1900. ] OF THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES. 1101

Mayor Hayes of Baltimore city, and find from the evi-
dence the following:

First. That Mayor Hayes made certain statements in
the public press charging that the members of the House
were being corruptly influenced to vote against the bill
known as the 'Telephone Bill, " which statements he says
and we find were based on

(a) The statement of Mr. John Real, a member of the
Baltimore city delegation.

(b) The statements by telegram from a certain Jacob
Schonfarber and a certain William Russell, whom he had
instructed to remain in Annapolis to watch the progress
of the Telephone Bill.

Second. We find that the statement of John Real is
such that it would be absolutely impossible to base a
charge such as was made by Mayor Hayes upon for the
reason that the person who attempted to bribe Mr. Real,
was unknown to him, and is still unknown to him, and
had no connection with the Telephone Company, that we
can ascertain.

Third. We find that the statement made by Messrs.
Russell and Schonfarber, were mere expressions of their
individual opinion unsupported by any definite fact
whatever.

Fourth. We Find that Mayor Hayes made his charges
before he knew of the existence of the Hoffacker letter
given in evidence, and that there is nothing in said letter
criminal or of which this House can take cognizance.

Your committee beg leave to further report that they
have gone into the matter thoroughly and have examined
every witness who knew, or was supposed to know any
fact upon which said charges were based; and further,
that the said charges made by Mayor Hayes were reck-
lessly and wantonly made, without any sufficient or war-
rantable reason.

We submit herewith all the evidence taken before the
committee upon which we have based our findings. This
being a charge made by a municipal official in this State
has been investigated first, and we suggest that any
further investigation begun by the committee of its own
motion without any definite charges before it would en-