Show CHARGE AGAINST CLARK i Senate Committee Begins its Inquiry into Case I t MONTANAN WAS PRESENT Former Senator Edmunds Outlines What the Complainants Expect to Prove Former Senator Faulkner Made tho Formal Statement for StatcmeIt Senator Clark He Reviewed the I Politics of Montana Referring t the Daly Gang and the Clark Faction Fac-tion in the Politics of the State Washington Jan 5The Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections today began Us Investigations of the charges of bribery made In connection with the election of Senator Clark of Montana The proceedings were begun by arguments from counsel on both sides Mr Clark himself was present with his counsel former Senator Faulkner Faulk-ner ExSenator Edmunds appeared as leading counsel for the complainants making the first statement In support of tho memorial presented against Mr Clark lie said the complainants expected ex-pected to be able to prove all the charges made and to show that Mr Clarks election was obtained by the liberal use of money and that large sums of money were furnished to this end In the contest He believed the expenditures ex-penditures could be tiaced to Mr Clark I i with due effort on the part of the committee com-mittee IIc said he and his associates had many witnesses summoned Mr Edmunds also said the complainants expected to prove all the charges made and In doing so would enter quite thoroughly thor-oughly into the Whitcslde libel case showing that when Senator Clark had i an opportunity to appear in court he I had refused to answer any material rues t ion ADMISSIBILITY OF TESTIMONY While Mr Edmunds was making his statement a question arose concerning the admisslblllty of testimony taken by the grand jury of Lewis and Clark county Senator McComas took occasion occa-sion to Intimate that he would hesitate to admit statements purporting to io late the secrecy pf a grandjury room Replying Mr Edmunds said the notes on the grand jury proceeding had been made by AttorneyGeneral Nolan and had been presented and received by the Montana court in the disbarment proceedings pro-ceedings against John B Wellcome I SPIRITED PROTEST Mr Hoar suggested that the testimony testi-mony should be admitted for the time and Its relevancy determined upon the final decision of the case This brought out a spirited protest by Mr Rogers Foster of New York who appeared as one of tho counsel for Mr Clark He urged that such a course was contrary to the precedents o the committee that Mr Nolan was antagonistic to Mr Clark and that at best the testimony I was ex parte Such a document was no more evidence than an Indictment would be Mr Clark was not to be expected to defend his character but his right to a seat In the Senate Referring Re-ferring to the Montana Supreme court ho said there was politics there as wel as elsewhere In the State He insisted that Mr Clark should have L right to I face and crossexamine all witnesses STATEMENT IN CLARKS BEHALF ExSenator Faulkner made the formal for-mal statement on behalf of Mr Clark Ho reviewed the politics of Montana referring to the Daly gang and the Clark faction in the Democratic poll tics of the State I was he said an acknowledged fact that the opponents of Mr Clark In the State had determined deter-mined to prevent his political preferment prefer-ment regardless of all the proprieties I would be shown that notwithstanding notwithstand-ing that charges were made of bribery against some fifty persons including thirtyeight members of the Legislature Legisla-ture there had been no proceedings against any of the men thus involved In any of the Montana courts This was evidence that the present proceeding was not sustained by public sentiment USES STRONG LANGUAGE He said The prosecution was conceived con-ceived in the womb of personal malice rocked In the cradle of personal hate and nourished upon corruption and I jealousy All the members of tho legislative committee were oppose to Mr Clark Outlining the defense Mr Faulkner said it would show the proceedings against Mr Clark had really had their i origin in the Senatorial contest in 1S93 when the idea of springing a pretended exposure of Mr Clark upon the Legislature Legis-lature was conceived by the Daly faction fac-tion and that the leader of the faction had turned prophetic In December IS9S and declared that If Mr Clark had showed his head something would be heard to drop and that he would drive Clark out of the Stale Other points of the defense were outlined I out-lined and the statement was made that if necessary each charge against the Senator will be met by direct and I positive proof of its falsity I After hearing these preliminary i statements the committee held an executive I ex-ecutive session to decide upon the I status of the papers before It but after t considerable discussion on the points I adjourned without action The hearing of testimony will begin tomorrow 1 |