The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-01-17

~ decide to pursue the inquiry fur
Tt along this line later.
&zs no examination of Lawson today
sfpn9ht forth a crowd of spectators
j - WOuu have done credit to So
&Doey function. Dowagers OF Wash
4 onHtouss select official circles dainty
Noootantsa Of the congressional set,
\ om1 al ofilcialdom that could be there
3AMmed the big hearing room where
]. tie committee met. More than half
~ the crowd overlooked into the cor
Be9oea. after the committee members
.Wore forced to climb over tables and
chairs to get to their places. There
GAoy waited while the committee re-
noWed Its grill of Lawson. craning
THEIR necks for n glimpse of the SEN
untlonal scene. Lawson will prob
ably continue his testimony tomorrow.
BUT HALF STATED CASE
Thomas W. Lawson's testimony to-
0Gv opened with a renewal of his as
ekFtlen. as to the character OF the
conversation held between himself ana
Chairman Henry OF the Rules Com
mIttee on New Years Day. He assert
"a that following the conference ne
u1ged Henry 20 put ont A statement
which would set both the conferees
right and left that matter to Henry.
Henry" said Lawson, only half
seated the case In what he suisse
Quently gave to the press. One OF us,
now. 10 committing perjury. rank de-
libsrate perjury"
He raised his voice until IL roared
through the big hearing room and
strained out into the corridors.
ssUnless your chairman said
these things, am n foul pcriurfr;
am UNIT TO he here; ! am unfit
70 be anywhere outside the bars
a. a prfsOn. This committee has
no hixher duty than its duty To
deaeE1ninc which OF us Is the per
twer."
Much time was devoted to squah-
bling over the accuracy of the Law
aon and Henry accounts OF their con-
y>rsation. When the committee re-
sumad IT'S sessions in the afternoon
Chairman Henry. in summoning Law
eon to the stand. avoided the mention
q his name. He said:
AVOIDS USE OF NAME
OF LAWSON IN CALLING HIM
VIII the witness who was on tho |
stand at the time the recess was taken |
come to his placer"
Under a cross examination conduct
I'd by Representative Harrison OF
A6isnaesippt. Lawson related the details
q hin meeting with Mrs, Visconu. the |
nsnEng witness. He said:
Z 'T received a letter from this wo-
man upon my return to my hotei af'er
the hearing Of either January or y
I was dressing for dinner at the time |
II was, to be exact. $40 T. Nj.
esut my son to the telephone to tell
the lady who had given me her tele-
nhone number In the letter. that
Wa going to dine and then go to the
thsater and Chat / could see her at
IL o'clock.
I my son reported 70 mo that she
had asked permission to bring some
one with her. He said she had not
speeified whether the some one was
man or a woman. but I assumed it
was a man.
Later on, about 1880 or TAB my
ron was called from the dinner table
10 the telephone and returning re-
ported that the lady wanted to come
about Q o'clock. She arrived before
s:1b and we were summoned from
the dinner table and 4 met the lady
In that long hallway OF the Willard
Aiimony Alley. suggested that we
adjourn to my apartments
the man who accompanied her
was a nne outstanding. clean cut chap,
of about thirty-ffve, whom she told
me was 4 lawyer, mot her lawyer, but
member OF the District bar"
eAYS WOMAN FEARED
81 SHE NIGHT LOSE POSITION
lawson insisted that he had not
believed the woman to be of sort
who would not stand by her state
menta She had asked him what he
would do IL out of her startling testt- |
mony II should transptre that she |
would lose her position. lawson said |
that he was very specific to make no |
promises predicated upon guch an |
event but reminded her that he had |
always stood by the people who haze |
stood by him and that any one get
ting into trouble through dealings |
with him would be protected
lawson was next ross-exam1ned |
with regard to an advertisement |
which he had inserted in the Wash |
tnston morning and afternoon news
papers. A line In that advertisement
invited the confidence OF a Congress
man whom lawson asserted had sent
him papers and documents bearing
upon the leak.
II surmised he was a Congress-
man." said lawson in answer TO a