I
2 THE OMAHA DAILY BEE : SUNDAY , JANUARY ' 10. 18 < J0. SIXTEEN PAGES
_ _
BBV1 what ho desired to b vo written for Uio Ho-
BB liubllcun ,
BB • Q. Whnt wait hut I A. If my memory
Bfl I rerves me right It wns ffino tlmo ago and
Bfl i tli I net nro a llttlo hazy ns to the exact facts ;
Bfl I but If my memory serves mo correctly , I
BB | I think Mr Vnndorvoort requested mo ono
Bfl | tiny to write something of n complimentary
Bfl ' lintilro for Mr Husscll
H ! Q. Wns Mr Russell n member of the log
BBJ | Itlaluro ? A Yes , sir , ho wns n member of
BBJ the legislature nnd a member of the judlcl-
BBJ , nry committee , which nt that time It my
BBI memory serves mo right wis to a cortnin
BBI extent under a eloud on account of some
BBI jnntters pertaining to the legislature some
BBJ | bills which wcro pending and in the hands
BBI of the Judiciary committee I'think Mr
BBI Husscll was also nt that particular tlmo n
BBI candidate ! for election to some Grand Army
BBI l position commander of the Grand Army
H Q. Did vou remember what charges had
BBI been mauo against the Judiciary committco
BBI that suggested this complimentary nrtlelol
BBB A. I think there were tiono mnilo nt the
BBI tbno ; I think thuro were rumors nround the
BBB , Rtrcct ns to the allegations thnt hud beer
BBB niado outslilo of the legislature
BBB Q What position nn the Judiciary com *
BIB mlttco did ho say Mr Russell occupied ? A.
BBB I am not positive whether ho was chnlimun
BBB or imt : I think ho Was
BIB C ) . What other nrtlolcs , If any , did Mr
BBB Vnndervoort instruct you to write ) A. I
BBB think ho nlso suggested tha writing of nn
BBB nrtlclo complimentary to Mr Sinter of
BBB Wnyno county , who was nlso a member of
BBB the Judlcinry cntumiUo
BBB Q. Wcro llioso articles written ? A.
BBB Thev were , nnd wcro forwnrded to the Uo-
BBB ] iubtican
BBB Q. Now , what was done In pursunnco of
BBB your Instructions to glvo h 1 to Tut : Hml :
BBB A. Well , almost dullv during the twenty '
BBBJ seven or twenty-eight days that 1 served on
BBBJ the Republican , I lirncccdcd to do so
BBBJ Q In the highest style of the urti A.
BBBJ i Well , not in the highest style of the art , bo-
BBBJ cause nt that tlmo I was not Riving my en-
BBBJ tire nttentlon I was conilnnd to the pi-cpa-
BBBJ I ration of these nttlclcs nnd I gcnornlly novcr
BBBJ ' overlooked nny opportlinlty to rnp Tin : Bee
BBBJ j or Mr Hoscwntcr over the knuckles
H | Q. Wcro there nny threats mndo ngnlnst
BBBJ J I Mr Roscwatcr nt that time , ntid If bo by
BBS I • whom were they made ? A. 'I ho only tlmo
BBBJ in which nny threats wcro mnao in person
BBB ] ngntnst Mr Kosowntcr was upon the any or
BBBJ ) | afternoon succeeding the introiluction by
BBBJ Mr Itnsowntor of charge ? . Mr Rosewater
BBBJ ] appeared upon the door of tha house nnd
BBBJ | l profaned charges against the Judiciary com
BBBJ | ' inlttce , alleging that they had been bribed or
B ) were to bo bribed In connection with the
1 ' unti-gnmbllng bill anu nlso the Omaha
BBB ] | charter bill : and during the recess Mr
BBB ] | Caldwell of Lincoln mudo a romnrk to mo ,
BBB ] nnd also in the prcsouco of Mr Vnndor-
BBfl voort , that ha would shoot that llttlo s n of
BBfl a b h that was the oxprcssion that ho
BBflJ t sed Ilka a partridge if it was not lor the
BBfl Monsldcration of his ( Caldwell's ) wife I
BBfl j ( think that was the expression ns near as I
BBfl can remember it At the tlmo I mnilc an
BBfl J lmmediato notation of it and I think that no-
BBfl | tntion is still preserved
' Q This was in the presence of Mr Van
BBfl dorvoort ? A. Well , it uns .in presencoof
BBB Mr Vandcrvoortnnd sovornl other gentle
BBB men who were standing uieio in tha Imme-
1 ' diato vicinity of tha cloak room
H ' Q. What , If anything , did Mr Vnnilor-
B voort sny ) A. Mi Vundcrvonrt mndo no
1 ; , response to It , IIo was talking to Mr Cald-
H wall , nnd hu up ] > , ircntly took no part in the
H uxclamutlon on Mr Caldwell's part Hem
m was simply u bystander and hearer as I
m was
B l Q. Wcro there any other threats that you
H recollect oM A. I have no recollection of
H j nny other threats being mndo in person
M uguinst Mr Koscwatcr's safety except that
H one , nnd the general talk that was roado
H ' - nround the court house at thut tinra that
H ltosoivatcr had saved his neck by getting out
H | of town That Vas made the day subso-
B iiuent , I think
| , Q. Do you recollect now what were the
HMVJ ' cbarges Mr Hosowatcr made uguinst the
j Judiciary committee ! A. Why , the nature
Hrj ] [ nf the charges was this , substantially ; A
V U Pool hud been orgauUed among the gam-
[ f. biers , who had raised about t' .UOO , winch ut
l that tlmo was on deposit at tha Lincoln Nn-
91 K tional bank , and which was for the purpose
i I of preventing the passAge of the nntl-
; H gambling bill , which hnd been missed by the
t senate on the lly nnd had como into the
3 I liouso nnd had been referred to the commit
{ I tco on Judiciary and at' thnt particular
1 I ttmo tho'bill whs" supposed to bo In the
J I > bands of the committco' on Judiciary , nnd
L this money had been raised bv the gum tilers
H ! of Omuhn and of Lincoln nnd of Beatrice
4 nnd of n western town which I
H ) cannot remember , for the purpose of pro >
{ , , , vcntuigtho report of this bill from the Judi-
H | j ' ciary committco until nfter legislation would
l I be futile until after it was too lute I bad
j I known porsonallv from soma members of
1 the Judiciary committco of their having con
1 ferenco with these gamblers upon this prop
| osition
t Q. Some of the Judiciary committco whom
Hi 1 you hnvo numrdi A. Yes , sir I say some
H | of tbo gontlomcn whom I have nuincd I
i nbotild licsitata to go any further than that
| ' ior the reason thnt it is no matter that is at
Bl , ho present time under investigation
BMBp Q. Wo will leave thut for cross-cxamina-
BMBlj tion if they desire to lot it out Do you know
BMfli whether or not Mr Vuudorvoort had any
BMBI conference with the gamblers ! A. No sir ,
MBS ' 2 do not I novcr Haw him
BBS Q. What do you Know of the oil rooms , as
BHB7 _ thejv were called down there } A. Well ,
HB : during these thirty days of my ncnuulntanco 1
BBH : with the inside of legislation , and which was
BMBj not u very familiar aciuuintnnco ] nt that , bo-
HB cnuso I did not huvo time hardly to got In-
BBB : traduced , there were tlirco places in the 1
HB1 Cnpitol hotel thrco rooms in which liquor
BP S Hvas dispensed
l ! Q < Thrco different ones besides the bar )
KB ! A. Yes , sir thrco places were in operation
BBBj Q. At the same tlmol A. They wororuu
KB from ono to another I think that thoprop-
BKB ; rioter of the hotel , or the parties who were
BBfli • Jnanugltig these uparttnonts were somewhat
BIB ! nervous at tliut time in rotation to , tha liquor
Bfl law on Suu dny I know Cnnf'lt ro-
BB ) quired a pretty intunato knowledge
BB of the establishment to get into the 1
Bfl room Sometimes it would not bo 1
jflHi the same room thut had been occupied on i
flBJ , | Saturday
Bll Q. Who havoyou scon thcrot A. Iliavo 1
KB ! seen Mr Vundcrvonrt , Mr , Crawford , Mr
BkflH Gurlcy , Mr Manchester and Mr Lcavitt
BjBjfi Q. Who is Mr Manchester ! A. I dent ;
KB t ] mow him except uy that namu Ho was in
BBBj Lincoln as u lobbyist I never met liim psr-
BBBj Bonally except in that way
BB I Q. Is bo from this city ! A. 111111 under
KB the impression thut ho Is an Omaha man
KB Q. Ilod you nny vonvorsation with iiuu ! I
BBB A. No sir , I never hud any conversation
BBJ with Mr Manchester
M Q. Was Mr , Vaudorvoort there whan Mr
BBB Manchester was there ! A. I think not I
BBB only remember of two occasions when I saw i
BBB Mr Vnndorvoart in 0110 of these upartments ,
BBB nnd that was In room 30 ; that is , 1 only ro-
BBB member positively Mto occasions Ofuiume ,
BBB i have seen a inimber of these gentlemen ,
BBB uowii there at different times id these rooms
BBB J was probably in these various rooms ten or
BBB < tirolva or possibly tlftoen ditfaront times ,
BBB " { luring this month I remember seeing Mr
BBB Vaudcrvoort one evening onq night Into in I
BBB company with Mr , ( iurloy and Mr Crnvv-
BBBJ ford , and I um under tbo imprc&slon that [
BBBJ lr Qarvoy , a legislator from this city
BBB Q. You saw tlietn in this room ! A. Yes ,
BBBj felr , 1 was thcro myself
.
