Governor Foraker Fooled, Glass Ballot Box case

EX-GOV. FORAKER FOOLED

DESCRIBING HIS NEGOTIATIONS

WITH WOOD.

MORE TESTIMONY IN THE BALLOT-BOX FORGERY CASE — THE WITNESS TELLING OF HIS MORTIFICATION.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17. — Ex-Gov. Foraker continued his testimony before the House committee investigating the ballot-box forgery this morning. He said that after parting with Wood he got a letter from him Aug. 17 saying that Crosley, who had the contract, was absent; that Mayor Moseby was favorably inclined toward his application for the position of Smoke Inspector; that a line from him (witness) would help the application, and that as soon as the Smoke Inspector matter was settled he (Wood) would go to Washington and get such information as might be desired in the other matter. The witness replied on the 19th that he (Wood) would get the letter of recommendation from him, as he had promised, when he (witness) got the information Wood had promised, and not before.

Aug. 21, the witness got a note from Wood saying be had valuable papers and wanted to see him for fifteen minutes. The witness saw Wood, who produced a letter, signed W. M. Langdon, dated Detroit. Aug. 19, addressed to Wood, which seemed to confirm Wood's previous story that an effort was being made to secure Gov. Alger's signature to a new contract. Wood also gave him three papers he called State contracts, which witness did not have now. They had no relevancy to what witness was interested in and he made no use of them.

With respect to the gun contract, Wood produced a letter dated United States Patent Office, Aug. 6, 1887, and signed by Commissioner Hall, addressed to him, and saying that Lieut. William H. Bell had secured a patent for an improvement in gun carriages, and copies of the specification would be furnished upon application. Another letter, signed " J. E. C.," said that Lieut. and Capt. Bell were the same person, and added that Peter would help in the Dodsworth case. Wood said that Col. T. C. Campbell and Gov. Campbell had been buying up and getting control of a number of inventions relating to ordnance. "That is what he said," remarked the witness. I don't believe anything any more."

Continuing, the witness said these were a part only of a number of papers he had that had been submitted to him for investigation. He made no use of them and, after looking them over, told Wood they did not include the papers be wanted (relating to the ballot box matter.) Wood said they were in Washington. The witness understood, perhaps, at later date that John R. McLean had them. Wood promised to write for them, saying that Crosley had them no longer. Sept. 2 the witness got a letter from Wood, dated Cincinnati, Sept. 1, stating that he had received a telegram saying the old contract was at Baltimore and Wood was to meet a party there. He (Wood) wanted a letter of introduction to President Harrison. Wood had erroneously supposed that witness wanted the new contract up to this time. The witness gave Wood the letter of introduction (which was read) and wrote Wood that he expected him with the letter not later than Thursday. The letter commended Wood as an old soldier and an inventor of merit; the witness did not know as much of him as he did now.

Sept. 9 Wood telegraphed the witness from Cincinnati asking where he could see him. The witness was impatient and replied that he could see him at the appointed place. Meanwhile he got a letter from Wood, sent from Washington, dated Sept. 8, saying that he had the document with the valuable names; that J. R. M. was out of the city; that there were three papers in all, and that he inclosed a letter from Ed Hall. This inclosure was dated Cincinnati, Sept. 4, and addressed to Wood at Washington. The writer told Wood not to hesitate about setting the facts and staying with Foraker during the campaign. The witness never had any communication with Hall until after the election.

Mr. Foraker telegraphed Wood to come to Columbus that night or the next morning. Wood replied that he would mail the paper to the witness; that the telegram was too late. The witness called particular attention to these letters, for it would appear from another witness that the paper was not forged until the next day, Sept. 9, after Wood had written that he had the paper. Previous to that, Sept. 7, the witness had a conversation with Mayor Moseby on the train about Wood's application for the place of smoke inspector, and succeeded in having action deferred for a few days. He (witness) had notified Wood to be at Columbus Sept. 11 to attend to it.

September 11 Wood came to Columbus and brought the forged paper. The witness had accidentally misstated this date before. His secretary, Mr. Kurtz, was present, and knew the witness was expecting the papers. The first thing the witness found that he did not expect to see was the name of Senator Sherman. He had understood that the paper bore the names of Messrs. Butterworth, McKinley, and McPherson. Wood said that he was surprised to see it, as the name was not on the paper when he first saw it. He (Wood) had expected to find it on the second contract, however. The witness had never seen Governor Campbell's signature, an got Mr. Kurtz to procure a copy of a biographical sketch, and there noticed that Mr. Campbell signed his name James E. Campbell, whereas it was signed J. E. Campbell to the paper. Major McKinley's name looked like a very good — a genuine — signature, and the witness would have sworn to it. He did not think McKinley would question it if signed in any honorable connection. Major Butterworth did not sign his name usually as it was signed to the paper. The "B" ended on the wrong side, but the signature was other wise good.

Coming to Senator Sherman's name, Wood suggested that it might have been signed with a stamp; and the witness noticed a peculiarity of the stroke under the "S." Wood said he got the paper at Washington from Walter Weilman, private secretary to John R. McLean, and, in his absence in Chicago, in charge of his private papers. Wood applied to Weilman for it, and Weilman telegraphed the request to Mr. McLean, at Saratoga, and he replied: "Let Wood have what he wants." Thereupon Wood got the paper and made tracks with it for Cincinnati. That was his story.

