University of Virginia Library

59. CHAPTER LIX.

WHEN Mr. Noble's bombshell fell in Senator Dilworthy's
camp, the statesman was disconcerted for a
moment.—For a moment; that was all. The next moment
he was calmly up and doing. From the centre of our country
to its circumference, nothing was talked of but Mr.
Noble's terrible revelation, and the people were furious.
Mind, they were not furious because bribery was uncommon
in our public life, but merely because here was another case.
Perhaps it did not occur to the nation of good and worthy
people that while they continued to sit comfortably at home
and leave the true source of our political power (the “primaries,”)
in the hands of saloon-keepers, dog-fanciers and hodcarriers,
they could go on expecting “another” case of this
kind, and even dozens and hundreds of them, and never be

disappointed. However, they may have thought that to sit
at home and grumble would some day right the evil.

Yes, the nation was excited, but Senator Dilworthy was
calm—what was left of him after the explosion of the shell.
Calm, and up and doing. What did he do first? What
would you do first, after you had tomahawked your mother
at the breakfast table for putting too much sugar in your
coffee? You would “ask for a suspension of public opinion.”
That is what Senator Dilworthy did. It is the custom. He
got the usual amount of suspension. Far and wide he was
called a thief, a briber, a promoter of steamship subsidies,
railway swindles, robberies of the government in all possible
forms and fashions. Newspapers and everybody else called
him a pious hypocrite, a sleek, oily fraud, a reptile who manipulated
temperance movements, prayer meetings, Sunday
schools, public charities, missionary enterprises, all for his
private benefit. And as these charges were backed up by
what seemed to be good and sufficient evidence, they were
believed with national unanimity.

Then Mr. Dilworthy made another move. He moved instantly
to Washington and “demanded an investigation.”
Even this could not pass without comment. Many papers
used language to this effect:

Mr. Dilworthy appeared in his place in the Senate and
offered a resolution appointing a committee to investigate his
case. It carried, of course, and the committee was appointed.
Straightway the newspapers said:

And yet the Senate was roused by the Dilworthy trouble.
Many speeches were made. One Senator (who was accused
in the public prints of selling his chances of re-election to his
opponent for $50,000 and had not yet denied the charge) said
that, “the presence in the Capital of such a creature as this
man Noble, to testify against a brother member of their
body, was an insult to the Senate.”

Another Senator said, “Let the investigation go on; and
let it make an example of this man Noble; let it teach him
and men like him that they could not attack the reputation
of a United States Senator with impunity.”

Another said he was glad the investigation was to be had,

“for it was high time that the Senate should crush some cur
like this man Noble, and thus show his kind that it was able
and resolved to uphold its ancient dignity.”

A by-stander laughed, at this finely delivered peroration,
and said,

“Why, this is the Senator who franked his baggage home
through the mails last week—registered, at that. However,
perhaps he was merely engaged in `upholding the ancient
dignity of the Senate,' then.”

“No, the modern dignity of it,” said another by-stander.
“It don't resemble its ancient dignity, but it fits its modern
style like a glove.”

There being no law against making offensive remarks about
U. S. Senators, this conversation, and others like it, continued
without let or hindrance. But our business is with the investigating
committee.

Mr. Noble appeared before the Committee of the Senate,
and testified to the following effect:

He said that he was a member of the State legislature of the
Happy-Land-of-Canaan; that on the—day of—he assembled
himself together at the city of Saint's Rest, the capital
of the State, along with his brother legislators; that he
was known to be a political enemy of Mr. Dilworthy and
bitterly opposed to his re-election; that Mr. Dilworthy came
to Saint's Rest and was reported to be buying pledges of votes
with money; that the said Dilworthy sent for him to come
to his room in the hotel at night, and he went; was introduced
to Mr. Dilworthy; called two or three times after
ward at Dilworthy's request—usually after midnight; Mr.
Dilworthy urged him to vote for him; Noble declined; Dilworthy
argued; said he was bound to be elected, and could
then ruin him (Noble) if he voted no; said he had every railway
and every public office and stronghold of political power
in the State under his thumb, and could set up or pull down
any man he chose; gave instances showing where and how
he had used this power; if Noble would vote for him he
would make him a Representative in Congress; Noble still

declined to vote, and said he did not believe Dilworthy was
going to be elected; Dilworthy showed a list of men who
would vote for him—a majority of the legislature; gave
further proofs of his power by telling Noble everything the
opposing party had done or said in secret caucus; claimed
that his spies reported everything to him, and that—

Here a member of the Committee objected that this evidence
was irrelevant and also in opposition to the spirit of
the Committee's instructions, because if these things reflected
upon any one it was upon Mr. Dilworthy. The chairman
said, let the person proceed with his statement—the Committee
could exclude evidence that did not bear upon the case.