B Q. How lute was thjs plnco kept oponl !
BBB AI novcr found thorn closed , mid I used to
BB stay up ns lata us unybedy nround tbu cstab-
BBJB lishmont , 1 gucbs ,
BBBf Q. Would tlicy be open after 13 o'clock ' at
BBJB iilghtt A. Yes sir , until U or U in tbo
BBJB luorning
BBBJ Q. Open Sunday ! A. Yes sir ,
BBBJ Q. On this occasion when you saw Mr
BBBJ j Vnndorvoart Uiaiowhat time of the night ;
BBBJ was it ) AIf my memory serves ma right I
BBBJ it wits about midnight , 11 or it ) oclock
BBBJ Q. Mr Ourlo.y and Mr , Crawford wcro
BBBJ lhnrol A.Yss sir , they were present at :
BBBJ that time
B Q , Who seemed to run this establish
BBBJ Incut ] A. Well , there was no 0110 running J
BBBJ It apparently ; it wus an ostublisbmont
BBBJ ivlioro 11 man who wus acquainted with the
BBBJ , tentlemuu who acted iu the capacity of bar
BBB | Lender could got In and ould order whatever
BBBJ 110 wished for himself aud his friends wlth-
BBBJ but any payment of money
BBBJ Q. Without anypaymontof monoyl A. •
BBBJ 1 At least I never saw any money paid 1
BBB I Jiavo been Jutho placoudoien of times
m Q. l'eoplo went hi nnd got what they
BBB tvuutcd , In other words , it seemed to run
BBBJ Itself , A. My iripression at that tlmo and
BBB is yet 10 far as physical evidences nro cou-
BBB torued , is that the room or rooms won : cou-
BBB Hucted by tbo hotel who bud an account with
BBB aertaln parties who wertfabloto get there ,
BBB Butt exactly ' what that account was or who
BBB jjiiid tbo bill 1 dent know anything about
BBflt Q. You Imvo soon the legislators there 1
BBBK You say that time mid again you huvo scon
memborsof the legislature thcro 1 A. Yes ,
sir , I hnvroou various members of the leg
islature thorer-
Q. Have you scon members of the legis
lattira leave there nnd go to other places , to
houses of lll-famal A. No , sir , I dun't
think that 1 could testify I dent know thnt
they went from tboso rooms to houses of ill
fame
Q. Have you ever scon thorn go to houses
of lll-famo iiftor you had seen thorn In these
rooms ) A. 1 think so ; yes , sir , If mv mem
ory serves mo rightly , 1 think tlint I have
l } , Now , havoyou seen members of the
legislature there nt that time who were im
pecunious , say , today nnd very Hush to
morrow ) A. Iliad the ploisuro of mooting
ono gcntlnmnn who was in thut situation
Q. Explain It , please A. Well , It so
happened that 1 was talking with this man
ono nftcrnoon nnd nt that time ho stated tome
mo that ho didn't have any money The fol
lowing day , however , he had n largo amount
of money , that is , n largo amount for n
man to carry around In his clothes
Q , Do jou know how much ) A. Wall ,
somewhere 111 thn vicinity of $100 in gold
* lXlor ( f jM in gold nnd currency Nearly nil
of it In gold , howuver
Q. Did ho sav where ho got it ) A. Ho
ban n lnrgo nutnbor of gold pieces No , sir ;
ho did tint
Q. What had been his position in tbo
house or sctiata immediately before that )
A. Ho was n member of the liouso Ha
was known ns n Vnn Wyck man nnd ho had
to a certain extent favored legislation which
hnd been Introduced by gcntloinon who were
associated with him in the senatorial con
test ; and , of course , going thorc nnd moot
ing these gentlemen in the senatorial con
test llrst I nnturnllv classified them In my
mind ns Van Wjck men or nntl-A'nn Wyclc
men I found subsequently during the ses
sion of the legislature gentlemen who were
Vim Wjck men hung together pretty well In
logialntivo mutters nnd these wno were op
posed to Senator Van Wycit wcro generally
united In opposition to lcglslntlvo matters erIn
In favor thcro wcro generally two divisions
of them
Q Did thcro scorn to bo any change In
this mnn ever the treatment ho received , nnd
which you hnvo montlonodi A. Ho tnnilo
two or thrco spocche * there m very violent
contradiction of his urovious nttltudo
( } . In the nrticlcs which you did write ,
statu whether you were inspired by what
Vaudcrvoort snld to you nnd by his associ
ates ) A. Yes , sir , almost ontlrolv I
hnd no feeling in the matter ono
way or the other I hnd no disposi
tion to say anything unpleasant of Mr
Kosoivutoror Tin ; Ucn , and I would not
have written in the tenor that I did If It had
not boon for the instructions which 1 had ro-
colvcd nnd the Inspirations which I rccolvod
in Lincoln
Q. You rocolvod the instructions from
Hothnckor and the inspirations fromVander-
voort ) ANot entirely from Vaudorvoort
Trom n number of gontlomcn who were sup
posed to bo in tbo intorcst of certain loelsla-
tiou nnd against certain legislation which the
Ucpubllc.au tmpcropposed
Q These people wcro opposed to Mr
Vondorvoort thorc , were they not ! A.
Yes , sir , oh yes
Q. Was ibat a crowd of gcntloinon of
these who were opuosod to nny restrictive
legislation upon railroads ) A. Yes , sir
they were all opposed to the ouaetment of
n railroad law which would repeal the old
commission altogether and causa the anpolat-
tnont of n now commission with greater
powers ,
tCross examination , questioned by Mr Mahoney -
honey :
( J. What is your name ) A. Sumner
Johnson , . _
Q. You rostda nt present nt Denver ! A.
- Yes , Bir •
Q. How long havoyou been at Denver !
A. I hnvo been at Denver since Scptombor ,
1S37. '
Q. Have you been engaged In the news
paper business there ) A. Yes , sir
IJ Ever slnco you went there ! A.
Yes , sir
( } . On whnt paper ? A. The Republican
principally , and for a brief time 1 was on
the Times
Q. Iu what capacity ? A. As a local
man *
Q. How long did you work for The
Omaha Uisc ? A. I came to Omaha in 18S1
and worked until ubout 1SS3.
