Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-18
District Committee Meets De-
spite Mysterious Phone Mott
fiCati0ns of Cancellation.
GUILTY PERSON, IF FOUND,
MAY BE TRIED BY HOUSE
Investigation Held Likely to Result
in Apprehension on Charge
of Contempt.

A mysterious voice sent a mysterious
message over the Capitol telephone
wires this morning to nearly every
member of the House committee on the
District of Columbia, conveying the
statement that the committee would
hold no meeting. This was exactly OPP
posite to the fact, as a regular meeting
had been scheduled and important bust
ness was to be considered. The mystic
rious voice was so entirely different
from the voice of Sam Eskew, clerk to
the District committee. or to any Of
the employees of the committee that
Representative Mapes of Michigan,
when he was told that the committee
would not meet, became suspicious.
who are you he asked.
The man at the other end of the wire
Immediately hung up his receiver.
Considered Serious Offense.
Whoever was operating in this fash
ION against a committee meeting this
being tried by the House for contempt,
II apprehended, according to pariia-
mentarians who were asked to look up
precedents this morning Several mem
bers of the committee have been quiet
~ working on two or three clues and
quick investigation and a recon-
mendation for action by the House Will
result If the temper of the committee
remains as it was earlier today.
1t Is entirely within the discretion of
the House as to what punishment may
be melted out to any one who would
interfere with the workings of a major
committee, and the District committee
is rated in that class.
The effort to stop the committee
meeting today evidently was an at
tempt TO hold back a possible report
on one or more bills which have been
stralninS at their leaSheS recently. Sew
eral conf lectures have been made, and
several theories have been offered as to
why any one should adopt so crude a
method as that essayed this morning.
An especial attempt was made to let
Representative Mapes of Michigan into
the trap today, and as Representative
Mapes was fairly sure of trying to
bring up the Page loan shark bill, it is
conjectured that some one who object
ed to certain features in that measure
endeavored to block it.
Chairman johnson Angered.
Representative johnson waited in the
committee room all morning. and as
the time for the meeting approa he'd
members dropped in ito ask why there
would be no meeting He was abso-
lutely nonplussed and began to show
considerable anger as the minutes
passed and members stopped in or
called up to know why the meeting
had oeen called off.
Seven members came to the commit
tee room to find out about the mysteri-
Gus message received by them. and by
that time the clerks to the committee
had begun to check up all calls to
members from the Capitol exchange
this morning. With the aid of the
telephone exchange employees, a fairly
accurate line on where calls to mem
bers came from has been established,
and this marks the first step in the I'M
earthing of some very interesting
clues.
Eleven members finally met in the
committee room-a quorum. The bust
ness of the meeting was quickly dis
patched, and Chairman johnson and
others began to start d trail toward
the person who tried to throw "A mon
key wrench into the machinery.