Mr. Noble continued. He said that his party would cast
him out if he voted for Mr. Dilworthy; Dilworthy said that
that would inure to his benefit because he would then be a
recognized friend of his (Dilworthy's) and he could consistently
exalt him politically and make his fortune; Noble said
he was poor, and it was hard to tempt him so; Dilworthy
said he would fix that; he said, Tell me what you want, and
say you will vote for me;” Noble could not say; Dilworthy
said “I will give you $5,000—”

A Committee man said, impatiently, that this stuff was all
outside the case, and valuable time was being wasted; this
was all a plain reflection upon a brother Senator. The Chairman
said it was the quickest way to proceed, and the evidence
need have no weight.

Mr. Noble continued. He said he told Dilworthy that
$5,000 was not much to pay for a man's honor, character and
everything that was worth having; Dilworthy said he was
surprised; he considered $5,000 a fortune for some men;
asked what Noble's figure was; Noble said he could not
think $10,000 too little; Dilworthy said it was a great deal
too much; he would not do it for any other man, but he had
conceived a liking for Noble, and where he liked a man his
heart yearned to help him; he was aware that Noble was
poor, and had a family to support, and that he bore an unblemished
reputation at home; for such a man and such a

[ILLUSTRATION]

TOUCHED BY THE STRUGGLES OF THE POOR.

[Description: 499EAF. Page 535. In-line image of a man packing a truck with another man watching him.] man's influence he could do much, and feel that to help such
a man would be an act that would have its reward; the struggles
of the poor always touched him; he believed that Noble
would make a good use of this money and that it would cheer
many a sad heart and needy home; he would give the
$10,000; all he desired in return was that when the balloting
began, Noble should cast his vote for him and should explain
to the legislature that upon looking into the charges against
Mr. Dilworthy of bribery, corruption, and forwarding stealing
measures in Congress he had found them to be base calumnies
upon a man whose motives were pure and whose character
was stainless; he then took from his pocket $2,000 in bank
bills and handed them to Noble, and got another package
containg $5,000 out of his trunk and gave to him also. He—

A Committee man jumped up, and said:

“At last, Mr. Chairman, this shameless person has arrived
at the point. This is sufficient and conclusive. By his own
confession he has received a bribe, and did it deliberately.

This is a grave offense, and cannot be passed over in silence,
sir. By the terms of our instructions we can now proceed to
mete out to him such punishment as is meet for one who has
maliciously brought disrespect upon a Senator of the United
States. We have no need to hear the rest of his evidence.”

The Chairman said it would be better and more regular to
proceed with the investigation according to the usual forms.
A note would be made of Mr. Noble's admission.

Mr. Noble continued. He said that it was now far past
midnight; that he took his leave and went straight to certain
legislators, told them everything, made them count the money,
and also told them of the exposure he would make in joint
convention; he made that exposure, as all the world knew.
The rest of the $10,000 was to be paid the day after Dilworthy
was elected.

Senator Dilworthy was now asked to take the stand and
tell what he knew about the man Noble. The Senator wiped
his mouth with his handkerchief, adjusted his white cravat,
and said that but for the fact that public morality required
an example, for the warning of future Nobles, he would beg
that in Christian charity this poor misguided creature might
be forgiven and set free. He said that it was but too evident
that this person had approached him in the hope of
obtaining a bribe; he had intruded himself time and again, and
always with moving stories of his poverty. Mr. Dilworthy
said that his heart had bled for him—insomuch that he had
several times been on the point of trying to get some one to
do something for him. Some instinct had told him from the
beginning that this was a bad man, an evil-minded man, but
his inexperience of such had blinded him to his real motives,
and hence he had never dreamed that his object was to undermine
the purity of a United States Senator. He regretted
that it was plain, now, that such was the man's object and
that punishment could not with safety to the Senate's honor
be withheld. He grieved to say that one of those mysterious
dispensations of an inscrutable Providence which are decreed
from time to time by His wisdom and for His righteous

purposes, had given this conspirator's tale a color of plausibility,—but
this would soon disappear under the clear light of
truth which would now be thrown upon the case.

