Year: 1879

world is welcome to know what they
meant. Mr.. Chandler also, not only
neglected to destroy any dipatches sent
by him, but offered to translate all OF
them for the Potter Committee Not
scrap of evidence appears that criminal
or discreditable dispatches passed be-
tween any Republicans, in respect to the
election Of 1876 or the final decision IN
1877, and any suggestion that such dis
patches might haze been sent, and after
wards might haze destroyed, is mere base
less calumny, in the present state OF the
evidence. Moreover, as the inquiry goes
on with the obvious intention on the
part of Democratic managers to smlrch
some Republicans if they can, eveIy day
of investigation lessons the probability
that there will be discovered any ground
for the calumny.


Now the world knows exactly how
Democratic cipher dispatches came into
the possession of the Republicans. The
steps are briefly these:


l A Democratic Committee of the
House began to cast drag-net in tele-
graph offices, in the hope of finding some
evidence damaging to Republicans. AT
ter rummaging through bushels of dis
patches, it found not one which was
thought worth publishing.


II. The Senate appointed committee
for the purpose of investigating. Bank.
books and private dispatches were called
for. Then near friends of Mr.. Tilden
made haste to stop the inquiry.


III. The dispatches delivered to the
Senate and House Committees. SO far as
they related to the subject under investi
CATION, became public property from that
Instant Either Congress had no right
to call for them at all, or absolute discre-
ton rests with Congress to say IN what
cases and how far it will demand pos
session of private kilograms for public
ends If the former, the House Demo
cratic Committee began the invasion OF
private kilograms, and the entire respon-
sibility for every disclosure rests with
with the two houses which ordered the
dispatches produced. If the latter, the
decision by either House or its commit
tee that any dispatches must be produced
for public ends rendered them public
property. Neither House had any right
to suppress any of them, nor had any in
dividual of either committee that right.
The persons who had access TO these dis
patches knew that they had become pub
lie property so far as they related to the
matter under investigation. If any were
in cipher though obviously relating to
that matter, it was the right of any faith,
full public servant to translate them, or
to get them translated. for the public
benefit The entire and absolute respon
sibility for the production of private tel
egrams, under these circumstances, rests
with the two houses which ordered them
delivered When they had once bee
delivered, in obedience to mandate
from committee, no member had any
right, nor had the Committee itself any
right, to suppress or conceal single dis
patch, accepting such as aoere not pertinent Il
the lawfatlly ordered Investigation.


". The members of either committee
who consented to suppress evidence, at
ter the dispatches had been delivered te
that committee, were in the wrong
They had no right to make any such bar
gain, for personal or partisan or any oth
er ends. 1t had been decided that the
production of certain evidence was es
sential to the ends of justice, and the
evidence had been produced. And from
that moment any attempt to suppress L


was blameworthy Those only were en-


tirely in the right who insisted that al


evidence called for and produced, M


matter which party it might affect


should be placed before the public. VI


any other ground, it must be held that


Congressional Committee has no righ


whatever to order the production OF pr


vate kilograms, in its DISCRETION, and OF


that ground the Democratic COMMITTEE


of the House must stand condemned a


the chief offender.