Q. In what capacity ! A , As a reporter
Q. Did you attend any session of the
legislature of Nebraska besides that of 18S7
ias a reporter for Thr Dee ? A. No sir
Q Didn't ' you attend any session of the
legislature of Nebraska than that of 1SST as
a reporter for any paper ? A. No sir
Q That is the only session you attendodl 1
A. That is the only legislative session of
Nebraska I huvo over attended
Q. You say you saw Mr Vahdcrvoort 1
there during this Besslon of the legislature )
A. Yes sir
Q. That is tbo regular session and the 1
extension ) A , Yes sir Of course I do not
intend 10 convoy the impression that I saw
Mr Vundervoort there every day during
that time : dent know us ldid , but I saw
him at dlfforont periods , which loft the im -
pression ip ray mind that ho was continu
ously there 1 saw him quite frequently
Q. IllsTioadquiirtcrs were at the Capitol I
hotel ? A. I am not sure of thut
Q. Do you know where ho boarded ) A. •
No sir I dent think ha boarded at the
Capitol hotel , however
Q. Do you know whether ho hnd a room
at the Capitol hotel ) A. No sir , I do not
Q. Had you been acquainted with Mr
Vnndervoort prior to the session of 1837) )
A. Only as having known him here ' in
Omnhuns being connected with the postal
sorviee I had known that ho had been 1
superintendent , I think , of the mall service
of the posioiUco here
Q. You became personally acquainted
with him then at Lincoln ) A. Yes , sir ,
that is right That wus my first personal
acquaintance with him
Q. You served Tin : Bui : until the close of
the roguiur sessiont A. I served Tim Bui :
until the close of the regular Besslon
Q. And thou served the Republican
through the oxtousloii ? A. Yes , sir
Q. The severance of your connection with 1
Tin : Hi : 1 : was a sham , was it not ? A. My
connection with Tub Hei : was not a sham
My sovciunco ; well , ics , it was to a certain 1
extent , yes , sir
Q. It was a sham ! A. Yes , sir
Q. Arrungod between yourself and Mr
Hosowatcr ) A , Well , I was there
Q. You suggested it ami ho agrocd to it ) I
A. Yes , sir , iHuggested it nnd ho ngreed I
to it
it.Q. That is , you pretended to leave the employment -
ploymont of Tub Bie : ) A. Yoi , sir
Q , And pretended to go lute the employ
roentof tha Republican ) A , No , sir , there 1
wus no contemplation of that character ; the 1
oaly business reason for my leaving the em
ployment of Tub 11ik : was there were so 1
inuny men there directing and handling leg
islation that were opposing legislation thnt
It wus impossible to obtuiu any information 1
from them ,
Q The plan nrraugod between you nnd I
Mr , Ilosowater wu > > that you should ostensi
bly lenvo the employment of Tin : Hke ; that ;
was the arrungoment between yourself and I
Mr Hosoirator ) A. Yes , sir
Q. Thut you should ostensibly leave tha 1
employment of Tiik Dims for the purpose of
putting yourself in a place where you could I
got information which you could not got as a
reportorol The Heh ! A. Yes sir
Q. ly representing yourself as In no
manuor connected with that paper to get t
Into tha confidence of men who would not c
otherwise ullow you in their coniidencol A.
I did pot contemplate getting into the con
lldonco of any of tiicsu gentlemen I did not
wait their eoulldoiico , but to bo permitted to
go whuro they were and see what they were
doing
Q. To go Into their private rooms ) A. -
No , sir : not into their private rooms
Q. You took the trouble , of going where
tno.v were In the balls of tha legislature ! A.
\ es , sir ; in their legislative seals ; but that
is not u hero the legislation was enucted The
legislation was cnattod in the private rooms 1
aud tbu secret caucuses
Q , This was for the purpose of enabling
you to go into their private rooms ) A , No ,
sir ; for the purpose of getting utjmlsslon to
the sec meetings of thut churucter from
which the reporters of Tub HEr hud ueon
excluded
Q. Into the private rooms of these gonttc-
men ) A. No , sir
Q. 'l heso mooting * were bold iu tha pri-
vuio rooms ! A. Generally these meetings
were huld in tbu coupuittou rooms , but u
number of them wuro held in thu pnvuto
rooms of these gqntlcmon at the hotels I I
Was never ln-thok private1 room of any of I
these gentlemen which was occupied for
sleeping purposes nt the Capitol hotel
G You woi-o iu the oil rooms ! A. Yes ,
sir
sir.Q. . Do you know to whom these rooms
wcro ussUned on the hotol'rcclster ? A. I
never noticed ' ' *
Q. You never went to see what was going
on A. Yes , sir
Q. You never thought of going to see who
these rooms were assigned to ! A. There
was never any arrangement whereby these
rooms could ba assigned to nnybodv They
could not bo occupied ; thev were bars
Q. On whnt floor of tha hotel were they !
A. On the second und third floors
Q. Wns there a bar thcro ) A. Thcro
was nn arrangement across the room usually
called the bar
Q. An I n man behind the bar as btr-
tender ) A. Yes , sir An employe of the
hotel Ostensibly so ; nt least I thought so
Q. So far ns you are able to dotormlno
thnt bar was run by the hotel pooplol A.
Thnt is my Impression Hut it was run by
the hotel on this plan , thnt anybody who was
nblo to secure ndmittanco to these rooms
( nnd I never had been previous to severing
my connection with Thr Urn ) , nnd would
not hnvo been unless it was supposed by the
boys that I was in with the play ,
Q. Who wcro the boys ) A , The gentle
men who favored any legislation which was
particularly friendly to the various corpora
tions
Q. Parllcularly.tho bill the repeal the old
railroad commission law ) A. It Was 011O of
thorn ; there wns several
Q. You say that Mr Kosowntcr preferred
certain charges ngnlnst the Judiciary com
mittco ) A. Yes , sir
Q. And prnferrod charges before the fulr
house A. Yes , sir
Q. As the result of the prcferetiro of
these charges nn investigation was ordered
by the house of these charges , A. Yes ,
sir
( J. And the investigation wns had I A ,
No , sir , nn investigation was not had
Q Sessions wnro hnd , witnesses were
called ) A. Only ono session wns hnd ; I
think only the informing witness , Mr Hose
watcr himself , wns called * ,
Q. Where wus Mr , Hosawntorl A. Ho
was nt that tlmo in Lincoln
Q. Did ho appear before the committco )
A. Ho did
Q. Wcro thcro not ether sessions of the
investigating committee , and was uot Mr
Hosowatcr called for nnd was not
hu In tbo cast nt the tlmo
nnd beyond the reach of a. subpoenal
A. Yes , sir ; but during the llrst mooting of
the llrst session , which ordinarily was to
hnvo hold distinct sessions in secret In pri-
vnte they being llablo to a nubile exposure ;
n certain clique in the house beenmo
nlurmed nnd by the force of nn ngreomont
which extended between lifty-four of the
members of the house tlint thuy sliouhbstnnd
by or defeat nny proposition upon which a
majority of their number ngrccd they wcro
nblo to throw open the doors of this investi
gation , and thereby prevent the procuring , of
testimony of witnesses who were ufratd of
assassination If they appeared befora the
commltteu in that open investigation
Q. Thu making the investigation open in
stead of secret drove away witnesses who
wcro othorwlso willing to testify ? A. It
proventcd the testimony of witnesses who
were afraid of assassination
Q. Wns Mr Hosowatcr afraid of assassi
nation ) A. No , sir ; hoapocarod personally
and preferred the charges
Q.- Did ho appear before the committco !
A. No , sir ; bocausa ho had preferred his
charges
Q. Were there nny further calls for Mr
Hosowatcr to appear before that committee )
A. Yes , sir , and the purpose of the call waste
to obtain from him the facts which the wit
ness would testify to As soon ns ho dis
covered that this majority of thn liouso had
entirely ruined the possibility of any such
thing as nn investigation , and that they bail
substantially whitewashed in other words
making the investigation open und above
bonrd resulted in the dofcat of the investiga
tion ; after making the Investigation open so
that the names of the witnesses nnd tha
henrlng of their testimony would defeat tha
Investigation ; there Is no question about that
down there , because some of the witnesses
who would have testified were , to a certain
oxtcnt , those implicated , and that wns the
only method whereby atiy information couU
bo obtained
Q. Mr Hosewator had given the names of
these witnesses to thoml A. No , sir , ho
had the names of these witnesses
Q. Ami ho had these names given to thorn !
A1 think so ; yes , sir
Q. As a result of his going away the committee
mittoo was unable to get the witnesses )
A. Not as a result of that ; I think they
could have been obtained , because I am
satisfied the chairman bad in bis possession
tbo names of the witnesses
Q. What do you mean by sayingiMr
Rosewater was called for by the session to
produce the nnmos of tbo witnesses ) A.