It so happened, (said the Senator,) that about the time in
question, a poor young friend of mine, living in a distant
town of my State, wished to establish a bank; he asked me
to lend him the necessary money; I said I had no money
just then, but would try to borrow it. The day before the
election a friend said to me that my election expenses must
be very large—especially my hotel bills,—and offered to lend
me some money. Remembering my young friend, I said I
would like a few thousands now, and a few more by and by;
whereupon he gave me two packages of bills said to contain
$2,000 and $5,000 respectively; I did not open the packages
or count the money; I did not give any note or receipt for
the same; I made no memorandum of the transaction, and
neither did my friend. That night this evil man Noble came
troubling me again. I could not rid myself of him, though
my time was very precious. He mentioned my young friend
and said he was very anxious to have $7,000 now to begin
his banking operations with, and could wait a while for the
rest. Noble wished to get the money and take it to him. I
finally gave him the two packages of bills; I took no note or
receipt from him, and made no memorandum of the matter. I
no more look for duplicity and deception in another man than I
would look for it in myself. I never thought of this man again
until I was overwhelmed the next day by learning what a
shameful use he had made of the confidence I had reposed in
him and the money I had entrusted to his care. This is all,
gentlemen. To the absolute truth of every detail of my
statement I solemnly swear, and I call Him to witness who
is the Truth and the loving Father of all whose lips abhor
false speaking; I pledge my honor as a Senator, that I have
spoken but the truth. May God forgive this wicked man—
as I do.

Mr. Noble—“Senator Dilworthy, your bank account shows
that up to that day, and even on that very day, you conducted

[ILLUSTRATION]

MR. NOBLE ASKS QUESTIONS.

[Description: 499EAF. Page 538. In-line image of a man standing and pointing at another man seated.] all your financial business through the medium of checks instead
of bills, and so kept careful record of every moneyed
transaction. Why did you deal in bank bills on this particular
occasion?”

The Chairman—“The gentleman will please to remember
that the Committee is conducting this investigation.”

Mr. Noble—“Then will the Committee ask the question?”

The Chairman—“The Committee will—when it desires
to know.”

Mr. Noble—“Which will not be during this century perhaps.”

The Chairman—“Another remark like that, sir, will procure
you the attentions of the Sergeant-at-arms.”

Mr. Noble—“D—n the Sergeant-at-arms, and the Committee
too!”

Several Committeemen—“Mr. Chairman, this is contempt!”

Mr. Noble—“Contempt of whom?”

“Of the Committee! Of the Senate of the United States!”

Mr. Noble—“Then I am become the acknowledged representative
of a nation. You know as well as I do that the
whole nation hold as much as three-fifths of the United States
Senate in entire contempt.—Three-fifths of you are Dilworthys.”

The Sergeant-at-arms very soon put a quietus upon the
observations of the representative of the nation, and convinced
him that he was not in the over-free atmosphere of his
Happy-Land-of-Canaan.

The statement of Senator Dilworthy naturally carried conviction
to the minds of the committee.—It was close, logical,
unanswerable; it bore many internal evidences of its truth.—
For instance, it is customary in all countries for business men
to loan large sums of money in bank bills instead of checks.
It is customary for the lender to make no memorandum of
the transaction. It is customary for the borrower to receive
the money without making a memorandum of it, or giving a
note or a receipt for it—because the borrower is not likely to
die or forget about it. It is customary to lend nearly anybody
money to start a bank with, especially if you have not
the money to lend him and have to borrow it for the purpose.
It is customary to carry large sums of money in bank bills
about your person or in your trunk. It is customary to hand
a large sum in bank bills to a man you have just been introduced
to (if he asks you to do it,) to be conveyed to a distant
town and delivered to another party. It is not customary to
make a memorandum of this transaction; it is not customary
for the conveyor to give a note or a receipt for the money;
it is not customary to require that he shall get a note or a receipt
from the man he is to convey it to in the distant town.
It would be at least singular in you to say to the proposed
conveyor, “You might be robbed; I will deposit the money
in bank and send a check for it to my friend through the
mail.”

