To
MI L
TON FI S
H
H ON
BL
E HA
OR A
T HE
,
Secr e tary of St ate
.
Sin c e my ret urn to t h e co untry a f e w w e eks ago
S
I have re ad for t h e first tim e W h at p u rport s to b e the
e v id e n c e take n b e f o r e Mes s r s Jay an d M c Elr at h in t h e
city of Vie nn a A
u stria in r e latio n to t h e act s and doings
of t h e " S Commission to the Int e rn atio nal E x hibition
in th at city "and the e laborat e libel accompanying that
evid ence signe d by th e m whi ch th ey e ndeavor to dignif y
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"
by t h e title of a report
IR
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This evid e n ce and r e port toget her W ith a portion of
th e correspo n d e n ce bet w ee n t h e H o n orable Secretary of
State and myself are embrac e d in a massive volu me in
book form pre pared at t h e D e partme nt of State
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titl e page of this volume proclaims it t o co ntain
"
the Charges ag ain st G e n e ral T B Van B ur e n and t h e
”
replie s th e reto
ll h e
r
.
.
.
An
charges hav e eve r b e e n pre sent e d to me I
h ave bee n aff orded n o opport unity of reply and I have
search ed th ro ugh three h undr e d pages of thi s book in
vain to ascertain the charges unless they are to be fo und
s
o
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4
in t h e
telegrams of Mr Jay or extracted from the verbiage
of the report
.
.
a letter f rom you dated the 1 2 th of Septemb e r
"
occ u rs th e f o ll o wm g language : I t cer t ainly was
In
,
1 8 73 ,
no t t he
D epar t ment
signe
any
d
minalit y
c ri
ir regular it ies
ension
t he
as
p
which sho uld
and
cat ion
dist r ess
no r
t he Gover nment which
imp roper
or
T he Government
again
fi
t
a
t
e
S
f
o
‘
b ut
,
cause
assigne d
c ond uc t ,
f
sus
no
r o und s
p
g
necessar ily over whelm o ne
If
.
A
nd
”
.
f
or
t he
s us
wit h mor ti
n e ws a er s assi ned
p p
g
ds, t he Gover nm ent was
t
h
i
n
y
g
an
or
e nsion
o
as
an
y
no t r espo nsible t her e o r
such
”
I
f
am obliged to confess my ign oran ce of what misdemean
ors may be in clu de d un d e r t h e compr e h e n siv e term ir
”
—
regularitie s
b ut am warran t e d in con clu ding from yo u r
langu age j u st qu ot e d that no t hing crimin al or im prOp
”
—
i
s
n
t
e
n
n
e
er is embrac d withi
m a i g and als o that what
e ver acts o r omissio n s it i m pli e s m u s t h av e exi s t e d prior
to the date of my s u sp e nsio n A
gain th e se irre gul ari
”
ties wh at e v e r th e y are must ha v e b e e n e ntirely u n
kn o wn to t h e G overnm e nt prior to my de partu re for
Eu rope and m u s t hav e be e n it is fair to a ssu m e of a
most se riOu s character to have indu c e d t h e su sp e n sio n
of t h e A
merica n Commissio n at Vi e nn a a fe w days b e
fore t h e Op e nin g of t h e Exhibition P ermit m e to say
I find no s u ch charges in t h e v o lu m e before m e and am
at as muc h lo ss to day as I w as at t h e tim e of my re
moval to kn o w of what I a m acc u s e d One thi ng ho w
e ver I think m u st be ap par e nt to t h e most cas u al r e ader
of thes e p age s and that is t h e int e ns e bitt e r perso n al
mali gnant hostility of t h e H o norable Joh n Jay to t h e
Commissio n— and his p e rsi stent and su cc e ssful e ffort s
to destroy it at whatev e r cos t to t h e re p u tatio n of
r oun
g
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hi s Gove rnm e nt
tion
an d
Exhib i
at whatever peril to the
.
I w ould that h is l e tter s to t h e D e part m e nt of Stat e
during the winter and spring of 1 8 72 3 might hav e bee n
inclu ded in this volum e aff ordi ng additio n al e viden c e
as th e y do of h is malic e towards the Com m i ss i o n and of
his designs to e m b arass and d e fe at it s labor s
Of
thi s interfer e nc e o n the part of Mr Jay I fr e que ntly ex
pressed my o pi nl o n as refere nce to my l e tt e rs will sho w
and fin ally ann ou n ced to you that if i t co u ld n o t b e pre
vented I pre fe rr e d to s urren d e r my commis sio n
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Within a
f e w w e eks
aft e r my appointm e nt I r e c e ived
w arning of thi s disposi t io n of Mr Jay s
A
n d thes e
warnings w e re r e peat e d in vario u s qu arters during t h e
progress of m y w ork an d e ven o n my j o u rn e y to Vi e nna
B ut con scio u s as I w as of havin g perform e d my duty
faithf ully and kno wing too that t h e H o norable Se cretary of
State w as aw ar e to some e xt e n t of this hostili ty o n Mr
Jay s part I paid no furth e r heed to this w arning re ly
in g as I di d upo n the full prot e ctio n of my G o v ernmen t
Mr Jay ho w ever w as co nfid e nt in his po w e r of evi l
and in that co n fide n c e boast e d of his i nte n t to d e stroy
my Commi ssion lo ng befor e I r e ached Vi e nn a if I am
to b elieve the reports of tho s e who claim to have re
c e iv e d s u ch informatio n
Whil e I r e maine d in the coun
t ry h is e ff orts in this co nnectio n w e re fr u itl e ss b u t a s
soo n as my depart ure was kn o wn he m a d e s u ch u se of
t h e tele graphic cable as to prove that his boasts w ere no t
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I c an w ell appreciat e the h arsh ne ssgand po we r of th ese
s I read the m n o w in the p a es before m e
telegrams A
g
I c an un d e rstan d ho w they aff e ct e d the H o n orable Se c
r e t ar
of
S
tate
w
ho
felt
called
u
po
n
to
act
u
po
the
n
o
s
y
p
.
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6
stat e me nt s of t h e Gove rnme nt s accredited mini s
t e r "but I su gge st that had th e s e m e s s ag e s been
to me and my r e ply r e qu ested
c omm u nicat e d
I co u ld ha v e give n t o t h e G o v e r nm ent s u ch
e xpla n atio n s back e d by i n co nt e stabl e e vid e n c e that t h e
great scan dal which follo w e d and t h e publi c disgrac e
in a forei gn lan d of offic e r s b e ari ng " S Commissio n s
mu st ha v e b e e n avert e d
iti v e
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As
ssin atio n has n e v e r unde r any circ u m stan ce s
b e e n co n sider e d a m a nly act but poi s o ni ng t h e gu e s t at
o n e s tabl e or u sing the pomard at o n e s fire sid e has al
w ay s be e n held the r e sort o f t h e most desp i cabl e
c owardic e and villainy On t h e 2 0t h of A
pril in reply
ecretary of Stat e Mr Jay wrote
t o a l e tter from t h e S
"
e
I
n
ot
the
hope
w
hich
o
u
expr
ss
that
there
e
tp
y
m ay be an e ntire an d cordial u n d e rsta nding bet we e n
myself and the Commis sion er an d b e g to say that I
w ill u se my best e n deavors to accomplish yo u r wish es in
”
"
th is respect
And o n the 1 6t h he adde d (p 1 1 9 ) My
r e lat ion s with Gen e ral Van B u re n are frie ndl y and h e
”
This is tru e "
and h is w ife din e w ith me to morro w
We did din e at his tabl e b ut littl e did I s u spect whil e
that the gu ests abo u t t h at
e ngo y m g his hospitalities
t ab le h ad b e e n co nfide ntially inform e d that I w as to be re
m o v e d in disgrace and that t h e same informatio n w as in
possessio n of rest aurant k e e pers and oth e rs in Vi e nn a
T h at s u ch w as the fact ho w ev e r I have been again and
sa
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again assured
T h e motive of Mr Jay in his cru sade against my com
mis sio n it is scarcely n ec e ssary here to an alyz e B u t if
any u npre dj u dic e d m an c an gather from a peru sal of t hi s
r e cord as made up by hims e lf that it w as to gu ard t h e
r e p utatio n and h o nor of his co untry I shall make no
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ort to co nvin c e that m an to the co ntrary Th e fact
r e mains that his de sign s w e r e succ e ssfu l an d the re su lt
of h is e f fort s to j ustify h is a c t s is s e e n in t h e e vid e nc e
an d r e port s h e h as fil e d w ith t h e D e partm e nt
e ff
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,
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L C OMMI SSI ON
SP EC I A
”
T HE
.