Ho was called ub foe the purpose of produc
ing the papers whloh bo had ' originally
presented to the committco , containing ln-
formation as to what these witnesses would
swear to
Q. Then , when ho died these charges ho
presented a paper to the committee of tbo
bonso ; to the chairman of the committco )
A. The whole thing was in a nutshell line
this : Mr Hcsewatcr was called before thn
committee as n.witncss , and during his examination '
amination before that committee , and after
they had sveceedod in obtaining from him
information which thev desired I was in
the house at the time I heard of the move
inent nnd the machinery by which it was
worked ; the resolution was sprung in the
house to ehnngo the character of tins com
mittee , if I remember rightly , and to hold an
open Investigation , thereby taking advan
tage of the information which Mr Rose
water had preferred and preventing , the
possibility of the testifying of these wit
nesses whom ho had mentioned
Q. And would thnt prevent their testify
ing ! A. Yes , sir
Q Tboy could bo reached by subpoena )
A. Yes , sir ; but at the same time it was im-
possible to obtain the testimony of soma of
these gentlemen upon the vital points at
issue
Q. Wcro those gontlcmcn subpoenaed
A. No , sir
Q. How do you know ! A. Because I
had been informed they would never up-
pear before an open investigation and tes
tify
tify.Q. . If tboy hnd been subpoenaed would
they have appeared ! A I do not know
Q. What was it the committee wanted
from Mr Hosowatcr at the time bo wont
away ) A. So that tbo testimony of Mr
Rosewater could bo examined us to the mat
tor aud tbo importance of the substance of
Ills evidence und charges
Q. The further testimony they wanted
from Mr Hosowarer they did not got ! A.
I do not kuow If tboy could hnvo obtained
uny further testimony , because Mr Hose
wutcr , wus not aware of any now witness 'In
the matter , except , perhaps , in ono instance
Q , You spoke of Mr Vnndervoort asking
you to write a eouplo of articles referring to
certain gcntlomon , mombcrs of the house
ono of these was Mr Russell ? A. Yes , sir ;
and the ether Mr Slater
Q - Were both of these members of tha
Judiciary committee ) A. Yes , sir
Q. Did they como up in connection with
this investigation ! A. My impression is
thnt these articles were wrlttou about the
time that this investigation wus pending
Q.i Was this investigation pending wbllo
you were working for Tun Bee or Repub-
llcan ) A. While I was working for " tha 1
Ropubllcun ,
( J. During the oxtouBionof the session )
A. Yes , sir I have here some data which
will refresh my uiomory , because I wont to
the fllos of the Omaha Republican yesterday
and obtained it and 1 can atato distinctly as
to the dates Mr Russell was hm biography
was published in the Konubllcan an March
10 , I think In the Republican on tbo 10th , in
connection with tno urticlo which described
the langungo lie used to Mr Rosewater as
Mr Rosewater upiioarod-in the house at the
time that Mr , Russell wus speaking upon this
question
Q. After the charges had been intro .
duced ) A. I . think after the charges had
been introduced , yes , sir , aud on tbo lOtb ,
tha following duj , I published I wrote also ,
which wus published in the Republican , an
encomium for Mr Slater , and on tbo 10th I
lind hero that Mr Hosowatcr hud it was
then published that Mr Roscwater had loft ,1 ,
the city
Q. You charged Mr Rosewater at Vbot
tlmo with hnvirg loft the city for tbo purpose - >
pose of evading the investigating committee !
A. Yes , sir 1 was writing under Instruo-
tiono 1 did exactly ns I was told to do
( J. Wore you told to write any specific 1
churges ) A. I was told to throw Mr Rose
water into ridicule
Q , But at the same time you would not
Intentionally Ho about him to carry out your
Instructions ! A. J did not Ho about hlin
< ? . Were you not charging him with hav-
ing loft for the purpose of evading the oouu •
iiilttco ? Did you tell tbo truth ) A. L did
not say that 1
I } . Old you ohargo bltn in that article of
liuvlng loff for the | urpose.of uvadinyjl )
A. Nuslr
Q Dm you not sav that In substance )
A. I think 1 cotivujed that impression ,
Q , You luloudod to convey that iropres-
slpnf did you not ) A. I think soyes , sir
Q.t Did you uot believe thut was true at
the tlmo ! A. I was aware it was not true
Q , Do you expect this court to believe
your testimony uow , Mr Johnson ) A. That >
Is anotbor proposition ontlroly : thnt Is for
the court to dctormlnc I was working under
vcrj peculiar clrcumitancos I wns nctlng
under Mr Rothnckcr s Instructions ontlroly ,
nnd a nowspaporfTouirtcr is obliged to do
and write exactly what ho Is told to write
Q. Hoenrdloss of wh6thor ho bollovcs It
to bo true or not ) , As-jYcs , sir
Q. Do you think that IS' part of the moral
cede of nowspanor men ! A. I think it is
part of tuo business I dent know whether
it is part of the morklt cede or not 1 have
had fourteen or fltfcop yenrs experience and
in thnt tlmo I have written a great many
things which worotAjt true
Q , Who is Mr.jGiildwollt A. Ho Is n
member of the loglslaturo from Lincoln
Lancaster county , I think
Q. Ho wns a member of the loglslaturo of
18S.I A. Yes , airV > >
Q. And has boon slnco that ) A. I nin
not informed ,
Q. Wns ho a. member of the Judiciary
committee ) A. Yes , sir
( ? . When ho mndo this declaration that If
it were not for Mr Hosewutor's family ho
would shoot him ns ho wouid.n partridge , It
was in connection with Mr Hoscwator's
charges ! A. It was not in consideration of
Mr Rosowator's wife ; It wns his own wllo
Q. When Mr Cnldwoll made the roniark
thnt if It were not for his own wlfo ho would
shoot Mr Kosowntcr ns ho would a pnrirldgo ,
it wns following the charge that Mr Rose
water hnd made against the Judiciary com
mittee ) A. It was immediately following
Mr Caldwell , of nil the committco , was ap
parently the most excited nnd the most per
turbed Ho was violontiy disturbed lllto n
man who bad been grossly Insulted or hko n
man who had been very skillfully detected ,
ono of the two ; It was dlnicultto dclcrinliio
which
Q. Very nngryl A. Apparently so Ho
wus raving
Q Ho made that statomoat ho made
that statement in your bresoncol A. Yus ,
sir
sir.Q. . And In the nrcsonco of Mr Vender
voort ! A. Yes , sir ; Mr Vnndorvoart was
standing there
Q. And In the proscnooof whomolsol A.
lam under tha the Impression that Mr
Slater was there nnd that Mr Russell was
within hearing , nnd ns Mr Russell turned
nround ho shook his linger nt him aud said ,
shooh "
By the Court Who said that ! A. Mr
Husscll
( J By Mr Mahoney : Mr Vnndervoort
hnd taken no part In that conversation ! A.
No , sir
Q. None whntnvor ! A. No , sir
Q. So thnt you have no reason for believ
ing that Mr Vnndervoort hud nuythlng to do
with Mr Caldwell maklag that threat ! A.
