. made vith s.v-
mour & SEYMOUR W. have addressed
our communication either 20 Won per.
sonalIv or ia seymour & seymour
which We underst,nd a. your rrr
Address
We have stated In foruer conmurI.
cations that we understood tina, y G
Soto was 10 receive ne-sIx,een, Of
per cent. "A Mound and y-,u thr.e-six-
tesnths Of , ner cent. a mound /, was
further understood and stated that
settlement would he mad. bv the 10Th
Of the month Following ana, se,,lencnt
received by us from j =. Morgan e.
Co for sales mad the pr.vious month
Az Mr.. Phillips is now signing the
letters pers1nsuv We must have a
statement fr,n, vou that e.,tiawo,,s
are 10 ne mad. win hin II Inv arc
to 20 Ia him direct
when the neyo,i,t,ops heg,, NTH
on, 4, uas cIe.r 10 ,rd.r.,onJ 80, ,,o,,
vero tho c~or0dc,ti,I r.nras.n,a,a
NJ n A,ory,p q 20 ana ,ba, H.
rom nany did M, caro- "a .,tar into
negotiations dtr,rt IN , ,ra,;r,irary
~av hui tina, ,,ra, ,.oo,i,t IT,. n.u
be direct with them, To hear th's az,
Won wired Ms on Janiarv ~ A. fo,i,,ve.
..Your telegram ION satis,.c,or,.
Am negotiating with Prindle OF ]. T..
Morgan & Co. 10 cents, the additional
quarter cent going to party fJr intro
duction. Negotiations may continue
direct with you"
II you are acting or have acted as
the confidential representative Of J. L.
would 50 state to ~ u". &c s''' you
J. p. Morgan aV co., for the the 9 s,ock , rrom
s.oneo apoVe we gave AN option Tor the
n.a ~ ~ u s.a.a output agreeing
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20

40 YOU mean that, Commissioner -
inquired Mr.. Moss, surprised.
"Yes"
'Were YOU requested to listen in on
any wire of a person who Was not IL
crook by IN superior authority
"No.'
allow about Father Farrell"
20 d you tell the Grand Jury that
Senator Thompson would not let the
Commissioner answer that question,
In connection with the statement of
United States Attorney Marshall 1t was
learned Yesterday that the United states
Attorney office In this city had never
asked the Police Department To tap IA
telephone wire. The practice Of the Fed
eral authorities in that respect has been
TO ask the police to get this or that,
which the police did. TO the eminent sat
.sfaction of the Federal people.
Mr.. Marshall denied that he had asked
Senator Thompson to refrain from press
Ing the Seymour inquiry or had asked
Mr.. Swayze of the telephone company
to withhold the names of the persons
whose wires We're tapped In the last
three years.
Does this involve any Of the Sey-
mours?" Mr.. Marshall was asked, In
reference to his statement printed in
1T most certainly does not he
answered.
Mortimer Sultzer, one OF the war brok-
ers who has desk room IN tho Seymour
offices, told THE SUN reporter yesterday
that the story about collision with any
one in the Morgan employ to get secret
Information about war orders was
bunk" That was the only word. h,
said. that fitted. The way he explained
tha p,t,atiA,, ,.a tIy.s
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20
Powerful weapon Of Police.

Continuing, the Commissioner said:
"If YOU permit criminals TO use the
telephone and forbid tn. police from us
ing It YOU are preventing the use OF
one of the most powerful weapons The
police have IN running down crime. '
say that any legislation which shall put
a kink IN the crook and give more power
TO Law and order is good Legislation, aud
that legislation the other way Is l"s!s-
lation In the AID Of the criminal II Is
against the interests Of the public 10
prevent the telephone company from CO.
operating with In. Police Department in
running dow Crime. think YOU won't
go far wrong II you allow the Police
Department this practice and no one
else"
That's my idea" said Senator
Thompson. but It would seem Ia me
that William, J. Burns has violated The
Fourth Amendment to the Constitution
Yes" agreed Mr. Moss, ant | be-
lieve that Mr.. Burns admitted the same
10 the District Attorney of New YORK
county. Isn't II a fact, Commissioned.
that respectable persons. reputabi. per
sons. have their wires tapped and their
conversations listened to-"
I'D rather not have YOU ask that
question" replied Mr.. Woods. 1T H. .
question OF Use and abuse and not 4
QUESTION OF me pilCr department : T'bu
e practise wire tapping.
well, whu il to draw the line
w" have Ia use our best Judgment
THAT makes you a car
we VIII not listen III on amy wire un-
less We are convinced that a erin. has
been committed or contemplated, In
which case We want To get Information
and evidence to help Us IN getting con-
v.,tiou FOR , crime. believe We ltNt
80 surrounded the practice that II has
Loot been abused. II f. uuS>Ib -, though
tina, persons uf uuhiem.Shcd and >pot-
less character, coming trom mp stat
l~u.uncirg at tn. Seuatorl may taNh uVrt
wires which re suspect are being used hN
crimiiIuls, and It Is possible that sue.
pcr/,ns vii have rheir conversation
listened In on, II you can show me a
more thorough method than We use I,
safeguard the public I'll adopt It imme.
dialely. No one IN this town may fear
that his conversation viii be listened IL
an upts>- l.'s A crook
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-05-20
Correct Styles i'm Mems Straw Hats

are & special feature of the Spring and STU
rner display i'm the Mems Wear Depart17e~,
Included are all the newest and most Ges:-,
able models i'm split straws, s~enrits, M.,a~s.
L~egnorns and Banghoks. i'm stool; at $50,
$500, $500 and upward to $1,000.
Also MEMS PANAMA HATS
at $500, $500, $1,000 and UPWARD TO :m
MEMS Wear Department, First Fioc-
Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-04-20
BUSINESS CONDITIONS
GOOD THROUGH ARIZONA

Flagstaff Ariz., April 19.--chas. II.
Howe, chairman Of the state tax COM
mission now touring the state with
the commission, was interviewed ~
the Journal correspondent here last
night as to business conditions
throughout Arizona
He said that on the whole condi-
tioua were prosperous In the mining
districts especially there was great
activity, and the miners were reapina
a harvest Of high wages
Since prohibition was enacted la
horers nre putting their savings into
the banks against rainy day swell
Ing the deposits TO an amount neveF
before approached IN the history Of
the state.
we are criticised continued Mr..
Howe. for the high tax rate OF thu
state, About half OF the tax money
goes for education, and on that
ground | am willing to be criticised,
nnd | intend 10 purposely show np
these figures, demonstrating TO thu
people Of the state that investing
money in schools Is one Of the very
best investments for the future Of
Arizona. Building good schools is
building good citizenship"