I h av e o n ce b e for e pro t e st e d a gain st t h e charact e r 0}
the trib u n al e stabli sh e d upo n t h e r e co m m e n datio n of
Mr Jay to carry o u t h is purpo se s an d I n o w de sir e to
r e ne w that prot e st in t h e mo st e arn e st t e rm s Mr Jay
m y acc u s e r an d f e e who se p e rsi st e n t e n d e avor s to
d e stroy my c o mm i ssm n we r e e v e n at tha t tim e a pu bli c
w as m ad e chi e f j u dge an d m an age r and his
s can dal
a s sistan t o n the b e nch w as s e le ct e d from my o wn
appoint e e s who was th u s mad e j udg e ov e r his chie f his
fello w C o mmis sio n ers an d him se lf H aving th e r e tofore
h e ld a fe d e ral o ffic e in N
ew Y
ork City h e w as r e mo v e d
by t h e P r e sid e nt w ith c harge s standing again st him for
malfe asan c e i n o ffic e which charge s are still u ne xplain e d
an d w h ich w e r e u nkn o w n to m e at the time of his
appoint m e nt Both o n thi s acco u nt and b e cau se h e was
s sistan t Com m is sion e rs w hich the trib u n al
o n e of the A
w as au thorize d to su sp e n d I s ubmit h e was en tir e ly
disqu alifi e d from acting as a m e m ber of it N
o ri ht
g
m in d e d m e n sit u ated as w e r e M e s srs Jay an d Mc Elrat h
co uld have co nse nt e d to s e rve o n t h e e xam ining com
m issio n
Th e y wer e e stopp e d by th e ir po sitio ns an d
pr e viou s acts and could n e v er be co nsid e re d as fair or
im partial j u d ge s
B ut n o t o nly did Mr Mc Elrat h sit as
examin e r an d j udge b ut h e b e cam e a swift wit n e ss d e
tailin g co n v e rsatio ns bro u ght about by him s e lf and t h e
e
s
an d hot e l s
ossip
of
the
stre
t
G oing abo u t from Go n
g
e ral M e y e r to mys e lf claimi n
to
sp
cial
fri
d
b
e
t
h
e
e
e
e
n
g
of e a c h h e faithfully carri e d o ut t h e ta c tic s of his
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8
i
r
c
i
pal
c
o
mm
ded
hims
lf
to
n
a
n
e
n
d
e
p
of th at hi gh —mind e d official
,
th e
good
s
race
g
.
I prot e st al so that t h e proc e e dings of that trib un al a s
c o n du ct e d by M e s srs
Jay and M c El rat h an d w hi c h I
b e li e v e to have b e e n co ntrary to t h e wi sh e s and inten t
of the Go v e rn m e nt w e r e w itho u t w arra nt in t h e Co n st i
tu ti en law s or pre c e de nt s of our coun try an d w e re s ub
v e rsiv e o f t h e rights o f citi z en s
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In t h e fir st plac e th e ir e xaminatio ns we r e s e cret
E ach witn e ss was e xa m in e d by hims e lf w ithout the
pres e n c e of any parti e s e xc e pt t h e e xam in e rs an d t he ir
clerk Mr Jay was u n de rstood to b e t h e m an age r of the
Am e rican D e partm e nt of t h e Ex h ibitio n and h e ld in his
h an d t h e rights of e xhibitor s an d t h e r e p u tatio n an d
offi cial life of t h e Co m mi ssio n e rs — while Mr M c Elrat h
w as b u t his a ge nt and e cho
I wa
s n o t p e r m itt e d to b e pr e s e nt at any of the exam
inat io n s or to c ro s s e xa m ine a singl e wit n e s s altho u gh I
de mande d such right
In s o m e cas e s as I am m
for m e d t h e e vide nce w as n o t fully or corr e ctly tak e n
On e st rik ing in st an c e of thi s o m i ssi o n occ u rs in my
o wn t e stimo ny
D uring the co u rs e of my e xamin atio n I
w as han ded a li st of t h e a s s ociat e Co m mi s sio n e rs and
aske d b y Mr Jay to in dicat e thos e of f oreign bir t h
I point e d out t h e n am e s of so m e I suppo se d to b e
adopt e d c itiz e n s but r e pli e d that I had n o t a sked a
man s birth pla c e in se l e c ting m y assi stants that I
thou gh t if that qu e stio n was ign or e d in rai sm g soldi e rs
for o ur d e fe n s e it c ould b e di sp e n s e d with in t h e choi c e
of co mm i s sio n e rs at an e x hibitio n He aske d m e a
n umb e r of qu e st i o n s in r e fe r e n c e to thi s matt e r and y e t
n o t o n e w ord of it all app e ar s i n t h e r e port e d t e stimo ny
Mr Jay s ho stility to untit led f oreigne rs w as c u rrently
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9
re
d
r
t
e
d
e
nn
at
Vi
a
b
u
t
he
s
ms
to
hav
tho
u
ht
it
e
e
e
"
p
g
i mpru dent
to p e rmit any in dicatio n s of su ch di spo sitio n
o n hi s part to app e ar in a report to his G overn m e nt an d
w hich might be made kn o wn to t h e p e ople of o u r
c o u ntry
Th e valu e of cross e xamin atio n h as b e e n too ofte n
d e mo n strat e d an d t h e right too w e ll e stablished to n eed
d i s c u s sio n h e re
H ad that right be e n accorded in this
i n s t an c e I think no co m m e nts w o u ld hav e b e e n n e c e ss a
r
u
n
t
h
e
e
s
e
po
r
u
lt
B
u
t
o
ly
was
I
permitt
d to
n
o
t
n
t
n
o
y
e xamin e or cro s s —
b ut I w as d e nied
e xa m i n e w it n e s ses
t h e right to hear t h e e v id e n c e after it w as tak e n
The
e
s
s
r
at
ma
of t e stimo ny I have n ev e r s e en or heard
g
u ntil I read it in t h e book b e for e me
"po n m y de
man d Mr Jay has r e lu ctantly no w an d th e n stat e d
"
w hat he call e d
the m at e rial portio n s of the evid e n ce of
a w it n ess
b u t as I re ad the t e sti m o ny no w I fi n d that
m u ch h e has deemed material e n o ugh to form t h e basis
o f t h e most vir u le n t portio n s of his report w as kept c o n
c e al e d fr om m e
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ER
L MA
Y
N A
GE ER
.
It is hardly n e c e s sary to say that I had form e d a sin
c ere
attachm e nt for G en eral Mayer
His labor s as
Commissio ner had b e e n p e rform e d u n de r my e y e
E arly and lat e for many mo nths h e to il e d in t h e offic e
o f t h e Com m issio n doi n
n
e n t an d se
amo
u
t
of
pati
a
n
g
v ere w ork that wo n for him my w arm approval and re
ard
I
fo
u
n
d
him
n
a
m
iabl
a
n
accompli
shed m an
a
e
d
g
m e eting the c o n st a
n t v e xatio n s of his po sitio n with
a
p
t ie nc e an d co u rt e sy and appar e n tly doing all it w as
in his po w e r to do for t h e s u c c e ss of t h e E xhibitio n
Mr Jay ca nnot und e r stan d how th e se qu ali ti e s co uld
In h is op ini o n
h av e th u s com m e n d e d this m an to m e
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su ch r e gard as I m anife st e d for him w as t h e proof o f
so m
e guilty com m e rc e betw e e n u s E ntertaining this
r e gard and fe e ling t h e mo st p e rfe ct c o nfide n c e in
May e r s int e grity I scorn e d t h e t e m ptatio n h e ld o u t t o
me by Mr Mc Elrat h t o turn my back upo n him wh e n
attacke d in Vi e nn a I stood by hi m b e cau se I b e lie v e d
hi m inn oc e nt of w ro ng an d that h e was to b e made t h e
victi m of a ba se co nspira cy
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It m ay b e co nside re d by M e s sr s Jay and Mc Elrat h a
prais e worthy v irtu e to d e se rt a m an u n d e r suc h circ um
s t an c e s
To m e it w as si mpl e duty to stan d by him
Thi s s e al e d my co n de mn atio n
u ntil co n v ict e d of wro ng
an d I was r e mo v e d
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Ev e ry
e ff o
rt from that tim e forth o n the part of
M e s srs Jay an d M c El rat h th e ir spi e s an d inform e rs
"
w as to j u s tif y or e x cu se this r e m o v al
inv e stiga
Th e
tio n (a simpl e r e ading of t h e e vide n c e will show ) w as
n o t to a s c e rtai n t h e tru th b u t to ge t hol d of s om e thi ng
ho w e v e r trivial or fro m what e v e r sourc e ag ain st m e
To that e nd witn e sse s wer e s ou ght for an d pli e d with
innum e rabl e qu e stio n s c le arly in dicating t h e d e sire s of
th e ir e xam in e rs May e r has a ss e rt e d ov e r an d o v er
again that th e y inti m at e d ad v antages to hi m if he w oul d
o nly t e stify s om e thing to m y inj ury and that h is inva
"
h e had n othi ng but good to say of
riab l e r e p ly was that
”
Tru e h e quibble s abo u t this wh e n call e d befor e
me
th e m in my ab s en c e still e n t e rtaining t h e hope that
tho se au gu st an d pow e rf ul ge ntl e m en would modify his
s e nten c e but h e r e p e at s it in h is l e tt e r to the P r e sident
which I ha v e read for t h e first ti m e sin c e my re t urn in
"
t h e s e word s
Ye s sir I sol e mnly swe ar th at induce
m e nts hav e b e en h e ld out to me that if I w ould t e stify
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11
against G e ne ral Van Bur e n I sho uld
”
n o doubt r e i nstat e d
,
be
v
an d ,
m dic at e d
.