No , sir
Q. Or that It was from any suggestion of
Mr Vnndervoort ? A I have no reason to
bollovo it was nny suggestion of Mr • Vnnder
voort , no Bir I have only a reason to bo
llovo that the throat was made by Mr Cald
well as an outgrowth of the very blttor per
sonal hostility which urovaiied ngalnst Mr
Rosewater on the part of all these man ,
Q. Aud as an outgrowth of the nngcr and
indignutlon foltby Mr , Campbell at the time
is not that true ? A. Well , ho nctud moro
to mo Hko a man at bay ; lllto a man who was
caught and snarled
Q. Did you know whether ho was specifi
cally charged with having received anv
brines ) A. There was no specific charge
my memory serves mo n little bettor in rela
tion to tbo questions which you asked mo a
few moments ago I tnlnk the purposes of
Mr Kosowntcr at the time was tuat he wus
obliged to go away and was nccossarlly ab
sent from the legislature , und at tbo tlmo
the committee alsoi kn w that ho was
necessarily absent and that ho could not bo
obtained when they were so anxious to call
him I think the purposo'of it was to secure
from him specific charges aguiust some of
these gontloinon ; that is , that was tha
ostensible purpose Of course the gentle
men that , wcro urging that Mr Rosewater
bo recalled were nwaro tlmt Mr Rosewutcr
would not come back and was on ills way to
Cleveland or Cincinnati on important busi
ness , which ho had announced for a week or
ton days prior to that time , and which would
cause him largo pecuniary loss if ho did not
got there ' ' >
Q. Did you know that personally or from
Mr Rosowuter'sstatemont ) A. 1 knew it
personally und at tbactime , and tbo reason
why I know it was thjs : 1 had eudoavorcd
to dissuade Mr "Rospjvator from prof erring ;
those charges , for tnd 'fooson that I was
satisfied that lf'ho wpbld wait thrce or four
days longer 1 could have had some of these
gontlcmon in the position where they
would have boon in Lincoln per
munently ; but unfortunately ho was so
influenced by his business consider
ations thai ho preferred tbo charges about
two days too early
Q. You thought something was going to
happen 111 the next few days ! A. I am sat
isfied in tbo next two days I would bavo had
tbo admission before witnesses of at least
ono member of the judiciary committco as to
the arrangements which had been made for
them to got this money which was In the
bank in consideration of the killing of the
anti-gambling bill
Q. You say you saw conferences between
members of that committee and gumblers )
Whnt members of the committco ) A. Mr
Slater and Mr , Caldwell were in conference
with a Lincoln gambler whoso nutria 13
Snccdy 1 think be Is now dead
Q. IIo is now dead , is ho ) A. I think so ;
also a gambler from Omaha by tbo name of
Goodly Brookor
Q. When did you see Mr Caldwell and
Mr Slater in conference with Mr Shoedyi
A. It was on the night of ftlarch 4 , I thin It ;
March 3 or 4 ; it was early In the month of
March
, Q. Where wns that conference ) A , It
was at the corner of the street where the
Capitol hotel Btood
Q. Out of doors ) A. Jt was out of doors ,
yes sir
Q. lust thosa thrco men standing there
togotberf A. No , sir ; there was another
individual whom I dent know There were
iivo men all told
Q. Lets boo fiva men with Cnldwoll and
• Slater ) A. Yes , sir
Q. Did you BeoBrookerl A. Yes sir
Q. That's four What other man ) A.
There was anotbor man There were ilvo
men all told ThO'Wuy ' J came to see them
nt all was by myKolng out of the hotel with
a contemplation of going homo , and as I
passed by I was surprised to see these two
gcntlomon standing thcro talking with these
two men , whom 1 know to bo gamblers
Q. How long did you see thorn there ?
A Possibly ton or flftcon minutes I went
to walk up the street and turned around and
walked back towards them aud walked In
that direction ( indicating ) .
Q. You bow them standing there and talk
ing about ton minutes ] AYes , sir
Q , You dent know what they were talk
ing about ! A , No , sir
6. What tlmo wns that ! A. About 3
o'clock in tbu morning
Q. On March 4 ! A. I am not positlvo of
tbu date ; it was early in tbo month
* Q , Vnndorvoort had no connection with
that that you know of ) A , Not that I
know of
Q , You never saw Vondorvoort in conference
once with anv gamblers down thcro at Liu-
corn ! A. Np , sir ; ludvcrdid
Q , You say jou sawdlr.t Vundervoort in
the room thut you designate as the ' oil
room twlcof A. I atnlol the Impression ;
my impression is that I hay ? soon htm moro
than twice ; but on twooccasions I remember
bor it particularly , ir , ' ,
Q. Were you iu the ruoth' .on those two oc
casions ) A. 1 was ' ' " * ' ' •
Q. Who else was In-lhoroomj A. On ono
occasion Mr Qurloy undiMn Crawford were
thorn , besides Mr , Viuidervoort nnd Bomo
gentleman I dent Know , .jjj was introduced
to him nt the time , but.bis mo has escaped
m.V memory . ,
Q , Where Is that mcfuuor from , Colum
bus ? A. I am not sure ? I know him there
only in Lincoln , 3t > <
Q. LO Crawford , Mibyicall lilni' ' Judge
Crawford ? A. I think tholes bis unme Ho
Is u small , slight man , with a somewhat
promlnont Roman nosuAnd.somewhat deaf
Q. Stands on his toca.when bo speaks to
you ) A. 'Ihut's somevtlibgl dent ' remein-
ber very distinctly
Q , And Mr Vundervoort und Mr , fJurley !
A. Yes , sir
Q That was on one-occasion ) A. Yes ,
sir
sir.QK Were there auy members of the Icris-
laturaln there01that , ocqasiiui ! AJ think
that Mr Oarvoy was '
if , How long were you In the room that
tlmo ) A. Oh , probably llfteen.or twenty
minutes
Q Was anything drank there during that
time ) A. Yes , 1 tbiilk some whisky was
disposed of ,
Q Who prdorod it ) A , I upi pot positive
as to thut some of the gentlemen , .
K , Ordered jt from the bartender A.
Yds , sir ; It was served by the bartender
Q And drank by all present ! A. Yes ,
sir
sir.Q -Do you rcmembor whether Vandor-
voortdrnnK nny ) A. That's somothlng I
can not poslttvoly testify to
Q. You saw him on another occasion
Who wns proscnt on the other occasion ?
A , On the ether occasion I think that Mr
John H. Manchester und Herbc.it Lcnvitt
were thorc , I thluK thcro wcro nlso In the
room two or thrco members of tha legisla
ture There was quite a party In tbcra
Q. Do you remember whnt the pamos of
the members were ! A. I dent remember
Q. How long wcro you there ntthnt tlmo !
A , I wns thcro probably ten or Jlfteun
minutes
Q. Wns there anything drank thcro nt
the tlinal A. Yes , sir ; they were drinking ;
thnt Is how I came to go lute the room I
was going past nnd Lcnvitt cailod mo In
Q. It was not n member of tbo legislature I
A. No , sir
CJ Aside from the drinking you saw
nothing Improper in thorn ! A. I saw
nothing improporln these rooms nt nnv tlmo
except drinking , nnd that could hardly bo
called improper ut auy time at regular hours
except on Sundny
( J. Then , the Impropriety is not In the
drinking , oven on Sunday ) A. I ntn under
tno impression It Is in the sale on Sunday ,
nnd possibly so in the drinking ,
Q. You say it was nbottt midnight on
these two occasions you saw them there A.
Somewhere nlnng thorc
Q. You do not know whether it was before
fore or after A. It wns lute ut night ; the
customary habit was nfter the bar shut up
for the liiombcrs of the loglslaturo and per
sons who were nbout the legislature to go to
these rooms , it they had the ueccssary
sesame to go there
Q. You say you have seen members of
the leglslnturo go to houses of III fnmo A.
Yes , sir ; on ona or two occasions
Q. How mnny members have you seen go
there A. I hnvo seen porhnps six or seven
Q. Uo together A. Yes , sir
( J. In n group A. I do not think I oversaw
saw six or seven together in a group ; I was
present ono night nt a tlmo when two wont ;
1 nccompanlod thom
Q. You nccompanlod them ) A. es , sir
Q. You went to the house with thorn A.
Yes , Bir
Q. You saw others go , did you ! A I
did
did.Q. . Did those two you went with go from
the Capitol Hotel ? A. Yes , sir
Q. Do you know whether or not these
mon hnd gene from this oil room ; did they
leave the oil room in your presence ? A.
