[Newspaper]
Publication: The Marion Daily Star
Marion, OH, United States
vol. 13, no. 71, p. 1, col. 1-2
A Number of Witnesses
Testify in the Ballot-Box Forgery
Investigation
JOHN R McLEAN ON THE STAND
He Did Not Know or Had Never Seen the Ballot Box Paper — Col T C Campbell Says There Was No Original Paper and Lays the Whole Blame of the Forgery on Hadden.
WASHINGTON, Feb 8 — Col James E Neal was the first witness before the ballot box committee yesterday. He testified the conversation between Governor Campbell and Wood at Hamilton. His statement developed nothing new.
John R McLean, the owner of The Cincinnati Enquirer, was sworn at the instance of Gen Grosvenor. He even said that he did not know Wood and had not the slightest recollection of him. He was shown the ballot box paper and said that he had never seen it before.
Mr. McLean denied that Walter Wellman was his private secretary. He did not even know him. He had never been interested in any ballot box scheme and never had in his safe any paper pertaining to such a scheme. He knew absolutely nothing about the ballot box matter and had never been in business relations with those whose names were signed to the paper.
Col T C Campbell at whose instance Governor Campbell introduced the ballot bill took the stand and testified that he made Wood's acquaintance about fifteen years ago in Cincinnati.
At that time he defended Wood in a police court case. Col Campbell had been Woods attorney in the ballot box company. He read a list of stockholders of the company. None of the names of the senators and representatives whose names had been signed to the forged paper were on the list
Mr. Campbell while a member of congress had never been called on to help the ballot box company other than in introducing the bill.
The box had been found to be slightly imperfect and experiments for its perfection were not begun until Mr Campbell's term as representative had expired. Governor Campbell had not the slightest interest in the box.
The witness denied the testimony of Mr. Hadden given before the committee that the witness had asked Mr. Hadden to get Congressman Caldwell interested in the ballot box bill. Hadden had come to him in relation to the ballot box bill but once. On this occasion Hadden had spoken of the good thing, the witness and others were going to make on the ballot-box bill and had been informed by the witness that the bill was dead.
In regard to Hadden's estimony that Col Campbell had shown him a list of names of congressmen attached to a ballot box contract the witness said it was wholly untrue. He had never even spoken of such paper to Hadden. There was no such paper.
The witness went on to say that Mr. Hadden had become chairman of the Republican Campaign committee in Ohio after George Topp had been retired from the position.
After the Halstead retraction of the ballot box paper in The Commercial Gazette it became a question in Ohio whether Governor Foraker had connived to procure the foigery of the paper. Mr Hadden could have cleared up the matter and freed Governor Foraker from all suspicion but he did not do so. He had gone to Governor Foraker and told him what was not the truth (that there was a ballot box contract) and he knew that if this fact came out his political career would be ended.
If you told an unthruth,' said Col Campbell to Governor Foraker 'you would be guilty of an offense because you know better. When Wood told an untruth he couldn't help it he didn't know how to tell the truth.
Judge Turner asked the witness what he meant by stating that when he found that Wood was tha instigator of the ballot box paper he suspected that a person of higher intelligence than Wood was behind the forgery. The witness said he would confess that he suspected that Governor Foraker was that superior man. He was now largely convinced that it was not so he now believed that Hadden was the prime mover and engineer in the affair.
Governor Foraker wanted the witness to state why he used the word "largely."
Do you think I had anything to do with the matter asked the governor.
"No, sir," replied the witness; "but I do think you were remiss in not coming to me when you received this ballot-box paper in order to ascertain its genuineness."
The witness denied that any of the persons whose names were signed to the forged paper had any connection, director indirect, in Congress or elsewhere, with the ballot-box company.
Lewis Houser, of Cincinnati, a justice of the peace, said that he had a talk with Lewis M. Haddon about the ballotbox paper on the day that Mr. Halstead made his retraction. Haddon told him that he did not want the paper published so soon. This was all the conversation they had on the matter.
The next witness was Smith L Johnson of Columbus who said he was on a train Sept 27 last going to Columbus and he had heard a conversation between Governor Foraker and some others in which the governor said that he had some knowledge of a business transaction in which McKinley and Butterworth were interested. The governor had said nothing akind about these gentlemen.
J B Hampton of Riverside, O. said he knew Lewis M Hadden. He had a conversation with Hadden just after the facsimile of the forged letter had been published in The Commercial Gazette. Hadden said that he thought James F Campbell had signed the paper. In another conversation Hadden said the paper was all right but that Halstead had fired it off too soon.
Governor Foraker placed before the committee a telegram that he received yesterday morning from Mr. Hadden. The telegram is as follows. "George Campbell's testimony false from beginning to end. Cross-examine."
It was agreed not to recall George Campbell until after Hadden, who is on his way to Washington, had testified. George Campbell testified on Wednesday that Hadden had told him that he had given false testmiony before the investigation committee. In stating that Col. T C Campbell had shown him an original ballot box contract. The committee then took a recess.
After recess Representatives Breckinridge of Kentucky, McAdoo and Butterworth appeared before the committee and testified that their signatures to the ballot box were forgeries. They knew nothing about any ballot box contract and were not interested in any way in the ballot box bill.
C A Lehman manufacturer of the Hall & Wood patent ballot box testified that the present cost of manfacture for each box was $16.80.
H C Megrew, formerly of Richmond, Ind , but now of Washington was sworn and testified that he had given $50 to Mr Walters after the campaign to pay to Wood for his expenses while in Washington. He presumed that he paid the money for Governor Foraker. The governor's private secretary authorized him to pay tho money. He had been instructed to keep his eye on Wood but not to detain him in Washington or prevent him going to New York. If Wood had left Washington he would not have followed. Wood was not concealed while in Washington
Gen Grosvenor pressed the witness to give his idea as to why he had been commissioned to watch Wood. The witness answered that he believed that an imposition hid been practiced on Governor Foraker and he thought the latter wanted to know something about Wood's haunts and with whom he communicated.
Congressman McKinley testified that his signature to the paper was a forgery.
James R Foraker brother of the ex-governor denied that he had told Wood to apply for the smoke inspectorship, as stated by Wood before the committee.
T Kates of Cincinnati who had been an applicant for the smoke inspectorship stated that Wood had told him that he and Hadden were getting up a paper for the benefit of the Republican party, and that Mayor Mosby was with them.
The committee adjourned until Monday.