,
Th e y s u c c e e d e d in ob t aining s om e g e n eral stat e m e nt s
"
He had a c t e d u nd e r his sup e rior " Ge n
fro m hi m
"
n Bur e n a pprov e d h is acts "
eral Va
G e n e ral Van
Bur e n kn e w of h is obtaining the s e co n d tho u san d dol
”
lars
et c
"p to this time n othing im m oral had
app e ared in h is act s N
o w u n d e r the ma nipulatio n of
thi s s e cre t co un cil and it s age nt s h e partially s old him
self to th e ir base u s e s and false ly e n d e avor e d to cas t
w ro ng upo n m e
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a portio n of h is t e stimo ny w as e v e n stat e d t o
me
pril h e
On his examin atio n o n t h e 22 d of A
produ c e d and spr e ad upo ri the record a le tt e r addre ss e d
to m e o n t h e 1 6t h b u t which I did n o t rec e iv e until
so m e tim e aft e rwards and which w as evide ntly writt e n
for the p urpos e of m aking it t e stimo ny
In a perso n al
int e r v i e w aft e r it s re c e ipt he so e xp l ain ed it a w ay an d
apologiz e d for it that n o r e ply w as n e c e ssary As ub se
qu e nt o ne
ho w e v e r
of a som e what simil ar
charact e r r e ceiv e d t h e ans w er it d e serv e d H ad
I kno wn that e ither of h is l e tt e rs w as made
a part of t h e e vid e nc e
I sho uld have in
sist e d upo n th e ir r e c e i v m g my reply — and I n o w
i nsert e xtracts from it t hat the int e ntio n of Messrs Jay
and M c El r at h in havin g it stan d as an u n co n tradicte d
accu satio n o nt h e part of May e r m ay be fru strat e d
Only
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E"T R
AC T S F R OM
M YLET T E R T O M A
YER
.
C o u ld I b e s ur p r i se d a t a nythi n g n o wa d a y s I s ho u ld e x
p r e ss my p r ofo u n d a sto ni s hm e n t a t t h e co nt e nt s of yo ur
l e tt e r i n w hich y o u re fu se to d e liv e r to m e t h e a cco u nt s an d
mo ni e s of t h e C om m i ssio n a nd a cc us e m e of v ario u s o ff e n c e s
T h e fr i e n d s hip a n d co n fi d e n c e yo u h av e r e c e i v e d fr o m m e
h av e b e e n of n o o r di nary ch ara ct e r
I h ave
s t e a dily m ai nt a i n e d thi s a tt a chm e n t as n o o n e k n o ws b e tt e r
r
,
,
.
,
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,
12
h a n yo urs e lf u n d e r t h e mo st tr yin g ci r c u m st a n c e s Y
o ur
i n d u s t r y d e votio n to yo ur d u ti e s a n d p r of e sse d r e gar d fo r
m e w e r e t h e b a si s of my trust
I was f u lly pe r
s u ad e d yo u we r e t ru e
ho ne s t an d u p right
W he n
t r o u b l e c a m e to yo u i n L
o n do n I symp a thi z e d with yo u mo s t
d e e ply an d e xp re ss e d my hop e a n d b e li e f th a t yo u w o u ld
t r i u m ph ov e r yo ur di ffi c u lti e s
I b a d e yo u go o n to
Vi e n n a to h av e a b rav e h e art an d do a ll yo u co u ld fo r t h e
e xh i b ito r s
No w how h ave yo u re p a id
”
me ? Y
o u say y o u h av e b e e n to m e
t ru e as st e e l an d h av e
t im e an d a g a i n e xp r e s se d fo r m e t h e mo s t e xtra v ag a n t a tt a ch
E
l
m e nt
Le t u s s e e h ow yo u h av e pr ov e n yo ur re gard W he n yo u
r e a c h e d V i e n n a yo u i n fo rm e d M r M c E l rat h th a t I h a d tol d
"
to go right a h e a d a nd a ct as a C ommi ssio n e r as if y o u
y ou
”
lh a d n o t b e e n su s p e n d e d
th u s ch ar gi ng m e w ith di re ct d is
e b e d ie n c e to t h e o r d e rs of t h e S
t a t e D e p ar tm e nt
Yo u s tat e d yo u h ad ne v e r do n e a thi ng e xc e pt b y my
«
o r d e rs
Yo u th re at e n e d to mo re th an o ne p e rs o n th a t if yo u we re
"
t o f a ll
yo u w o u l d d ra g d o wn t h e w h ol e C ommi ss io n with
"
if yo u w e r e di s gra c e d yo u
y o u " a n d to o n e a t l e as t th a t
i nt e n d e d to f a ll i n good comp a n y fo r G e n e ra l V an B ur e n
”
s ho u ld f a ll with yo u
W h e n I l e arn e d th a t yo u h a d b o r
V
e
n
r o w d mo e y f r o m B o e h m
V ie h l I e n q u i r e d of yo u if it
vve re tru e
a n d yo u to t a l ly d e ni e d it "a n d w h e n M c E l ra t h
t r i e d t o p e r s ua d e m e yo u h a d do n e so I a ffi r m e d it w as u h
t ru e b e c au se yo u h a d d e n i e d it
Aft e r war d s w h e n it was po s itiv ely sta t e d th a t yo u h ad
o b tai ne d
of B
W
y o u s a id to m e yo u
w o u ld e xpl a i n th at w h e n yo u m e t tho se g e n tl e m e n f a c e t o
f a ce b e fo re M r J a y
Awe e k a ft e rward s yo u did so me e t
t h e m an d I wa s a sto u n d e d to l e ar n th a t yo u h a d th e re
a c k n o w l e d g e d t h e r e c e ipt of t h e mo n e y a n d th e y h a d sw o rn
t o it
I a ft e rward s l e arne d fr om Hitz e l th at y o u h a d a l s o
r e c e ive d $ 5 00 fr om M r D e n n i s o n
a n d a d a y o r s o s i n c e I wa s
fr om t h e
i n fo rm e d yo u h a d d e m a n d e d an d re c e iv e d
t
I h av e s e v
p u b li s h e r of t h e c a t a log u e
e ra l tim e s a s k e d yo u w hy yo u did n o t go a n d fi n i s h yo ur t e s
t i m o n y a n d h a v e told yo u th a t if yo u h a d n othi n g to s ay
a g a i n s t m e yo ur s t ayi ng awa y w o u ld d o m e m o r e h arm th a n
— a re
n
n
n
a
e
e
ood
b
u
t
yo
ur
i
v
ar
i
a
b
l
e
a
w
r
h
b
e
e
s
b
fo
r
s
e
a
s
g
I h a v e th e n s a id to yo u n o t to go th e re a t a ll I n this
f u s al
c o nn e ctio n a n d n o oth e r h a v e I e v e r a d vi s e d yo u n o t to go
t o t h e e m b a ss y a n d yo u k n o w it
I n o w l e arn th a t y o u we n t to t h e Sp e ci a l C ommi ssio n and
I k ne w of yo ur o b t ai n i n g t h e
t e s ti fi e d th a t
fr om B
W w hich yo u h a d o n c e d e n i e d r e c e ivi ng a t
t
,
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,
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,
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‘
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,
>l<
>i<
>l<
5k
>l<
><
><
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9
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13
a ft e rward s s aid t o m e y o u w o u l d e xpl ai n in t h ei r
Yo u s aid I h a d t a k e n St ias ne y o u t o f t h e way i n
p re s e n c e
o r d e r t h at y o u m i g h t g e t t h e m o n e y w i t h o u t h is k n o wi n g it
wh e n y o u k n o w as w e l l as y o u k n o w t h at y o u l iv e t h at I
nev e r d re a m e d o f y o ur h av i ng o b t ain e d t h i s m o ne y fro m B
W
Hav i n g n o t hi n g t o c o nc e a l I
s t a t e d fu ll y an d c l e ar l y
i n m y fi rst st a t e m e n t b e f o re t h e
Spe c i a l C o m m i ssi o n a l l I k ne w a b o ut t h e se t ra ns act i o ns an d
y o u s a id t o m e t h at w hat I h a d s t at e d w as t h e t ru t h an d y o u
w o u l d t e s t i f y t o t h e s a me t hi n g
t rue as
T hi s is t h e wa y i n w hi c h y o u h ave pr o v e d y o urse lf
M u c h o f it h as c o m e t o m e wi t hi n a f e w d ay s
”
No w i n re fe re nce t o m o ne y m at t e rs
Ho w y o u d are u nd e r an y a d vi c e r e t a i n G o v e r n m e nt m o n i e s
c o m m i t t e d t o y o u r k e e pi ng f o r a s pe c i a l purp o se I cann o t
c o n c e i v e "Y
o ur o r d e rs we r e t o b r i ng t h a t m o n e y t o m e i n
I t is n o t y o u rs i n a ny s e n se
V i e nna
Yo u we re simpl y it s
c ust o di a n
I t was d ra w n upo n a r e q u i s i t i o n s t at i n g pr e c i se
l y it s u s e s an d is c h arg e d t o m e
a nn o t l e ga ll y b e use d
It
f o r an y o t h e r pur po se s t h a n t h o s e st at e d i n t h e re q u i s i t i o n
a n d I wa r n y o u t h a t y o u r a t t e m pt t o c o nv e rt it t o y o ur o wn
u s e w il l r e su l t d i s a s t r o us l y
Yo u are t a k in g t h e ve ry c o urse
t o j u st i f y t h e G o ve rn m e nt in it s t re at m e nt o f y o u
I w o u l d n o t h a v e h a d m y f a i t h i n y o u s h at t e re d f o r t e n
t i m e s t h e m o n e y i nv o l v e d :
Yo u wi ll n o w p ro b a b l y d o m e
«
e ve r y p o s s ib l e i nj ur y i f t h e r e is a n yt hi ng m o r e y o u c a n d o
Le t m e s ay t o y o u t h a t I d e pre ca t e n o h o s t i l i t y an d as k n o
f a v o rs
T h e r e is n o k i n d n e s s I h av e n o t s h o wn y o u
Yo u
n o w r e pa y m e i n t h e way o f t h e wo r l d a n d c o nfi rm m y d e t e r
m i na t i o n t o t rus t m a n n o m o re
a l l , an d
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After the receipt of
this letter by Mayer the latter ih
f ormed me that certain statements made b y him in his
t estimony he was convinced w ere erroneous
That upon
e xamina t ions of papers he was s ati s fied he had mistaken
d ates which made portions of his evidence incorr ect
a n d that he had told or written to Mr d a
not
to
y
u se it on
that account
He again stated that he
k new nothing whatever to my injury again expre s sed
his undying a tt achment for me and then f o r the first
t ime admitted t h e receipt of the
from Boehm
W iehl which he had there t ofore stre nuou sly denied in
"
t hese words " General I did receive tha t money
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14
got $500 when you were in W a shin gt on and $5 00 at
Had his testimony all been read t o me
another time
the s e fact s would have app e ared upon the record
As
to Mr St iasn e y s testimony could I hav e been present
when it was given I should have proven by h im that it"
was my daily custom to leav e t h e lunch or dinner tabl e
as soon as I ha d fini shed and hurry to my business
sometimes taking him sometimes M ayer sometimes go
ing alone
?