No , sir ; they did not I am not posltivo as
to that ' ; I could not say ns to whether they
had be en In the oil room or not : in nil Hlto-
llhood they had , because it was after mid
night , nnd they came down stairs , nnd I am
under the impression that I Joined them
there and was invited by thom to go nlong
Q. Aud they came down stairs ! A , Yes ,
sir
sir.Q. . That is the reason they came from the
nil room ) A Not nocossarlly ; no , sir I
did not ut tbo tlmo think anything particu
lar about it They were both somewhat In
toxicated , because it was on that occasion
that ono of them informed mo there was in
existence such an arrangement as I have re
ferred to n few momoats ago an agreement
between the majority of the house :
Q. All through that session of the legis
lature it was a matter quite cuBtomnry , was
it not , for members of the loglslaturo to have
liquors in their private rooms , and drink
occasionally ! A. As to that I can not say ,
I never was iiisido of anybody's private
room I wish to modify my statemout of n
few moment ago on that ono point I stated
1 had never been in any private room ; 1 was
never in anv private room of tbo hotel ex
cept with Mr Gurloy It came to 1110 after
wards that I had boon once in Mr Gurloy's
room , which was near the head of the stairs
Upon that occasion there were four or five
gentlemen thoio , aud somebody ordorcd
drinks from tbo bar They were sent up
from the bur
Q .So these two gentlemen of the legisla
ture came down stairs somewhat intoxicated ,
and they came from the private room und
had boon drinking thcro ! A. Yes ; that is
possible
Q. Might have been drinking before ?
A. Yes , sir
Q. Do you not know anything to Indicate
that Mr Vnndervoort saw these people about
the houses of lll-fnmo ? A. No , sir : I never
saw Mr Vanderxoort in n house of that kind
that I know of
Q. Now , on the other occasion you say
you saw other members of the house go
there members of the loglslaturo go to
houses of ill-famo ? A Yes sir
Q. How many on tbo other occasions ;
was there moro than ono ether occasion )
A. No ; I never saw msldo of an establish
ment of thut kind 111 Lincoln but twice , and
these wcro the two occasions , and both times
I wns accompanied by members
Q. Both times you were accompanied by
members ) A. Yes , sir
Q. The secoud time did members of tbo
legislature go from the Capitol hotel ) A.
My recollection is that , they did
Q. You went with thom from the Capitol
hotel ) A.- Qua , sir
Q. Mr Vondorvoort was not in their
company ? A No , sir .
Q. You do not know of uny facts to Indl-
cato that Mr Vaudcrvoort sent these mon to
the bouses of lll-famo ? A. No , sir
Q. Mr Johnson , the purpose of these
visits to these houses of ill-famo was the
ordinary purpose of visits to such houses ,
wns it not ) A. That Is something I would
not feel able to testify concerning 1 know
that upon tbo occasion the gentlemen with
whom I went to these houses disappeared
and I retired from the establishment
Q. You naturally expected thomvto disap
pear after you got to tbo .liouso , didn't you !
A. That is something whlcn I could not say
that I did ; I do not know
Q. You met no lobbyists that you lenow
of ut these bouses when you wont there with
these gentlemen ) A , Yes , sir , I have
Q You say you kuow of ono instance til
nmemborof the legislature becoming sud
denly flush at Lincoln ? A. Yes , sir
Q , Who was that racmbor ! A. Well , if
you wish mo to testify to hl nnma I shall dose
so ; I would prefer not to ; I do not wish to
throw nny odium upon the man Ho was
Mr Tingle ' , a member from tbo northwest
ern part of the state
Q. You say ho bclongod to the Vnn
Wyck clement ! A. Originally holrad , yes ,
sir
sir.Q. . Had you ever seen Mr Tingle in the
oil room ? A. Yes , sir , I huvo seen Mr
'Xinglo in the oil room
Q. Wns Mr , Vondorvoort proscnt ? A.
I cannot say positively as to that
Q. Did you ever sea Mr Tinelo at any of
these houses of lll-famo ! A. Yes , sir
Q. About what tlmo in the session was it
that Mr Tingle told you ono day ho wus out
of monoyl A. I think it was about tbo 5th
or titti of March ,
Q. Was that after the closogflbo rogtilar
session ! A. Yes , sir
Q Were you working for the Ropublieati
nt that time ? A. Yes , sir
Q. How did ho como to tell you ho was
out of money ) A.Vo were sitticgina
llttlo saloon adjoining the Capitol hotel and
u gentleman came in whom hu Know , jind ho
requested this man to loan him $5 , I think ;
| t was either ii or * 5.
Q. Tingle requested the other man to
loan him that ? A. Yes , sir And tbo man
said , "I um sorry I cannot uccommodnto you
now ; I will have some money by and by "
Tingle made the response , Well , I am liat
broke ; 1 need some mocnv today " And I
was cousiderably astounded.tho following day
when ho made this display of money It was
fn the Capitol hotel -
Q. Who was present ) A. No ono else
except myself , 1 think
Q , How did ho como to make the display )
A , He asked mo in to the bar to huvo a
drink with him I went in thcro with him ,
und when wo got in I noticed ho was consid
erably intoxicated j and be pulled out this
money , nnd made tbo remark that ho was
not broke today ; und he remembered the in
cident of tha day previous
( J. You know nothing about where ho got
the money ? A. I do not ; I only know it
was very remarkable that ho teen the ex
traordinary position that ha had upon some
ijuostions subsequently
Q. What questions ? A. Well , particu
larly upon railroad legislation , and particu
larly upon this question of tbo Increasing of
the size of tbo committee of investigation I
know that ho was one of , the most vocifer
ous speakers in laver of Jt , as it was called
an open and above board investigation It
was in reality a whitewashed investigation
Q. Wns ho u member of the Judiciary com
mlllooi A. No , sir ; I think not *
nQ.r-Wns the railroad commission bill still
ueuding at that tlmo ) A. Yes , sir ; it was
pending in a certain way It hud been rub
stantially dofcatcd , I think , at tlfatparticular
time ,
Q Ho had supported that bill , had hoi
A. Ho bud supported it up to that point , aud
then ho switched
Q. Up to what point did ho support it ?
A. Ho supported it up to the point where it
was proposed to substantially emasculate the
bill I have forgotten as an amendment
which was introduced and then I was sur
prised nt the sudden change Tingle nssumod
In the debates that fall
Q. Wns that before or nfter you saw him
have the monoyl A. That was almost Im
mediately nttorwards
Q. It was In March I A. Yes , sir
Q , Then you say thnt was In the amend
ment Introduced on the Mh of March that ho
mndo n ehnngo of position ! A , I think it
wast yes , sir ; that is my impression ,
Q. You know of no facta connecting Mr
Vnndorvoort with either the Impecunious
condition of Mr Tingle ? A , I do not , per
sonallv
Q. You say you rccolvod your Instruc
tions from Mr , Kothacltor and your Inspira
tion from Mr Vnndorvoort ? A , I do not
think that I used the expression thnt I received -
coived my inspiration ; 1 think thnt I said I
was instructed bv Mr Hothnckor to go to
Mr Vnndervoort for instructions , nnd then
Mr Vnndorvoort told mo what to write nnd
what I wns to do ; that's what ho told me
Q. Do jou moan to sav you received your
instructions from Mr Rotlmokcr and your
inspiration from Vnndorvoort ? A , I mean
to suy that 1 acted under Mr Vutidorvoorl's
Instructions in consequence of niy instruc
tions from Mr RolhncKur
( J. Mr Johnson , did you not apply for
employment on the Republican I A. No , sir ,
1 did not
( J. Old you not say to Mr Rotlnckor that
you desired employment on the Republican ,
und thnt A oil hnd been discharged from Tun
Hki : on account of refusing to do cortnin
dirty work wanted of you bv Mr Hosowatcr ?
