The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Mr. SANGSTON. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. You do not remember anything else? The CHAIRMAN. Did you perform any other services there except to pick up those envelopes and pull down the windows? Mr. SANGSTON. Well, I sat down there and helped Mr. Morrison get up his mail. The CHAIRMAN. How do you help him get it up? Mr. SANGSTON. Well, the papers that come over from the State Department he stamps with a dating stamp. The CHAIRMAN. Do you help do that stamping? Mr. SANGSTON. I hit the stamp; yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Do you look at the clock every time you hit the stamp? Mr. SANGSTON. No, sir; I would get a stiff neck if I did. The CHAIRMAN. What time did you quit hitting the stamp that evening? Mr. SANGSTON. Well, we got through, I suppose, about a quarter after 5 or twenty minutes after 5. The CHAIRMAN. Now, what makes you think you got through that particular evening at twenty minutes after 5? Mr. SANGSTON. I was watching the clock. The CHAIRMAN. Did you find the voucher before you quit hitting the stamp or after? Mr. SANGSTON. Before. The CHAIRMAN. How long before? Mr. SANGSTON. Well, I should judge about 10 or 15 minutes before. The telephone rang and Mr. Morrison asked me to find out what it was; after I hung the receiver up I started to pick up these empty envelopes and discovered this envelope on the floor and turned it over to Mr. Morrison. The CHAIRMAN. Did you talk to Mr. Morrison down there about finding this envelope? Mr. SANGSTON. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Never mentioned it? Mr. SANGSTON. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Did you mention it to this other messenger? Mr. SANGSTON. No, sir. The first he knew of it was when it came out in the papers. The CHAIRMAN. How do you know? Mr. SANGSTON. Well, he said so. The CHAIRMAN. I thought you said you never mentioned it to him? Mr. SANGSTON. I said the first he knew of it was when it came out The CHAIRMAN. I thought you said you did not mention it to him? Mr. SANGSTON. Well, we commenced talking about it when the piece came out in the paper, and he said, "Look here" The CHAIRMAN. When was that? Mr. SANGSTON. Well, the first day it came out in the paper-either yesterday or day before yesterday, whatever day it was. EXPENDITURES IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT. The CHAIRMAN. When did you have this talk with this other messenger? Mr. SANGSTON. Yesterday or day before; it was the first day it came out in the paper. The CHAIRMAN. Was it yesterday or day before? Mr. SANGSTON. I can not say; I can not recall what day it was it came out. The CHAIRMAN. You do not remember when you had the conversation? Where did you have it? Mr. SANGSTON. We were sitting right in the back room, and he picked up the morning paper The CHAIRMAN (interposing). He picked up the morning paper? The CHAIRMAN. Not this morning? Mr. SANGSTON. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. You are sure of that? Mr. SANGSTON. Sure of that. The CHAIRMAN. And it was the morning paper in which you read it? Mr. SANGSTON. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Do you not know it did not appear in the morning papers until this morning; that it was not disclosed until late yesterday afternoon? Mr. SANGSTON. What, the first part of the voucher? I think it appeared yesterday; the first part of this case was yesterday, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Do you not know it was not disclosed until the afternoon of yesterday, and the first appearance in the papers was yesterday afternoon, and this morning was the first time it appeared in the morning papers? Mr. SANGSTON. I am sure I do not know that, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Now, your recollection of that matter is just as clear as it is on these other matters, is it not? Mr. SANGSTON. No, sir; but I think it appeared in some other morning paper besides this morning's paper. The CHAIRMAN. Do you swear that nobody gave you that voucher? Mr. SANGSTON. I swear, by God, that I did not know anything about the voucher until I put it on Mr. Morrison's desk and he told me. I will take an oath before God to it. (Thereupon the committee adjourned.) HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON EXPENDITURES IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.103 TO INVESTIGATE THE EXPENDITURES IN JUNE 16, 1911 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE EXPENDITURES IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT. ¡Committee room, basement, main building. Telephone 278. Meets on call.] SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON EXPENDITURES IN THE STATE DEPARTMENT. FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 1911. The subcommittee met at 3 o'clock p. m., Hon. Courtney W. Hamlin (chairman) presiding. TESTIMONY OF MR. THOMAS MORRISON-Continued. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Morrison, have you those documents that we asked you to bring up? Mr. MORRISON. I have the voucher from the Secretary of State that you asked for. The CHAIRMAN. Did you bring up a stub of your draft for the $2,450 which you say you paid to W. H. Michael? Mr. MORRISON. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. You said that at the time you turned over the voucher and papers to Mr. Denby you made a memorandum? Mr. MORRISON. I did not bring that, Mr. Chairman; I thought maybe it was here, but it is not; it is simply a letter from Mr. Carr. The CHAIRMAN. You say you did not bring that memorandum that you made, or the notation that you made? Mr. MORRISON. I did not think of it, Mr. Hamlin; I had my mind. on this to-day; I think you called me on the telephone about it. The CHAIRMAN. I believe you testified the other day that this messenger, Sangston, went to the Treasury and got this money and brought it to you? Mr. MORRISON. Well, I think it was Sangston; either he or the other one. The CHAIRMAN. How did you deliver that money to Michael? Mr. MORRISON. It was handed to him. The CHAIRMAN. By whom? Mr. MORRISON. I handed it to him myself. The CHAIRMAN. You paid it to Michael yourself? Mr. MORRISON. Yes, sir; I handed the money to him. The CHAIRMAN. On the day that you got it out of the Treasury? Mr. MORRISON. No; it was a few days after. I think the voucher shows. Will you let me see the voucher again? This is the date that corresponds with the date the payment was actually made. The CHAIRMAN. January 18, 1904? Now, you paid this money, then, to Michael on January 18, 1904, as shown by the voucher? Mr. MORRISON. Well, that is supposed to be the correct date, I believe. It is so long ago I could not tell. We generally insert the date on the voucher. |