THE NEW YORK SUN. The CHAIRMAN. In view of the articles which have appeared in the New York Sun on this subject I caused the following telegram to be sent to Mr. Lord, of that paper: Mr. CHESTER S. LORD, The New York Sun, New York City: APRIL 30, 1900. Do you desire to present before Printing Committee any facts with reference to the Richardson case? If so, who will come, and when is the soonest possible day he will appear? T. C. PLATT, Chairman. The following telegram has been received in reply: NEW YORK, April 30. Hon. T. C. PLATT: At 11.45 o'clock a. m. the committee adjourned until Friday, May 4, 1900, at 10 o'clock a. m. WASHINGTON, D. C., May 4, 1900. The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m. Present: Senators Platt, of New York (chairman), and Elkins; also Hon. James D. Richardson, Ainsworth R. Spofford, James S. Barcus, George W. Siever, and R. J. Bodmer. TESTIMONY OF JAMES S. BARCUS. JAMES S. BARCUS, being duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows: The CHAIRMAN. Where is your residence? Mr. BARCUS. Terre Haute, Ind. The CHAIRMAN. How old are you? Mr. BARCUS. Thirty-seven years. The CHAIRMAN. Where is your business place? Mr. BARCUS. Washington, D. C. The CHAIRMAN. What is the firm? Mr. BARCUS. The Committee on Distribution. The CHAIRMAN. Is that the firm name? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. I thought it was James S. Barcus Company. Mr. BARCUS. Perhaps I had better explain that in a few words. Mr. BARCUS. The firm name J. S. Barcus Company was used in the sale of a literary compilation-a cyclopedia of literature-and the plates we sold nearly two years ago, and we continued to use that name for collections and for giving notes for a while, but for the past year our notes have been given by the Committee on Distribution. That has been the firm name. The CHAIRMAN. Who are the members of the Committee on Distribution? Mr. BARCUS. I am the principal owner in that. It is merely a trade name which we adopted. It is not organized. Senator ELKINS. Is it a corporation? Mr. BARCUS. No, sir. Senator ELKINS. An association? Mr. BARCUS. Just a partnership; a commercial name. The CHAIRMAN. Certain names appear as members on the circulars sent out? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. You have a secretary and treasurer? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Mr. R. J. Bodmer is treasurer and Mr. Spofford is the secretary. The CHAIRMAN. It is not incorporated? Mr. BARCUS. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Is it merely a firm name? Mr. BARCUS. Just a firm name. The CHAIRMAN. How long have you been doing business under this name? Mr. BARCUS. Since about September, 1898. That is according to the best of my recollection. The CHAIRMAN. Was there no record of any such corporation or the existence of any such firm? Mr. BARCUS. No record was made on the public records. I knew of no requirement for recording it. The CHAIRMAN. There is no requirement. Mr. BARCUS. I knew of no requirement to record a firm name of that kind. The CHAIRMAN. There are charges that the whole thing is a fraud, and we are trying to get at the truth of the matter. Mr. BARCUS. I understand. The CHAIRMAN. We wish to find out whether that was done as a legitimate business transaction or for the purpose of deceiving the public? Mr. BARCUS. It was done for the purpose of doing a legitimate business, as, I think, we can satisfy you. The CHAIRMAN. Did you go out of the other business? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. There is now no such firm as J. S. Barcus Company? Mr. BARCUS. No. I think the name has been dropped from the commercial agencies. I am not sure of that, however. The CHAIRMAN. Has the new name been adopted in the commercial agencies? Mr. BARCUS. I think not. We were asking for no credits under that name, except from those with whom we were personally acquainted, and there is no occasion for it. The CHAIRMAN. Does your own name appear in the commercial agencies? Mr. BARCUS. I do not believe it does now, Senator. The CHAIRMAN. When did you move from New York? Mr. BARCUS. In July. The CHAIRMAN. 1899? Mr. BARCUS. 1899. Senator ELKINS. Mr. Barcus, you say you are now a resident of Indiana. Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. But were you before a resident of New York? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. You lived there? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. Were you in the publishing business? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. That has been your business? Mr. BARCUs. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. What was the name of your firm or of the corporation in New York-J. S. Barcus & Co.? Mr. BARCUS. J. S. Barcus Company. Senator ELKINS. And you have been a resident of Indiana how long? The CHAIRMAN. Where were you born and reared? Mr. BARCUS. In Indiana. I have been a property owner there prac tically all the while since I have been away. Senator ELKINS. Mr. Chandler and others desire that we shall, under the resolution, and I think we ought to, get all the facts about your business and the contract, because here are some serious charges, and there are letters alleging that there was attempted fraud on the people of the country in putting out this work and in selling it. When was this contract made with Mr. Richardson, and by whom was it made, and how and under what circumstances, and who originated the idea? Tell all the facts connected with the making of the contract. Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. Is the contract which was read from by Mr. Richardson the only contract made with him? Mr. BARCUS. That is the only contract. Senator ELKINS. Is that the only contract; Barcus & Co. never had a contract with Mr. Richardson? Mr. BARCUS. Barcus & Co. made the contract with Mr. Richardson. Senator ELKINS. That was the first one? Mr. BARCUS. That was the only one. Senator ELKINS. Was that assigned to the committee? Mr. BARCUS. I was the sole owner of J. S. Barcus Company. Senator ELKINS. Was that contract assigned to the Committee on Distribution? Mr. BARCUS. No; it was not assigned to the Committee on Distribution. It simply rested there, because I was the sole owner. Senator ELKINS. Explain the facts. You can see a cluster of facts around that. Go on and state the facts about the first contract made by you, by whom it was made, and with whom, and under what circumstances, and when and where? Mr. BARCUS. I heard accidentally that Mr. Richardson had a set of the plates. I had obtained a set of the books through Representative Quigg, in New York. Senator ELKINS. He, as a member of Congress, sent them to you? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. My secretary, who had been a page in the House of Representatives for some five years, told me, as a mere matter of publishers' chat, that Mr. Richardson had a duplicate set of the plates from which he was to publish the books for private sale. I opened up correspondence with him. The CHAIRMAN. With whom? Mr. BARCUS. With Mr. Richardson. Sometime in the early part of April, 1898, as I remember it, we entered into a contract. Senator ELKINS. State who entered into the contract? Mr BARCUS. Mr. Richardson and I. The contract was signed by J. S. Barcus Company. That was the style under which I was doing business at that time. Senator ELKINS. You owned all the stock? Mr. BARCUS. It was not a stock company. Senator ELKINS. You were J. S. Barcus Company? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir; it was merely a trade name. Mr. SIEVER. State when and where the contract was made. Mr. BARCUS. It was made here in Washington. Senator ELKINS. At what time? Mr. BARCUS. I have given the date as I recall it [a pause] April 2, 1898. Senator ELKINS. It was made in Washington? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. Between you and Mr. Richardson? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. Go ahead now. Mr. BARCUS. Up to a month or less before that date I did not know of the set of plates, and I did not have the pleasure of Mr. Richardson's acquaintance. I mention that matter merely to show that my interest in the transaction has been a commercial one from the start. Senator ELKINS. Was that the contract from which Mr. Richardson read when he was testifying day before yesterday? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. The contract you refer to is the same one mentioned in the testimony of Mr. Richardson the other day? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir; giving him a royalty of 75 cents per set. We then proceeded to experiment with the sale, with a view to conducting it in a large way if it should prove hopeful, but not intending to sell, except for the first experiment, under the trade name which we were then using. We expected to select some name appropriate. Senator ELKINS. You were using the name of J. S. Barcus Company? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir; we expected to select some name appropriate to the book, as is the custom among publishers selling subscription books. I desire to shirk no responsibility whatever. I do wish to say, however, that soon after this contract was made I went to Europe, and the managers who were in charge of my business selected the name "Committee on Distribution," while I was away. Senator ELKINS. What is the Committee on Distribution; who compose it; when was it formed, and where and how? Mr. BARCUS. The Committee on Distribution is a business trade name. I was the sole investor to start with, but I have associated with me some gentlemen. Mr. Bodmer Senator ELKINS. Where does he live? Mr. BARCUS. Mr. Bodmer then lived in New York. Mr. BARCUS. Rudolph J. Bodmer, then of New York. He afterwards moved to Washington; he resides here now. The CHAIRMAN. He is your business manager? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. Treasurer? Mr. BARCUS. General manager and treasurer. He is present this morning. Senator ELKINS. Who else? Mr. BARCUS. Mr. Willard F. Hallam. Senator ELKINS. Where does he live? Mr. BARCUS. Harpers Ferry. Senator ELKINS. Are these all who are concerned, indirectly or directly, as stockholders or associates? Mr. BARCUS. The only ones directly concerned in the division of profits Senator ELKINS. Who constitute the Committee on Distribution? Mr. BARCUS. And Mr. Spofford, who was paid a salary. Senator ELKINS. Did you draw up under this Committee on Distribution a contract or association papers between yourselves? Mr. BARCUS. No, sir; no more than a contract between each of these gentlemen and myself. The CHAIRMAN. Are these contracts in writing? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir; we have contracts in writing. Senator ELKINS. Among you three gentlemen making the Committee on Distribution? Mr. BARCUS. It is not a joint contract among the three, but I have a contract with Mr. Bodmer and a contract with Mr. Hallam. Senator ELKINS. Separate contracts? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. It was regarded as an individual business to me, not anticipating any interest the public might have in a private concern. Senator ELKINS. Were they to share in the profits with you, or were they employed by you? Mr. BARCUS. To share in the profits with me. Senator ELKINS. The Mr. Spofford referred to is Mr. Ainsworth R. Spofford, the Librarian or Assistant Librarian of Congress? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. What was Mr. Spofford's connection with the matter? Mr. BARCUS. Mr. Spofford was employed to Senator ELKINS. He did not belong to the Committee on Distribution as a member of it? Mr. BARCUS. No, sir; any more than that he was employed to act as the general secretary. Senator ELKINS. General secretary of the Committee on Distribution? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. He was paid a salary? Mr. BARCUS. Yes, sir. Senator ELKINS. He had no interest in the profits? Mr. BARCUS. He had no interest in the profits more than his salary. Senator ELKINS. What were his duties? Mr. BARCUS. He was employed primarily to criticize and suggest in connection with the index which we proposed to get out in an exhaustive and scholarly manner. Senator ELKINS. An index to what? |