A. I do not think I made thnt statement to
Mr Hothnckur ; I think I told Mr Slater
that Mr Slater nskod mo why 1 had loft
The Hki : ; 1 think I conveyed thnt informa
tion to Mr Sinter , nud I think Mr Slater
nt that time told tno that 1 would bo tukon
enro of ; there would not be nuy trouble
nbout that ; I told turn that I was nil right
nnvwny , and I didn't worry nbout it at nil
Q. That Is the same Mr Slater jou have
Bpokoii of who wns n member of the Judi
ciary committee A. Yes , sir
Q. You say yon didn't mnko thnt stoto-
ment to Mr Hothnckor ? A. No , Bir , I dent
remember having made that stntoment to
Mr Hothnckor ; I think Mr Slater nnd sub
sequently Mr Vundorvoott nssurod mo of
their good wishes toward 1110 upon my rotlro-
mebt from Tun Bbc , nnd iu reply to tbo
questions that these gentlemen nskod 1110 If
1 had n disagreement with Kosowntcr I did
not use the expression dirty work ; " 1 used
the expression "certuin work which Mr
Rosewater wanted mo to do , nnd that was
the renson why r retired ; liumodiatoly upon
my retirement from the employment of Tin :
Br.n and Mr Hosowatcr I noticed that I wns
rocolvod with a great deal more friendliness
by n largo number of gontlomcn who , previous
ous to thnt time , had been extremely solicit
ous to keep out of my way
Q. In ether words , you were received
with moro cordiality by the anti-Hosawator
and the untl-Vau Wjck clement ? A. 1 was
received with a great deal of cordiality by
tbo lobbj1 element who were hanging around
the legislature minting their living out of the
'
loglslaturo' .
Q. Who were these mon that received
you with great cordiality nftor that ) A.
Air Gurloy was very pleasant to ma ; Mr
Vundervoort was also very pleasant , and
Mr Vnndervoort assured mo that I would bo
tukon euro of , or something to that effect ;
Mr Morn-soy , who was down there a great
deol of the tlmo
Q. Ho was down there ns n newspaper
man , was ho not ? A. I do dot rotnember
whether ho was representing a uawsuaparoi *
not
not.Q. . "Vnsn't lie connected at that time with
tholloraid ? A. I do not know , but ho nt
the same tlmo was extremely nctivo in the
lobby that is , in ondoavoringto intorcst the
legislature in accordance with the Views of
Mr Kothnckcr ; I Know that ho nud Mr
Kothnckcr were In very close communion
Q. There were lobbyists on both sides of
those questions there , were there not , during
the session or the legislature ) A. I was
extremely surprised by the fact that the
railroad bill people , thut is , these who were
favoring the proposed legislation railroad
legislation Old not have nnj' lobby I
thought it was poor politics not ) to have a
lobby
Q. Thcro were men thcro working in the
interest of that bill aside from the members
of the loglslaturo ) A. There were a few
mon who seemed to bo workiug in the in
terest of tbo bill , but there were a horde of
men working in opoosition to it , wlio'woro
constantly buttonholing the members of the
legislature and controlling it They had tbo
thing svstomatized and ovary man had his
man to look after , nnd the result was that a
man that desired the passage of this bill was
unable to do unj'thing in a imrsonal way
Q. Thcro was a lobby there in the iatcrost
of tlo bill ) A I was not aware of the existence -
istenco of n lobby there
Q. There were gontlcmon there using
their influence und position upon the members
bors of the lcgisluturo upon the merits of the
bill , wcro there not ! A. I do not rcmembor
of a single individual outside of ono , nnd my
memory is very hazy about him
Q. Wusn't Mr Rosewater there using % his
arguments with members of the loglslaturo
iu the interest of the bill ) A. As I under
stood it , Mr Rosewater consldorod himself
the formulator of tha measure to a certain
extent ; that is it was in the line of policy
which ho hnd been advocating for years In
iw behalf
Q. Ho was there then ndvocating it ? A.
Iupprohcnd so ; 1 never saw him milling par
ticularly with members
Q. lie hau a perfect right to advocate the
bill ? A. Yes sir
Q. And other members bad a right to
nrguo against it ? A. Yes , sir That is a
matter lor you tn dotormlno , uot for me to
say
; Q. You have spoken of a certain fund in
the bank in Lincoln ; what bank wus it ) A.
I think it was in iho Lincoln National
bank , if my memory servos mo
Q. Halsod by gamblers of Omaha , Bea
trice nnd Lincoln and ono western town ) A.
What is the nnmo of the citv where there
was n baseball organization Hastings , that
was the place '
Q. Lincoln , Omaha , Bcatrico and Hast
ings ? A , I think these wuro tbo towns ;
yes , sir
Q. Do you know thnt there was any suoh
fund in existence ) A I was informed so by
0110 of tbo gentlemen who clalmod bo had
contributed to It , and I was told wcro it was
Q. Wns thut gentleman a gambler ) A.
Ho was
Q , Wns thnt fund raised for the purpose
ot defeating the bill or for tha purpose of as
sisting in its paBsago ) A. Tbo fund was
raised for the purpose of securing and
pigeonholing the bill in tbo committee on
judiciary until It was too lute to act upon it
Q. In other words , it wns raised for the
purpose of defeating tha bill ) A. Yes , sir
Q. Do you know what Mr Vnndervoort's
sentlmonts wore upon the question of tbo
bill ) ANo , Bir
Q , Didn't ' you know Mr Vnndervoort was
in favor of tbo passage of the bill ) A. I
didn't know that : no , sir I know that ono
of the gcntlomon with whom ho wns friendly ,
nnd with whom bo was working on most of
thu legislation , was extremely friendly
toward the arrangement about this anti
gambling bill , so that It would assist thom
It was to bo used as a club in ono instance ,
and ns an Inducement in another
Q , Do you know whetnor or not Mr ,
Rosewater wus favorable or unfuvorablo to
the passage of the bill ? A. I think Mr
Hosowatcr wus favorable to the passage of
the bill
Q. That Is your rocolloctlonl A. In fact ,
I may statu that it wus ; ut least , hu so ex
pressed himself to me
Q. The railroad bill.you havospokonof was
ultimately defeated , was it not ! A I think
that ono bill was passed by the house and
another bit ! wus passed by tbo senate , and
then tbey failed to agrco in conleronco upon
it , and subsequently the interstate commerce -
morco bill 1 think was enacted In Its place ,
and the stuto that is my impression I am
not positlvo as to that , however ,
Q. There was a bill llnully passed , however -
over , on the subject of railroads , at that
session I A. Yes , sir
Q. It was n bill thut Is upon tbo statute
books today , Is it not ! A , I think it is ; my
recollection it is that Is the ono signed by tha
governor
Q. Thut bill was favored by Mr Vandor-
voort , wasn't ' it ? A. I think not ; no sir
I am not sure ns 10 that , but I dent think
Mr Vnndervoort fuvored nny railroad legis
lation of uny character whatever ; in fact I
kuow ho was very strongly opposed to the
measure which was pending in tno house
Q You say you think Mr Vundervoort
was opposed to the bill that dually bocatno a
law ! A. I um not sure ; I dent think ho
favored it ; I dent think ho favored auy rail
road legislation that was not in nccordanco
with bis eeneral statements and sciitlmeuts
By Mr , ( Juuuon : Q. I want you to more
particularly doBcribo these oil fOoms ; Mr
Vundervoort has talked a great deal about
members private rooms ; what was there to
these oil rooms to suggest to you that they
were private ) A. The fact is that it was
impossible tor any of the members , unless I
they were introduced by ono of the men who
hnd access to these rooms , to got Into thorn ;
they were In ono sonto public bar rooms , s.
and at tno same tlmo tboy were not uubllo
tbnr rooms except to n certain coterlo of men ,
nnd that coterlo of men 1 found from my A
ultimate opportunities for observation , dur- fl
ing the last month of the loglslaturo , to bo BflJ
In all lnstnncos the gcntlomon who were v'
lobbjnng thcro ngnlnst the railroad lcglslaJ ,
Hon , and nlso lobbying against tha other /
measures which were favored bj * a natural /
majority of the loglslaturo
( , ' . I wish to ask you whether or not It Is
not a fact that Mr Manchester , Mr Curlov ,
Mr Vuudorvoort , Mr Crawford , Mr Slater
nnd Mr Russell alt seemed to ruu together ?