The witness said he accepted the paper with out duration as to its genuineness. It led to all the mortification he had experienced about this whole letter. As any honorable man would, he felt mortified to find that he had been imposed upon by that paper which, in the light of subsequent events, it appeared, should not have deceived him. But the preliminary statements had prepared his mind for it. Continuing, Mr. Foraker read a copy of his letter to Mayor Moseby, recommending Wood, and also a letter from Wood saying that he had been received kindly, but that Ed Henderson had been seeking the appointment of another man. When the witness got back to his office Sept. 13, he examined letters bearing the signatures of Messrs. Sherman, Butterworth and McKinley. He also sent for John W. Clements and showed him Gov. Campbell's signature to the paper. Clements said that he usually signed James E. Campbell," but thought the signature was genuine. The witness also compared the initials on the gun-contract letter, furnished by Wood, with the signature, and observed that the "C" was as in the signature to the paper, and that satisfied him as to that. He now saw he was more easily satisfied than he should have been, but he had no doubt at that time.

The witness produced a number of letters from Messrs. Sherman, Butterworth and McKinley, and declared that there was a striking resemblance between the genuine and the forged signatures. Of Mr. McKinley's signature, he said that he had felt disposed yesterday to ask him why the signature was a bad imitation. As a matter of fact, the "W," which Mr. McKinley thought was a good letter, was the only one which witness suspected. The names he understood had been put on the paper by tracing something he knew nothing about at that time, and the process of which he had never seen yet. He had supposed forgeries were committed by getting hold of a signature, "putting your tongue between your teeth and copying it as near as you could." He knew nothing of glass and tissue paper and tracing. Soon after getting possession of the paper, the witness boarded a train at Springfield, and on it met Mr. Halstead, who was on his way from the East to Cincinnati. He made no allusion in his speeches up to that time to the paper. He told Mr. Halstead that he had the paper, and had got more than he contracted for; that it had come in such form that he did not see how he could make any use of it.

The witness recalled how Wood had told him that the papers interlocked, and that a general knowledge of the whole proceeding was necessary to give significance to any one paper. The witness read a copy of "Contract 1,000," as it was known. He gave Mr. Halstead the paper and talked with another gentleman while Mr. Halstead examined the paper. When he returned Mr. Halstead expressed his surprise at the contents of the paper. In answer to the witness's statement that he did not see how to use it, that there was dauber of throwing the party into confusion by attempting to use it. Mr. Halstead said that he saw how he could use it as far as Campbell was concerned; that Campbell was the only man named before the people; that it was a duty owing to the people to keep such a man from being Governor of the State, and that if elected with such knowledge in their possession they would be guilty of dereliction; that it he (witness) did not give him (Halstead) the paper he would publish it anyhow. All of this Mr. Halstead had published several times in his paper.

Mr. Halstead suggested that the paper be photographed to secure a copy and guard against loss. The witness had this done at Columbus, He then rapidly outlined his Music Hall speech, and told how Mr. Hadden had been shown the photograph copy or the paper, and said that the names of Messrs. Sherman and, Cox had been attached since he first saw it. Mr. Halstead called upon him (witness) the morning after the Music Hall speech, and asked for the paper, and the witness gave him the photographic copy and the certificate.

Wood wrote him Sept. 16, complaining that Mayor Moseby would not appoint him Smoke Inspector. The witness understood that charges had been preferred against Wood. At his request Wood came to see him (witness) and he told Wood of the charges — he had been arrested, and brought before the police court — and that he must fight it out with the Mayor on the letter of recommendation. The witness believed that Wood had explained that he had been arrested for defending his wife from insult on a street car. He (witness) read his letter of Aug. 13 to the Mayor, touching Wood's application, as well as one of Aug. 16, saying that he had promised to recommend Wood on a certain contingency and that he would like to have the place held open until the requirement had been complied with. He desired a competent man appointed. The witness told Wood that he need not expect the appointment unless he was a worthy man, and that he (witness) did not desire him to be appointed unless he could establish his character. Wood seemed to be satisfied, but that night he telegraphed the witness to wire the Mayor to refrain from making an appointment until he (witness) could see him. But the witness did not wire the Mayor, having done all he thought was proper. Other letters from Wood bearing upon this application were also read. In one Wood says that he will endeavor to bring pressure upon Mr. Halstead. He says: "They will be on to me with both feet when you and Halstead throw the boxes on them, and I should not be allowed to stand alone." Wood added that a great many men make great mistakes they afterward regret.

The witness had found that Mr. Halstead was one of those who had opposed Wood's appointment after he had heard of the charges. Wood called upon the witness and the latter again told him that he must clear himself of the charges before expecting the appointment. The witness saw him again at the Gibson House, at Cincinnati, the night of the Music Hall speech, and he produced the ballot box which formed the basis of his (witness's) object lesson in his speech that night. On Oct. 1 Wood wrote witness that he would have the whole gun crowd bagged in ten days. Wood again referred to his application and the inquiry into his character, and wound up with a postscript describing Charley Russell and Congressman Caldwell as nearly bursting with laughter out in the hall listening to witness's speech on the ballot boxes. Wood also inclosed a letter said to be from Walters, at Washington, respecting the gun patents and asking for further information about the number of the patents name or the inventor concerned, to aid him in getting at the Patent Office records.

At noon the committee adjourned until tomorrow.