,
’ 7
.
?
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’
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,
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:
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,
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v
,
,
.
Upon my asking him in Vienna if thi s was not so h e
ad mitted that it w as and to my further enquiry how it
”
was he could remember that I c alled him away o n:
t h e particular day mentioned in h is evidence he said h e
was made to remember or words to that e fl e c t
"
,
,
”
’
.
,
Mr Wiehl in his testimony tells very plainly how h e
came to form t h e impre s sion that I had taken St iasn e y
"
away on t hat occasion He says May er o r some on e
”
made a remark to that e f fect
.
,
,
.
.
C HAR GES
.
fir st ch arg e s of Mr Jay were that th ere was e vi
dence of gr oss co r apt irm l n the commi ssion in t h e s al e
”
o f conce s sion s for b ars and restaurants
The
.
l
/'
.
These charge s I denounced as f oul a nd f alse I repeat
that statement and refer to the evidence as my Ju st ifi c a
tion His next allegations were t hat it was clearly shown
”
by my admi ssions and by the evidence that I h ad
”
taken money from t h e gran t ees of bars and re staurants
i respectfully ins ist there is no s uch ad m i ssm n or e vi
dence upon the record but on the contrary there is my
n d I submit
explicit denial again and again repeate d A
also th at had the Govern m ent had that e v idence before
them instead of Me s srs Jay and M c Elrat h s repor t o f
.
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15
i ts
c
haracter the removal and di sgrace of my Commis
could never have t aken place
,
.
C ONC EALMENT
0F
TELE GRAM S
.
Again I beg to call
your attention to the fact that the
t eleg ram s of the Ho n orable Secretary of State to Mr
pril 2 6t h and 2 8t h in which he evi
J ay under dates of A
d e nc e s h is desire that m y self and my associates shou l d
r eceive fair t reatment and that I s hould not be excluded
f rom the Openin g ceremo nies on the first o f May we r e
k ept carefull y concealed from me by Mr Jay while he
a s s ur ed my friends that his task was a v ery hard and u n
leasant
one
for
General
Van
Buren
was
an
old
frie
nd
p
thus se e king to m
ake it appear that he was the
«
of
: unwil ling instrument o f the State Departmen t in carryi n g
o ut its hars h decrees
.
.
i
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"
,
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,
,
-
.
.
neither the interests nor reputation o f o u r
«
G o v ernment required such a system o f concealment
f rau d secret examinatio n s withhol di ng and garbling evi
d ence and ge ne ral u nf airne ss and I am confident it will
w hen fully understood meet the condemnation o f the
e cr etary to whom I wish here t o ack n owledge my obli
:S
courtesy
and
kindnes
and
o n s for many acts o f
a
t
i
s
g
e s pecially for his e ff ort to arrest the injustice done m
y
which I have learned for the
gs e lf and my commission
fi r st time o n reading this volume
C e rt ainly
"
,
,
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,
p
"
,
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,
D
ELAYS I N MA"ING REP ORT
.
Mr Jay in his dispatches of A
pril 2 8t h and 30t h says
t h at no restoratio n o f a commissioner should take place
mn t fl the President could re v iew all the facts and the tes
”
Le t it be remarked that the inv estigation so
t im o ny
wal le d nev er closed until the 5 t h o f July o f t h is year and
t h an o nl y upon t h e peremptory dema n d o f the Depart
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16
State "and not until this demand was thric e
repeated did he cease writ ir g his final report which did
not reach W ashington until t h e 2 3 d day of July A
s an
excuse f o r this delay he reported to the Go v ernmen t
"
that the examin ation was prolonged at the request of
”
the accused
By reference to the record it will be foun d
that it was the evident intention o f Messrs Jay and Mc
Elrath that I should know nothing of the testimony and
hav e no Opportunity of explanation and that the inv esti
i
a
t
o n should not close until it was too late f o r any
g
action o f the President in conn ection with the Exh ib i
tion
I demanded shortly after the opening of their inqui s i
tion to be present at its sittings In answer t o thi s
I was called to give evidence and informed by them in
writing that if any testimony should be thereafter giv e n
which they should deem afi e c t e d the rights interests o r
honor o f the A
merican People or of A
me rican Exhib i
tors o r that justice to General Van Buren himself shoul d
”
demand it should be submitted to me for such c o m
ment o r explan ation as I saw fi t to giv e (p
m e nt
of
i'
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I receiv ed no sign h o vve v e r from the Special Com
”
mission an d at last moved by public rumor I deman d
ed again to be called befo e them for examination Tha t
examination took place o n the l 6t h o f May and no f ur
ther excuse has been o ffered for not closing the testi
mony
The mass o f evidence taken afterw ards has no connec
tion with the charges made by Mr Jay
,
,
,
,
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r
.
,
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.
Is it not a fair inference that they feared to submit t o
the Government the flimsy proofs upon which they h ad
based their telegrams ? It is not true that I took money
I permitte d
f rom the grantees o f bars and restaurants
.
18
ef er briefly to the character o f the witne s se s upon whose
e v idence it is chiefly based
r
.
8
WITNESSES
.
Mr Henry L Je we t t who appears to have been Mr
J ay s chief reliance in fram ing his charg e s and who
a cted as his confidential friend and advisor I learn was
f ormerly connected with the co ll ection of U S re v enues
at Brooklyn N Y
His reputat ion there is not en v iable as I will show if
" p ortunity o fl e rs
A
n d that reputation has not been
o
p
i mproved at Vienna
His motive in ser ving Mr Jay was simply to pre v ent
h is former partner whom he had swindled out of h is
ermit
from
obtaining
any
place
o n the Exhibition
p
rounds
g
In gratitude for his services Mr Jay re c dm m e nd s h 1m
t o the grac m u s protection o f the Go v ernment (p 5 48 )
but unf ortunately for the harmony o f thi s understan di ng
t h e re c o m m e n d at ie n had scarcely been received at
e t t had abscond
W ashington before n ews cam e that Je w
e d from Vienna owing a very large amount of money
Mr
a n d leaving his employee s in a state o f destitution
explo si o n of this great scandal
J ay s opinion as to the
would prove interesting reading
a t Vienna
Mr James who was strongly recommended t o me by
I r Jay for Chief Engineer and who w as appointed an
lV
Assistant Commissioner was chiefly useful in carrying
r umors and reports o f restaurant and bar room con v er
s at io n s t o the embassy (p
Wh o thi s young man
i s I hav e briefly stated in my letter to the Department
His
services
in
the
commission
con
s i s t ed in
(p
s py l ng and reporting for Mr Jay and in m aking a con
rd which Was
t ract for roofing and flooring the cour t y a
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19
denounced in Vienna as a fraud "
and the price
s worn to t o have been double what it s hould have been
f reely
.
,
It was publicly charged in Vie nna th at James received
The examination
a large per centa g e on this contract
o f thi s charge by Me ssrs Jay and M c El rat h I submit
w as a farce and the impropriety o f their sitting in judg
James was the con
m ent upon it must be manife st
fi d ant o f Jay and Mr Mc El rat h had himself signed
the contract which was the subj ect o f examinat ion Le t
it be remembered th at I refu s ed t o m ake a p ayment
that I w as removed from the commi s
o n this contract
s ion, and the contract s ati sfied b y Mr Jay
.
.
,
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,
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.
Mr : Stillman the third of thi s interesting trio was
e mployed conjointly with James in repor t ing street and
b ar room gos sip at the embassy and in reflecting the
v ie ws o f Mr Jay in s currilous letters to The N
e w York
T ribune
His performances as Consul in Crete are notorious
H e h as resided in England for s ome 1 7 years "entertains
a n inveterate hatred again s t everything A
merican and
”
"
is ready for a j ob
In what coin Mr Jay paid f o r his
s ervices I d on t s top t o enquire but only know that his
i ntimacy at t h e embassy was the subj ect o f much c o m
ment in Vienna
”
"
These three nobiles fratres were the especial friends
a n d intimate s o f Mr Jay and their information advice
an d assistance h e has acknowledged in h is dispatch e s
a nd re port
General Mayer wh o was denounced by Mr Jay as
i n his estimation
c orrupt and unworth y and as guilty
o f the far worse crime o f having been born o n A
ustrian
o f u ntitled parent s
and perhaps o f belonging to
s oil
t h e Jewi sh faith is hel d to be a good enough witness to
,
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20
condemn m e To the influences which induced General
Mayer s testimony and its character I have re f e rre d in
another part o f th is communication
That he ev er
showed me a let t er which I forbid his publi shing in the
Vienna papers as detailed by Stillman is unequivo cally
false
T HE REP O RT
.