A. Yes , sir •
Q. Thcro were no beds In these rooms !
A , I never saw n bed In ono of thom
Q. Did thc.y look likotho nnto-chnmbcr ol
a members private dopnrtmuntl A. No ,
sir ; they did not nt nil ; they hnd no re
semblance to that ; thoj'wcro simply drink
ing places whom parlies could go together
and drink prlvnloly without being cxposod
to the puhiic gnro
Q Did.you knownt any time that Mr
Gurlcy was employed bv the railroads down
there ) A. 1 was Informed that
( J. Did you know Hint Mr Manchester * v
wet n clnlm agent of the Union Haclllo rall-
wnyl A. Yes , sir ,
tj Mr Slater , . a member of the Judiciary ,
suggested to you that you would bo taken
care of I A. Yes , sir 1 Know Mr Sinter
obtained for mo n pass ever the Burlington
it Missouri rnilrond from Lincoln to Omaha ;
at the same tlmu ho remarked that if I hnd
remained with lite Den I would not hnvo
gotten that pass tin til hell froza over
( J , Alt . Crnwford was ono of these men '
wasn't ho ! A. Yes , sir
( J. Do j'ou remember having ' smiled
with Mr Crawford In ono of these oil moms I <
A. Yes , sir ; I drank with Mr Crnwford n
great number of times
Q. Do j-ou remember a particular tlmo tn
which ho talked of your connection with
Tin : IIkr In which ho snld anything about
your beliie nblo toobtnin a drink there if < t
you hnd been contiPctod with it ) A. I do C lflB
not think bo snld anything nbout 1110 bolng vB
nblo to obtain u.drink ; but I think ho mndu ( T
the remark very shortly nftor this quietus \
had occurred ; I think ho said to 1110 , "so vou
hnvo loft Kosowntcr , have vou ? " I saysycs 1
Ho says , You nro sure of that , " nnd looked I
at mo in a somuwhnt suspicious way I on- I
deavorod to assure htm of the fact , nnd ho j
said , " 1 do not know ; it kind of seems to 1110 j
thcro is a llttlo of the taint about you yet , " \
nnd ho said , "If I thoughtthero was a bit I
would not drink with you "
Q. Hnvo you road tbo testimony taken
before tno commission ; have jou read or
looked ever that testimonj' tnkon before tbo
committco appointed to lnvcstigntol A. I
read in this mornings Bkic an excerpt of the
testimony , which is the sumo , if my memory
serves tno , that Mr Hosowatcr road on tbo
stand yesterday
Q. Is that the same Crawford that was
procuring passes for members ? A. Yes ,
sir I
Q. Working for the welfare of Nebraska ?
A. Yes , sir ; that is , in accordnnco with his j
ideas of the welfare of Nobrasku I goner
nlly hnd the impression , however , thnt Mr
Crawford was working for the wclfaro of
Mr Crawford in most instunces
Q Have j-ou read of those who , If nny ,
dispensed money to thosa lobbyists down
there !
Objected to as irrelevant , immaterial and
inr-ompotcnt : oojectlonsustained
Q. In these oil rooms , then , Mr Johnson ,
you say younovor saw any monnjexo nnged
for the drinks ? A. I do not remember ever
having seen any monej1 paid
Q. Any person who hnd the entrco thorn
could go In and get what liquor lie wanted ?
A. That was niy understanding of it , yes ,
sir
sir.Q. . You never paid nny thcro ? A. No , - fll
sir ; 1 never called for nny drinks thcro ; I s aflj |
never went thuro execut 011 invitation of W R
somebody rflflr
Q. Do you recollect of nny gamblers BB
coming to Omaha at that time , Mr Johnson BBJ |
A I thinic thnt at the tlmo whnn Mr
Charles Greene , whom 1 understood bud
boon retained by tha gamblers to net ox the
intermediate between them and the Judiciary
committco , finally made un arrangement that
there should bo a meeting hero in Omaha
between certain members of tha Judiciary
committco and these boss gamblers , And I
know upon that occasion that two members
of tbo Judiciary ncd tlirco of these gamblers
came here to Omaha at the same time ; that
was upon the same train
Q. State If you came up on the same
train ) A. I came up on the same train aud
that is the occasioivon which I asked for the
pass from Mr Slater and when ho made thU
remark to mo
Q. So two members of the Judiciary com
mittco and three gumblers came on the same
ti am to Omaha A. Yes , sir
Q-Thoy probably came together ) A.
They did not , no , sir ; thev were extremely
anxious not to nppoar to bo together
Q. Did j-ou see tbom nftor tboy came to
Omaha ? A. No , 6ir. Tbey came to Omaha
but they did not register at any of the
hotels 1
Q. Wns Mr Greene on the tram ? A , I d
could not any JBBJ
Q. You ascertained before they went to * v l
•
the train that they wcro going to Omaha ? r 1
A. I had been informed by 0110 of the |
gamblers that nn arrangement had boon 1
made whorby certuin members of the I
judiciary committee and tha gamblers wcro 1
to meat in Omaha nnd u ilual disposition of II
the bill was to bo made B
( J. You saw the gamblers and these mem- H
bors of the Judiciary committco como on the n
same train coming to Omaha A. Yes , sir K
Q. Do you know that tbey did como to I
Omaha ? A , I saw ono of the members of I
the Judiciary committee got oft the train , bo- 1
cnuso I walked up town with him u portion I
of the way 1
Q. You sav they did not rcglstor at any
of tno hotels ? A. No , sir
By Mr Mahoney : Q. What Mr Grccno
wosthntl A. Mr Charles Greene
, Q , Whnt Charles Greene ? A. Ho is an
attornoj'of this city ; I only kuow blui by
that name
Q. Of thoB &M.I A. I think that Is
the gentleman
Q. You say you saw two members of the
Judiciary committee como to Omaha , and
that was after you had loft your employment -
with The Drill A. That was along lata iu • - • * "
iho well , I do not know whether it was late w
or not ; It was some tlmo In March ; about the
middle of March , .
Q , Was that before or after the prouosod *
investigation of tbo Judiciary committee !
A. Thut was previous , I think
Q. What two members of the Judiciary
committco came to Omaha on that trJp ) A.
Mr Slater and Mr Russell
Q. Did you see both of thom in Omaha ?
A. I suw both of thom on the train when
they were nearing Omaha : I did not see
Mr Russell after wo reached tbo city ,
Q. Did you see Mr Slater attor reaching
Omuha ? A. Yes , sir ; I walked up a per
tion of the way with lura
Q. What gamblers came to Omuha on
that train ) A , Mr ucody , Brookor and a
man frpm Hastings whoso name I bollovo
wasCrawloy or Crowley something Ilka
that ; ha was a rather small man
Q. * Tou enmu on the trip for the purpose
of seeing what wus going on between these
members aad tbo gamblers ) A. No , sir ; ,
not particularly ; I wautcd to make u trip to
Omaha
Q , During that time you were keeping
Mr Rosewater l osted as to what you learned
during this tlmo ) A Well , I occasionally
notllled Mr Rosewater us to what I hud
been seeing ,
Q. You know of no connection of Mr 4
Vnndervoort's with that trip to Omabu , do 7
j'ou ? A. No , sir
Governor I'ortor'H Testimony ,
Mr , James R. I'orter was called and sworn
nnd nrovod a most oxcollunt witness , Hu
was absolutely certain of the facts ho had
to offer and presented thom in such a incn-
nor that the prosecution did not seem dis
posed to cross-oxamlno him very closely
Ho testified that ho bad neon in Nobrasku '
thlrtj'-four years , and is now a fjenorul Uior- '
chant in Dundy county ; lived In Omaha
eight years ago , at which time lie was , en
gaged in the brewery business ; know Ud-
ward Rosewater and PaulV andoryoort , ' '
Do you reniemboV a certain card having ,
been published In the Republican by a
colored man hero ? A Yes , sir I do not
kuow much about It , and I did not puy much
attcutiou to it
Q. Do you remember of tha time of tbo w
pssuult upon Mr Rosewater ) . A1 Yes , sir -wj
Q. You may stuto whether or not.boforo IB
that assault you word iu Mr Vahdervoort'u /
0DI09) A. I was ' ' S.
Q.-Who was present ) A. Well that Is
riot Y ° rj' distinct tor mo Just Port ; but 1 think
Mr , Vnndervoort , George L Hieboldt , J
think that is my recollection and a gontla
man from out near Asnlaud , whoso oamo
HI