Very well. It being plain that Senator Dilworthy's statement
was rigidly true, and this fact being strengthened by
his adding to it the support of “his honor as a Senator,” the

Committee rendered a verdict of “Not proven that a bribe had
been offered and accepted.” This in a manner exonerated
Noble and let him escape.

The Committee made its report to the Senate, and that
body proceeded to consider its acceptance. One Senator—
indeed, several Senators—objected that the Committee had
failed of its duty; they had proved this man Noble guilty of
nothing, they had meted out no punishment to him; if the
report were accepted, he would go forth free and scathless,
glorying in his crime, and it would be a tacit admission that
any blackguard could insult the Senate of the United States
and conspire against the sacred reputation of its members
with impunity; the Senate owed it to the upholding of its
ancient dignity to make an example of this man Noble-he
should be crushed.

An elderly Senator got up and took another view of the
case. This was a Senator of the worn-out and obsolete pattern;
a man still lingering among the cobwebs of the past,
and behind the spirit of the age. He said that there seemed
to be a curious misunderstanding of the case. Gentlemen
seemed exceedingly anxious to preserve and maintain the honor
and dignity of the Senate.

Was this to be done by trying an obscure adventurer for
attempting to trap a Senator into bribing him? Or would
not the truer way be to find out whether the Senator was
capable of being entrapped into so shameless an act, and then
try him? Why, of course. Now the whole idea of the Senate
seemed to be to shield the Senator and turn inquiry away
from him. The true way to uphold the honor of the Senate
was to have none but honorable men in its body. If this
Senator had yielded to temptation and had offered a bribe,
he was a soiled man and ought to be instantly expelled; therefore
he wanted the Senator tried, and not in the usual namby-pamby
way, but in good earnest. He wanted to know
the truth of this matter. For himself, he believed that the
guilt of Senator Dilworthy was established beyond the
shadow of a doubt; and he considered that in trifling with

his case and shirking it the Senate was doing a shameful and
cowardly thing—a thing which suggested that in its willingness
to sit longer in the company of such a man, it was
acknowledging that it was itself of a kind with him and was
therefore not dishonored by his presence. He desired that
a rigid examination be made into Senator Dilworthy's case,
and that it be continued clear into the approaching extra
session if need be. There was no dodging this thing with
the lame excuse of want of time.

In reply, an honorable Senator said that he thought it
would be as well to drop the matter and accept the Committee's
report. He said with some jocularity that the more one
agitated this thing, the worse it was for the agitator. He
was not able to deny that he believed Senator Dilworthy to
be guilty—but what then? Was it such an extraordinary
case? For his part, even allowing the Senator to be guilty,
he did not think his continued presence during the few remaining
days of the Session would contaminate the Senate to

a dreadful degree. [This humorous sally was received with
smiling admiration—notwithstanding it was not wholly new,
having originated with the Massachusetts General in the
House a day or two before, upon the occasion of the proposed
expulsion of a member for selling his vote for money.]

The Senate recognized the fact that it could not be contaminated
by sitting a few days longer with Senator Dilworthy,
and so it accepted the committee's report and dropped the
unimportant matter.

Mr. Dilworthy occupied his seat to the last hour of the
session. He said that his people had reposed a trust in him,
and it was not for him to desert them. He would remain at
his post till he perished, if need be.

His voice was lifted up and his vote cast for the last time,
in support of an ingenious measure contrived by the General
from Massachusetts whereby the President's salary was
proposed to be doubled and every Congressman paid several
thousand dollars extra for work previously done, under an
accepted contract, and already paid for once and receipted
for.

Senator Dilworthy was offered a grand ovation by his
friends at home, who said that their affection for him and
their confidence in him were in no wise impaired by the persecutions
that had pursued him, and that he was still good
enough for them.[1]