’
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.
The evident unfairness o f the report "its character as
a special pleading "its lab ored attempts t o twist and
t orture the testimony to my discre di t "its imputatio n s
of unworthy motive s for the most upright acts and its
general tone o f m alignity I should suppose would
stamp it with you as unworthy o f consideration but as
it forms part o f the record I propose briefly t o an al
ze it
y
,
,
,
.
After opening with an
announcement o f the exceeding
fairness of the examination like the label o f a pate nt
medicine this document states that the rumors inv esti
g ated related chiefly to charges o f j obbing an d corrup
tion connected with the issue o f permits in N
e w York "
and next t o charges o f Careless and ine ffi cient m an age
”
ment
Mr Jay s telegrams an d letters which le d t o the crea
tion o f his commission charged corruptio n distinctly
and this charge is repeated in his report o f t h e 2 2 d o f
April (p
In reply an d in reference t o this charge an d this only
was the examining tribunal c o m m 1 ss1o ne d in thes e
words :
By order o f the Presi d ent y o u and Thoma s
M cElrat h are appointed a s pecial c o m m i ssm n with
o wer t o super v i se the whole C o m m 1 ss1 o n t o Vien n a
p
Yo u will examine an d report f ully an d are hereby
,
,
.
’
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,
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,
21
uthorized to suspend temporaril y any per s on o r pe r
reportin
s ons appointed prior to 2 0t h Of March last
t h e facts and the gro un ds Of s usp e nsion
a
g
0
,
.
W hat were the s e men ordered
"
examine and report
”
f ul l y if not the charges and rumors reported by Mr
Jay ? I d o not believe it was ever contemplated by the
Government that the inv e s t ig ation w as to extend o v er
month s and go into the entire workin gs O f the Com mis
s ion and the private public and family hi s tory and ped
ig re e O f each Commi ssioner
to
.
,
,
.
It is evident from the order Of t h e S t ate Department
above r e ferred to from the various telegrams to Mr Jay
demanding speedy examination and report and the re
e at e d orders to him to clo s e the investigation and f o r
p
ward the papers to Washington that t he expectation Of
t h e Government was that t h e fac t s would be quickl y
gathered and laid before the President f o r his action
I submit that by his failure t o co mply with the s e
wishes Of the Department so often repeated Mr Jay
has shown h is m o t ive s t o h ave been personal and n o t
atriotic
p
LOAN FRO M H IT"EL
Af ter recit ing with much circumlocution the borrow
ing by M ayer from Hit z el o f $ 5 00 and it s subsequent
which w as
u se by m e for expenses Of the Commission
re lated f ully t o Mr Jay at my first interview with him
af t er my arriv al i n Vienna and repeated in my formal
e vi d ence the repor t goes o n t o say p
(
"
Alth o ugh Mayer appears in this and other cases t o
ha v e accepted and acted upon t h e Vie w suggested by
General Van Buren to an exten t Of which Gen V B
hi mself declares he had n o idea Mr Mayer s remark to
M r B o ehm o n his arriv al at Vienn a t hat there was
.
,
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"
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22
ahead seemed t o intimate that while he ha d
practically adopted General Van Buren s advice he was
s t ill d oubtful either O f i t s moral soundness o r Of its a
p
roval
by
the
A
merican
people
p
t rouble
,
’
,
”
.
W ere I not dealin g with such a high dignitary
the
American Minister to Au stria I shoul d characterize this
a s contemp t ible pettifoggin
g
as
,
.
No where doe
'
it appear that I ga v e advice to Mayer
t o get mone y and h is statement to Boehm that ther e
"
after he (Mayer ) had been sus
w as tro uble ahead
ended
by
the
procurement
Of
Mr
Jay
was
as
much
a
n
p
"
i ndication Of his doubts as t o the moral soundness o f
h is acts as it was Of his belief in Mr Jay s patriotism
a nd sen s e
The suggestion that accepting a loan fro m Hitzel
c o uld n o t be like t hat from a bank because Hitzel was
n o t a capitali s t is worthy the profound minds fro m
which it e min at e d
M ayer s statement that St iasne y and him s elf did no t
think Hitzel a proper per s on to come to Vienna is
d irectly contradicted by Mayer s o wn testimony (p 2 1 9)
when he s ays
"
I
"nowing him (Hitzel ) t o be a so be r good m an "
tol d him "
if General Van Bure n was inclined t o giv e
him such permission "
I wo ul d
t o erect a restaurant "
t
o
I
mentioned
the
subj
ect
s eak a good word for it
p
General Van Buren Gen V B at that time howev e r
had some conversation with a restaurateur named Cable
an d paid no attention to Hitzel until he found some O b
c t io n o n Cabl e s part to go m g
e
j
Mr Jay makes no reference to this but goes o n t o
s tate that the manner Of Hit ze l s payment hardly sus
t ains th e parallel between himself and a banker inasmuch
s
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”
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23
"
Mayer says the money was handed to him in s mal l
”
s um s o n di ff erent occa sions
as
,
.
I only refer to this profo u nd argument in order t o
s how how it ignore s the evidence an d se e k s to conv e y
an entirel y false idea Of the fac t s
'
.
F irst
"
—
Jewett (o n page 1 7 1 ) says : My impre ssion is
the fi r st check w as for $5 00 drawn by Henry Schwaz
"
and Hitzel swear s (p
I had
3 06 Broadway
given Mayer
in two sum s —a check for $5 00 o f
Henry Schwaz and the re st
which was paid in
”
three checks he p aid back
NO word Of Mayer s eviden ce to the contrary was ev er
read o r shown to me n o r was I a sked the qu estion as to
the shape in which thi s loa n was made
"
But s ay s thi s in ge nious accuser pro s ecutor and
"
j udge
the dependence Of Hitzel upon Van B u re n i s
shown by the testimony of the latter that he told Hit
z e l as he had told the others that their places sho u ld
be under strict police surveillance
p
(
C an any thing be clearer ? I s not corruption plainly
proven in thi s ex t raordinary conduct Of the Comm i ss i on
er in which he expre sse s h is determination to s e e th at
no disord e rly act s should be tolerated in any Of the s e
places
The statement O f Mayer to which the report alludes
a
p
that
the
loan
by
Hitzel
Of
0
w
in
accor
4
6
5
0
s
9
d
$
(
)
ance with a former conversation by me wit h Hitzel in
his presence w as never shown to me by Mr Jay is
u tterly untrue and is expre ss ly contradicted by Hitze l
"
p
when
he
says
I
ever
poke
to
General
n
s
a
n
2
6
V
7
)
(
”
B u en o n the matter
T O the pa g e Of special pleading (4 7 2 ) in which Mr
Jay exhau st s his indignant virtue in denouncing a lo an
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,
,
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,
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”
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‘
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"
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24
other receipt o f money from Hitzel I have to reply
”
dignity and honor o f the Com m ission was
t hat the
—
n o t as s ailed b y I i t z e l n o r w as it in his power t o do s o
I
I t was left for Mr Jay and his special favorite the res
t au r at e u r and bar keeper Je w ett to make thi s as s aul t
and bring dis grace upon th e A
merican name not throu gh
a nything done by the Commi ss ion but by the in e x c u s a
m e ric an Min ister
ble conduct o f t h e A
an
,
.
,
.
,
'
-
,
,
,
,
°
.
SE G V
E"
C"
I EN
B
Y MR
AY
J
.
.
In this connection I b e g t o call your attention t o the
e xcu s e given by Mr
Ja y for his interference with my
c ommission and t h e struggle on the part o f Mes s r s Jay
a n d Je w e t t to justify that interference afterwards
Say s
Consciou s that such a scand al
M r Jay (p 9 2 )
ea
:
i
enna
e d in
V
amid
an
a
ss e m blage o f the n ations
l
d
o
p
would bring upo n the A
dmini stration and the country a
—
r e roach more world wide than any pro d uced by local
p
”
& c I did not hesitate & c & c
corruptions at home
O n page 9 7 will be found a record o f his e ff ort s to pre
”
v ent
t h e explosion
he so much deprecate s A
n d the
s triking contrast o f
the conduct o f h im s elf and hi s
friend Jewett upon t h e one side and the plain com m on
s ense o f Mr Wie hl upon the other does n o t redound t o
M r Jay s credit Je we t t at t h e suggestion of James it
Jay an d
s eems had established his intimacy with Mr
’
h ad persuaded Mr I Ve ih l t o accompany him t o the
Embassy (p
When there Mr Jay eagerly seize d
”
"
"
his pen
and he s ays
I intimated to Mr Jewet t
t hat I was rea dy to make a note o f the conver s atio n
As he was beginning Mr V ie hl said Stop a moment
I don t think I am rea dy t o say anything t o day at all
e v ents without con s ulting my partner
I t will stir up a
rha s it had b e t t e r be le t alone
r
t
r o w a nd
e
Maye
r
e
a
g
f
p
p
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,
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-
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,
,
,
,
<
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,
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’
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26
”
might do as he pleased b ut t hey pr oposed to go o n quie tly
i f they were re q uired to s ay what passed they woul d
”
tell the truth b ut t hey did no t w ish t o m a ke a dist ur bance
etc
Ah "but Mes srs Jay and Je we t t did not wis h things
”
”
to
go on quietly
They did want a disturbance
and so they forced matters on until Mr Wiehl suppose d
himself obliged to give his evidence which evidence as
I shall show has been garbled and misquoted by Mr
Jay in h is report
M ON
EY N
OT C RE D ITE D
Th e money al t hough alleged t o have been paid t o
them o fficially as Commissioners was never credited t o
”
the Commis sion says the report So far as I h ad
knowledge o f any money transactions th e o ne was a
ersonal
loan
and
the
other
a
sub
s cription to be re
p
turned under certain circ um stances Had the su b sc ri p
tion b e e n u se d it would ha v e appeared on the record as
ordered by me It was n o t u s ed but returned The se
f act s are repeatedly sworn t o by every witness who had
knowledge o f the transaction
"
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,
.
