The Dallas Daily Herald

THE WHISKY FRAUDS.
General Horace Porter's Yarn, as
Taken Off the Grant Reel.
Origin of the Term Sylph again Mystified-
The President Shocked by the Lewd
Woman Recital-Further Exami
nation Postponed Until
December.

WASHINGTON, August 12 -General
Horace Porter was before the sub
committee on whisky frauds to-day, in
reference to Bluford Wilson's testimo
ny. He said he did not allude to Sylph
as a lewd woman in speaking of her to
McDonald. If witness had thus spoken
of Sylph, he would have been invent.
ing a story which would have reflected
on the President. The witness denied
positively that he told Wilson the
greatest favor he could do the Presi-
dent was to shield Babcock. Witness
said he never heard General Babcock
referred to as concerned in the specu-
lation, except from newspapers.

Representative Cochrane asked the
witness whether he did not know that
certain papers shown to the President,
implicating Babcock, was the rea-
son why the President retained coun-
sel to defend him. Witness replied he
did not believe that any papers were
placed before the President implicating
Babcock, Witness stated the Presi-
dent intimated to him that nothing
whatever had come to his knowledge
which implicated Babcock, directly or
indirectly, or in any manner, with the
Black Friday speculations. In reply
to a question as to what explanation
General Babcock gave to the President
and Attorney General Pierrepont about
the Sylph despatch, witness said he
did not attach much significance to it.
He was not present with the Presi-
dent and Pierrepont when the explana-
tion was made, he knew, however.
that Babcock gave to them the origin
of the term Sylph as was done during
his trial at St. Louis. He did not
know that the explanation made to
the President and that in Court were
different, Witness was positive in
saying he did not tell Wilson that
Sylph was a lewd woman and had
given the President much trouble,
etc. Wilson, however, did ask him
what the explanation of Sylph was
and he told Wilson what he had heard
from others, although, as he had be-
fore said, he did not attach much sig-
nificance to it. A question was asked
whether the President, at any time,
said anything to him about that mat-
ter and witness replied nothing was
said by the President in his presence
or hearing, and anything he may had
heard as coming from the President,
he declined to state. Subsequently
however, witness said he heard from
the secretary that the President said
the statement made by Major Wilson,
before this committee, was incorrect
that Wilson did not repeat this vulgar
slander to him, Wilson commenced
saying something about an improper
woman, when the President stopped
him instantly and said he did not per-
mit the recital and discussion of the
matter. The President never, either
directly or indirectly, spoke to witness
on the subject, nor did Wilson ever
couple the term "lewd woman" with
the "Sylph" dispatch. The witness
explained his conversation with Bab-
cock, the substance of which was that
Babcock was a distinguished officer of
the army, was a graduate of West
Point, and therefore, every officer in
the army felt an interest in the matter:
that the President believed Babcock to
be innocent, but that if guilty, he
ought to be punished. Wilson did say
to him, in the course of a conversation,
that Babcock should be fairly dealt
with and no injustice done to him,
but further than that, he could not go.
Witness did not assist Babcock in
getting up his defense. He had not,
since he had been summoned as a wit-
ness, been to see the President, but
had purposely avoided calling on him
at present; nor had he consulted with
anybody, but had read some of the
evidence and had a general idea of it.

General Porter was before the whisky
committee again this afternoon, and
examined at great length, He made
various corrections in Bluford Wilson's
testimony, and gave a history of his
connection with the letter written by
Wilson to General Henderson, at St.
Louis, which has caused so much com-
ment, and a copy of which, with the
interpretation of the two initials, "W.
H." was sent anonymously to General
Babcock, Wilson told witness this
letter had no reference whatever to the
President or Babcock, or to the visit of
the President to St. Louis, but that it
related entirely to whisky thieves in
St. Louis. Wilson also gave what he
understood as the origin of the term
Sylph, which
was the same as
given at the trial of McDonald, and
had no connection whatever with a
lewd woman, as asserted. In other
explanations the witness made a most
emphatic denial that he ever gave an
explanation of the term sylph, which
could by any possibility be construed
as casting any reflection upon the
President. At the conclusion of his
testimony the committee postponed
further examination of whisky frauds
until next session of Congress.