T HE T H IRD T HO "SAN
D
D
OLLAR S
.
wi sh no w t o call the attention of t h e Government
articular
y
to
that
portion
l
o f the report commencing o n
p
p age 480 in reference to what i s called the t hir d t hou
”
which I charge as a deliberate misstate
sa nd d o lla r s
ment of the te stimony amounting al m ost to forgery
There is no mention made in any part o f the evidenc e
o f Boehm
Wiehl or Maye r of a third thousand dol
”
lars
The first
was a su b sc rip
Boehm says (p
tion t o the School House The second lVI ay e r s aid h e
would pay back when he came to Vienna
and again
I
.
,
'
,
.
,
,
.
.
.
,
27
p
(
1 82 )
.
T we t ho usand d ollar s is
,
t he f ir m
f
ro
f
o
m t he m
Wiehl
B oehm ct
'
all
Nm
o
.
t ha t has bee n paid b y
or e
has bee n
asked
f
or
”
.
Mr Wiehl from who s e evidence a quotatio n is made
in this report t o ju s tify it s shocking perversion o f facts
distinctly states in tha t very evi d ence (p
Whil e
«
e
w
e
t
t
r
s
Mr Boehm may have said ”(referring t o Je
h
was paid t e
port s )
that it co st u s
o nly
w as paid t o my
The other
Co mmission as st a ted
lawyer and had no connection with the C ommi ssion I
d o not kno w of any other sum being paid t o t h e C o m
”
mission
What re spect can be paid to the allegations and arg
ments of men who with these facts before them can re
port t o the Government exactly the con t rary and wha t
shall be s aid of an A
merican Minister who can prost i
tute his official name to such ba s e u s es ?
.
,
,
,
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,
’
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,
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,
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,
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u
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,
,
r
Another unfounded
s t a t ement appears in this report
r
on
a
e
4
90
where
it
is
written
that
a
personal
lette
p g
"
from myself t o Mr Jame s
dated at s e a March
”
"
contains a reference to General Mayer s suspe nsio n
It is only nece s sary t o remember that I had n o knowl
e dge o f General Mayer s suspension until after I h ad
reached L
iverpool to see that n o such r eference coul d
have bee n made in that letter
I sub m it that meddling with m y private letters by
Messrs Jay and Mc Elrat h was a high handed o utrag e
at which most men would have hesitated "but I shall
ask yo u t o characterize the act o f su ppressing the letter
and misquotin g it s content s
My statements in that letter were in reference t o cor
respondence and conver s ation s with you upo n the sub
f
e
c
t
o
Mr
Jay
s
latest
communicatio
s
pre
iou
s
t
n
v
o
m
j
y
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,
.
,
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’
.
"
’
,
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’
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28
Nw
l eaving
York The fact that James carried this
and all my letter s t o Mr Jay I did not then know I t
s hows their relation to each other and I submit justi
fies m y asser tions upon that subj ect
e
.
.
.
,
,
,
.
While upon this topic I ve nture to quote a few line s
”
from a letter dated also at sea but addressed by me
t o Mr Jay to which he makes no reference
,
,
.
.
,
I say During this long time of working and waiting
o
u
and
I
have
bee
carryi
g
on
hat
ap
eared
to
be
a
n
n
w
p
y
frien dly corre spondence
You have giv en me your
views upon the pro per conduct of the Co m mission hav e
sugge sted vari ous ways o f working up en thusia s m and
rocuring
articles
for
exhibition
and
have
laid
ro
o
u
t
p
p
rammes
for
me
o f a character requiring a v ast amount
g
o f fund s and the su port o f a vast number o f men
p
I read your letters with every respect but hav e ig
nored your programme s f o r the reason that everything
o f v alue l n them I had tried lo n g before s o far as my
mean s and the circ umstances wo u ld permit Your let
ters to me I held as personal and confidential and I
fully believed y o u were treatin g mine in the same man
My letters were intended to be friendly confer
n er
e n c e s with o n e wh o I thou gh t had given me his sympa
t h y ih my undertaking
You may perhaps then imagine my feelings when I
a scertained that while I was thus writing pri v ate c o nfi
d ential friendly letters t o you and receiving what ap
o
t
e are d to be the same in r e ply
u
were
forwarding
o
p
y
t h e Department o f State special despatches upo n the
s ubj ect o f those letter s as well as private telegrams and
l etters t o Mr Fish l n which every e xpres sion of my
f ears wrung from an overburdened bo d y and mind that
t h e delays in Congress and the gen eral apathy might yet
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29
en der all my toil and expenditures v alueles s was made
t o appear as evidence of my incapacity o r s omething
:
w ors e
"
No t content even with th is you have charged that
my only letter s to B aron Schwarz Se nb o rn were com
n
laints
a
to
bar
and
restaurant
s "
and
fi
ally
your
s
s
p
e ff ort s have culmi na t ed in accu s ations o f corruption and
f raud
"
No w I am not going to place myself on the defeu
s i ve in any of the s e matter s nor d o I feel called upon to
u
I
will
s
mply
sa
that
my
:m ake explanation s to
o
i
y
y
c o rr e s o n d e n c e wi t h Baron Schwarz has been through
p
o ut
of a sati sfactory character and that you are in
an d
o s s es s io n of very little knowledge concernin g it "
p
t hat when I reach Vienna I shall endeavor to under
s tan d and expo s e the cowardly character of all a ss ault s
in whatever quarter they may hav e
u pon my honor
o ri g i nated
"
In the meantime I can only expre s s my surprise
”
a n d re g ret at the cour s e you have s een fit to pur s ue
r
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
a
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
The
of thi s private letter might have saved the n e
c e s sit
of
appropriating
and
mi
quoting
that
to
James
s
y
I t s conten t s however will s u fficiently explain why no
331 8 9 w as made of it
"
H is programme s s ound like the proclamation o f a
”
C hine s e emperor I had s aid in an other letter to James
w hich had been immediately carried to Mr Jay and
s erved to inflame the latter s zeal in the
s ervice of his
”
c ountr
y
C HARACTER OF T HE AMER IC AN DE PARTMENT
u se
.
,
,
'
.
,
,
.
,
’
.
.
page 5 06 of the report begin s a long criticism
merican department o f the
u po n the character o f the A
E xhibition and of my corre spondence and repre s enta
On
,
,
30
tions upon the subj ect Thi s piece of special pleading
seem s to m e an i m pertinence not warranted by t h e
authori t y under which the Special Commi ssion w
as act
in
or
the
facts
and
circumstances
to
hich
it
refers
w
g
”
.
"
.
,
misr eprese nt
To undertake to belittle my labors and
my situation seem s to have been a favorite pa stime
Mr Jay s fro m the time of my appoi ntment
,
:
'
of
’
.
.
,
I shall be able to show by evidence that cannot b e
questioned the faithful an d di sinterested character o f
m y e ff ort s the difficulties with which I had to contend
the ob stacle s I overcame and the succe ss which attend
ed my work
Mr Jay takes exception s to my remark that I woul d
have b e en justified in n o t advancing money or devoting
my entire t i me and e x e rt io n s i n procuring an exhibition
from the Unit ed States until after an appropriation b y
Cong re s s The importance and value o f the services o f
Mr Jay are doubtle ss very great His t r l u m ph s as a
diploma t are they not wri t t en in the archive s of the State
Department and h is exalted reputa tion as the m ost su c
in s t it u
c e ssf ul representative of democratic republican
tions in all Eu r0 10 e doe s it not add lu stre to our Gov
He r e ceives for all this expenditure o f
e rn m e nt ?
profundit y elegance and politene s s the sum of
gold yearly in a d dition to some thousands for an
Be sides he h as t h e diplomatic privilege of enterin g "
free of duty certain article s for his hou s ehold "for an
o ver exerci s e of which pr1v 1le ge I am told he h as been
taken to task by the A
u s trian Governme nt
I fail to discover in the s e fact s evidence o f that d l sm
t e re st e d n e ss and se lf s ac rifi c e which Mr Jay so eloque nt
l y commend s
Whatever my theory of the oblig a tion s
o f m y o f fi cial position 1 did labor early and late with
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"
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,
31
reward and at m y o wn expen s e wit h no
t ainty of being reimburs ed a dollar
«
o ut
eer
'
,
.
And
here let me remark that the amount o f t hat o u t
lay is not to be measured by the account s ren
The expenses t o
d ered by me to the Government
which I was subj ected on account o f my posi t ion ex
hansted my e ntire income and have left me burdened
with debt
1
.
,
,
,
,
.
So far as I have been able to ascertain I w as the only
C ommi s sioner from any nation who was obliged to
d ance attendance at the seat of Government begging an
a ppropriation o f money to s ec ure an exhibition of his
Every other g overnment made its
c ountry s products
appropriation without s olicitation from the Commis sion
e r and at a time when it could be used to the greatest
a dvantage
,
,
,
(
,
’
.
,
.
I think it cannot be denied that without m y exertions
n o appropr i ation would have been secured from Con
n
ress
and
that
w
ithout
that
appropriation
o e x h ib i
"
g
tion would hav e been possible from this country I re
eat
that
unt
l
that
appropriation
was
made
I
would
p
i
have been fully justified in not exhausting my time and
mean s to secure such exhibition
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
A Commi
sioner from the United States I could hav e
performed the d uty of visiting the Exhibition and
reporting to my Government my observations and such
fact s as were of value concerning it W aiting as I d id
u pon Co ng ress from week to week now h e ping
now
d espairing it is n o t to be wondered at that my letters
reflected these diff erent feeling s I was interested and
anxious in my work and no e ff ort was spared in my
o fl i c e to make o u r department a success— as n o eff or t
s
s
,
,
.
:
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
32
was afterward spared by the Honorable John
his associates t o depreciate and ruin it
Jay
and
r
.
I deny that in any fair sense o u r Exhibition was a
failu re The want o f large and showy ca s es in which t o
exhibit the goods made it l e s s attractive to the e y e than
were the other departments but in t h e character o f t h e
material s it w as a success This is p roven by the num
ber of awards granted to exhibitors and will I am cer
tain be full y d e mon strated when the final report of t h e
Co m mi s sion is received The attempt to convict me o f
misrepre s entation as t o the nu m ber of application s f ro m
exhibitors seems t o be ba s ed upon letters written by m e
t o several g entlemen member s of Congress and others
I have only t o say t hat while it is po ssible I may
have u s ed expressions in those letters Somewhat e x ag
gerated it remains true that more applications were re
c e iv e d and more granted than we then had s pace at o u r
command and to add that t his inqu iry also is without "
the s c e pe o f Mr Jay s authority Many of the permit s
were n o t used o n account o f the delays in the appropria
tion and others o n account o f the scandal created by
Mr Jay He asserted in o ne o f his letters that contri
butions o ther than tho s e sent by me were s ecured I
ch allenge proof o f this state m
ent which I insist is with
out the least foundation in fact What was sent from
this country w as so sent by the devoted toil o f myself
an d my associates
S PA CE
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This brings me t o con sider the question o f space
From the numb e r o f applications it appeared absolutely
necessary t o so arrange the uncovered portion o f o ur
s p ace in the Exhibition buildin g as t o fit it for use
Upon thi s subj ect I corresponded with Mr Jay and
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,
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34
e ure
df
l arge
o r o ur uses,
ex
endit ure
p
it wo uld have
a v oid e d an
y
rt io n o
o
p
f
t his
.
If
it was ever within the scope o f Mr Jay s duty to
to this busine s s clearly this was the time to
s ee
and diplomatic skill f o r
e xercise that s uave wi s dom
I do not find howe v er
w hich he is distin guished
f rom the record that he took any steps whate v er to se
such additional sp ace
On the contrary he
c ure
a pproved the contract for covering the court yard
and
made haste to p ay the large sum named in it
’
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,
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,
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,
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.
After
this was done however Mr Jay suddenly
a wakened to the idea o f securin g more space and whe n
ccord
I reached Vienna he was radiant with tri umph A
i ng to his o wn state m e nts he had accomplished a great
He had bombarded the Chie f o f the A
u strian
w ork
C ommission the British Mini ster and Com m i ss i on and
merica with his nu
t h e Commissioner s from South A
answe rab le and almo s t unending diplomatic notes and
"
h ad finally succeeded in backing England down from a
”
portion o f the space occupied by her (to u se his o wn
w ords ) and secured o n e half the en t ire transept o f South
America for o u r u se
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The British Minister d e clim e d any responsibility it
b eing reserved for the Minister from the U S to int er
f ere with the Commission from his country
,
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.
I f ad
ace
p
t he
s
Mr Jay
b ef
.
,
wit h my
o r e co vering
neeessiti ty
of
t he
a
pp
co ur t
s uc h co ve r in
l,
ro v a
rd,
a
y
sec ur ed
t his
a dditional
i t wo uld hav e
A it
o bv iat e d
‘
was
I
cannot
un
g
Observ e that it
d e rst an d by what authority he acted
w as done without con sultatio n with the Commissio n
He
a nd just previous to the ope ning o f the Exhibition
had no t secured an article t o pu t in this space and as I
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35
had no conception it was t o be procured I had taken n o
s teps to fill it
Had not this unwarranted interference taken place o r
had he informed the Commi s sion o f h is intentions in
time all our room in the Exhibition buildings would
have been creditably filled A
s it was he found him s el f
with a large additional space o n hand to be paid for by
the Go v ern ment and not an exhibitor t o occupy it
After my removal however Mr Jay as supreme c o n
troller of our department caused t h at new space to be
fir st fill ed from the obj ects I had collec t ed leaving o f
course v aqanc ie s in our original tra nsept and court
yard A
n d these very vacancies t hus created he makes
the subj ect of censure in his report
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AD VI SORY C O MMITTEE
.
I
hav e heretofore remarked as to the quality
the articl e s exhibited from this c ountry which
of
commended them to the approval o f the juries
and the a dmiration o f the Emperors o f Germany and
Au stria and the members o f their respective courts
And now I refer for a moment to the criticism passed
u pon me for not leaving the selection of these articles
e w York
entirely to th e A
dvisory Committee in N
I he
Advis o ry Commit t ee was compo s ed of gentlemen s ele ct
ed by me who s e action was entirely volunt ary
I
respectfully contend that if thi s Committee had never
been called upon t o act such omi s sion o n my part is not
properly the subject of complaint from Mr Jay o r from
any partie s except the gentlemen composing the Com
But the fact is that I made every possible
m it t e e e
exe rtion t o s ecure the c o operation o f the di ff erent
bran c h e s of the A
dvisory Committee and it was only
when most of these failed to ac t and t h e shortne s s o
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36
t ime
permitted no alt ernative that I a ssumed the nu
leasant
ta
s k myself
p
I t is charged by Messr s Jay and Mc Elrat h that I
n eglected t o s end to Vienna w eek s before my arrival
the full a ssig nments o f space in our department while
at the same time I am taken t o t a sk for not referrin g al l
thi s to the A
dvisory Committee The truth is the tim e
f o r doing the work necessary f o r so l a rge an undertaking
Was entirely t o o limited Everything pos sible wa s done
by myself and my a s sociates Mr Mc Elrat h was o ne
ss istant Commis sioner s "I look in vain
o f the A
ho w
ever for evidences of his activity in behalf o f the Exh i
,
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b it io n
While we were laboring without cess ation
.
he
,
enj oy ing the leisure and luxury o f a soj ourn in
Italy un t il he came t o Vienna t o conspire against t he
head of the Commi ssion and his ass o c iat e s and c o m
l
ac e nt ly accep t the honors due them
p
w as
,
‘
,
.
LEAVING B"S INESS WIT H MAYER
I am accu s ed al s o of having while in Wa shington
left the busines s of the Commi s sion in the hands o f
General Mayer when in the opi n i on o f Mr Jay I
should not hav e troubled myself by s eeking an appro
riat io n
should have accepted the
from
Congress
but
p
off er s of th o s e wh o were will ing t o contribute t o t h e
expen s e s of the Commission
He says I could easily
i
have s ecured comm ssi o ners o f such we alth and stand
ing as to h ave commanded from them a g ener o u s co ntri
I n England he adds a large amount
b u t io n (p
was g iven by p rivat e ci t izens
o n e o f t h e C o m m is sw n
”
himself contributin g
po unds
Thi s w as denied
t o me by members o f t h e Brit i s h Co m mi s sion t h e fac t
being that what was contributed was for special object s
B u t s u pp o se I had acc e p t ed such c o ntrib u tion s wo u l d
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37
Mr Jay have been the fir st to condem n my acti on
The ch ief burden of his complaint no w is that I permit
ted a person even t o loan a s mall su m t o the Commis
sion o r any member o f it o r t o sub s cribe t o the e x pe n
ses o f erecting a s chool house o r other building
no t
.
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,
,
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It h as sometime s occurred t o me to enquire why it is
that Mr Jay did no t follo w the example o f the English
Gentleman he so appro v ingly quotes an d forward t o the
d pounds
Co mm i ssm n his co n tribution o f t e n thousan
Thus by h is works he would have illustrated the value
Inste ad o f thi s he sent me an urgent re
o f h is words
quest before the appropriation was made t o re imburse
him a few dollars he h ad unwittingly expended in t h e
premises A
fter Mr Jay had succeeded in securing my
removal he carried o u t h is idea o f appo m t ing men o f
wealth and standing
I submit t o y o u whether t h e
e xperiment was satisfactory
I know in his re port h e
t
o this Temporary Commission but
ives
great
c
e
d
it
r
g
the facts scarcely sustain his eulogy as I shall show
when opportunity presents
Suppose I had appo int e d t h e s e or similar parties to
have a ssisted me at the outset does any o ne believ e I
would h ave ever secured an exhibition ? I am told that
they received the Emperor and h is sui t e o n the first o f
May under the supervision of Mr Jay with infi nite
grace and hav ing thus secured the success o f the Exhi
bitiou they resigned the next day
The course adopted by myself wi t h regard to my ap
o
i
n
m
t
e
n
t
s
and the appropriation seemed t o me the only
p
proper one In my absence I was o f course obliged t o
leave the o ffice in the hands o f a deputy So far as my
experience goes ev ery public o fficer does the same thing
Mr Jay no t ex cepte d That Mr Mayer did the e ntire
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38
work and bore the responsibility o f the
is simply absurd
T HE S C H OOL HO "SE
o fiic e ,
ho wever
,
.
A to my authority
g i ven to Col B ridg es t o ere ct the
scho o l room and o f Mr Ph ilb ric k s extended te s ti m ony
upon the g ener al subj ect I have only to say that looking
over m y ac t ion in the pre m l se s l n Vi ew o f all the facts
and circumstances I am o f the op inion that m y course
was n o t o nly entirely ju stified but is highly to be
com m ended Mr P hilb ric k s s tatement (no t of e r) that
some patent structure could be put on board a sh ip in
Boston harbor in pieces at a co st o f
was o f no
sort o f importance Had such contract been made the
b uilding put up ti t Vienna would have cost far more t h an
His promise t hat B os t on would pay a
t h e o n e erected
portion of the expen s e w as withdrawn a nd I under
stand h im to favor m y action in the premi s es A
t any
rate the respon sibility belonged t o me and not t o Mr
Philbrick The s chool building was erected at the very
lowes t pos sible pri ce Its exh ibi t ion was a great success
as the report s will show and if my Com mission had n o t
been i nterfered with I believe no criticism woul d hav e
been made upon my action o r upon this part o f the Ex
s
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h ib it io n
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RAN"NESS
I re f er now t o that part of the report th at charges m e
”
"
want o f frankne ss in my corre sp o nden ce with
with
My letter to the Sec
the Sta t e Department (p
which
i
s thu s c o m m en t ed on and which appear s
r e t ar
y
o n pa g e 1 03 I a ffi rm is true and f ran k in every part ic u
”
lar
W ant o f candor and frankne ss is shown no t in
my le t ters but in t h e mi srepre s e nta t ion s and mis q uo t a
tions of thi s report On page 5 4 2 w ill be found th is l an
WAN T
.
OF F
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39
guage referring to my letter :
Here w as no intimation
that Boehm V ie h l were t o have three e stabli shments
two o f which were being erec t ed on the ground s and
that the third General Van Bure n had him s elf sugge st
ed to Baron Schwarz sho uld be placed in the R otunda o f
”
the Palace of Industry
And a little farther on they
sa :
o f the tru t h
this
deliberate
mi
representation
F
o
r
s
y
accompa nied with an expres sion of regret if the Depart
ment should di sapprove o f his e st ablishment of o ne b ar
”
No w eit her
the Special Commission fi nd no apo l ogy
"
thi s Special Comm i ssi on or my s elf is guilty of a de
liberate misrep resentation o i the truth
I adopt their
o wn polite an d diplomatic phra s e
,
V
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By a paragraph o n page 5 43 it will be seen that the
charge is repeated that I did not tell the t ruth in refer
ence to the number of permit s gi v en by me for restaur
ant s and bars N
o w if it be shown from t h e evidence
that I never gave Boehm
VVie h l permission t o e riec t
t hree places for the sale of liquor s "and n ever did sug
s
e
that a bar sho uld be erected in
g t to Baron Sch warz
”
the rotunda as stated by Mr Jay , there will be no dif
fi c u l t y in deciding which of us is g uilty of
deliberate
”
m i sre pre s e ntation of the tru th
R eference to my letter
to Baron Schwarz in t roducing Boehm Wiehl (p 1 80)
which Mr Jay q uotes as the foundation o f his charges
will show that no allu sion whatever is made to any per
mis sion o u my part to them o t her than for the erection
of one pavilion a n d t h e corre spon dence and evidence
may be s earched in vain to find a single reference on my
”
part either to a perm
it for the erection o f a Wig wam
o r that I had the lea s t knowledge that the same was b e
ing erected The f act is that I n e v e r heard a word upo n
the subj ect until after my arri v al in Vienna A
s to the
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40
bar l n the rotunda my exact language is as foll ows :
If it should seem to y ou best to grant these p arties an
additional permit to erect a small bar in the rotunda o f
the Palace o f Industry I ha ve no o bj ection to its being
done and will h ave a supervi s ion over it A
nything
they undertake to do I feel perfectly as sure d will be well
”
d one
,
,
,
.
.
In writing t o the State Department this sente nc e in
my letter t o Boehm Wiehl ha d escaped my memory
"
but I submit it is no t sugge sting to B aao n Schwarz
”
that a bar sho uld be erected as stated by Mr Jay It
was given by me at the solicitation o f Boehm
Wieh l
as simply indicating that I would n o t oppo s e such per
mit if they could obtain it from Baron Schwarz These
then are the facts I gave no perm it to B
W to
”
"
erect three places for the s ale o f drinks nor did I
suggest that a bar sho uld be erected in the rotunda
but the statement in my let t er to the Department that I
had granted 1 e rm it s for the erecti on o f o n e pavilion for
”
the sale of drink s
and o n e restaurant was the literal
and exact truth and the statements of Mes srs Jay and
Mc El rat h to the contrary are literal and exact m i sre p
”
re s e nt at io n s o f the truth
C HARA CT ER OF T HE REP ORT
I am now about through with this report in which
Messrs Jay and Mc El rat h have exhausted their utmost
ingenuity t o convict me o f some offense t o j us tify their
flaming: telegrams and reports and the disgrace brought
upon o u r Go v ernment an d people
I repeat The charge in their dispatches was that o f
”
corruption in the taking o f money from the keepers
d their recommendation that
o f bars and restaurants an
the Commis sion be suspen d ed upon the general charge
,
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42
tribunal whose conduct is without precedent in o u r his
tory labored for three months in a foreign ci t y t o
e stablish them
If the se charge s have not been su stained I ask that
my reputation may be vindicated by the Go v ernment o r
that a thorough inve stigation may be had before a com
m it t e e o f Congress of everything connected with o u r
Exhibitio nat Vienna from its ince ption to its close
under its four diff erent c o m m i ssm n s with the details o f
its management and expen s e s the character and services
o f the parties employed at Vienna and also the co n duct
and moti v es o f Messrs Jay and Mc Elrat h in connectio n
therewith as well as of the ir qualifications t o act as
judges of my Co m mi ssion
,
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ASS I S TAN T C OMMI SS I O NERS
I cannot clo s e this communication wi t hout referring
for a moment to the removal of tho s e A
s si stant Com
mis sioner s again st whom even t h e malice of Mr Jay
could invent n o c h arge N
othing was i mputed to them
except that their appointment w as due to me Goin g t o
Vienna having de v oted months to thei r official d utie s
and bearing the commis sions o f their Government they
were sudd e nly thru st from their positions and refu s ed
the lea st explanation or re dre ss
At the sugge stion o f the Govern m ent that Mr Shultz
should select his as sistants from among these gentlemen
t wo of the m were reappointed one of whom was after
ward s made chief o f the Commission
Mr M c Mic h ae l was re instated but refused to serve
and Dr R u ppan e r j ourney ed from Vienna to VVashing
t o n and back to regain his position but it seems proper
to enquire why the other s were ignored while the se r
v ices o f some o f the m were eagerly sought and received
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43
Co m mission " Messrs R ou nd and Go t t h e il
performed most valuable labors at the Ex hibition and
the important duties co nfided t o the latter by the exist
ing Commis sion have kept him at Vienna up t o t h e
present time
It seems scarcely creditable that these m e n sh o u ld hav e
received only disgrace at the hands o f th eir cou ntry s
representative in A
ustria while Mr M c Elrat h wh o
ne v er did any service f o r the Commissio n was loaded
with praises and honors
I have been accused o f t o o much zeal in my o wn
defence and that o f my Comm i ssi o n
Christian forbearance is a v irtue so easily preached
by those who have receiv ed no injury " But righteous
indignation against such wro ngs as we hav e been sub
e c t e d t o I ca nnot think u nbecomin g in m e n consciou s
j
o f their rectitude and wh o k n ow their o wn rights
b y t h enew
.
,
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’
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,
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I desire most respectfully t o s ay that I refuse
t o rest quietly under the assaults ma d e upon my char
acter until publicly vindicated
This vindication is n o t necessary t o my n e ighbor s
and friends who nobly sustained me at the outset o f the
at t ack and also after a careful rea ding o f t h e evid ence
and report filed by Mr Jay n o r t o my acquai ntances
who with scarcely an exception ha v e hastened t o
expre ss to me th eir entire confidence in m y honor "n o r
t o tho s e wh o know Mr Jay and are f amiliar with his
character disposition and habits "nor t o the Govern
ment which announces it has made no charges accusing
me o f any criminality o r improper conduc t " but to
t hat g reat public here and abroad before which my
n ame has bee n for months held up t o scorn an d c o n
tempt it is d ue that the truth should b e fully expose d
Fo r
o ne ,
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,
,
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,
that it should be shown that I hav e not only been
ilty
o f no wrong but that I hav e rendered a ser v ice t o
u
g
the Go ve rnme nt and people and accomplished a work
that should e ntitle me to approbation rather than cen
—
ure
to rewards rather than reproaches
s
,
,
.
I
hav e the hon or to be Sir with great resp ect
Your obedient servant
TH O S B VA
N BUR EN
,
,
,
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.
.
P S— While the foregoing was being printe d I h ave
receiv ed the announcement o f my nomination as Consul
General at Japan which a ff ord s me the gratifyin g c o n
v ic t io n that I stil l pos s ess the confidence and regard o f
the Government and am vin di cated by it s publi c act I
send this t o y o u no w in order that it may form a part o f
"
the record o f the Vienna Exhibition
o n file i n y our
Department
.
.
"
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,
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.