The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1847-02-21
Outrageous COrruption-The Canal Traudf.
Astounding Disclosures.

\ n--.----.--. S,.---,v,.,,,,- 60, U-.-.S.
o"'r"scous ~o n,...~.u
| When first heard of the immense peculstons
which have been carried on for vears mast nv those
omcers to whom the people oil the s'a'e mad com
mtted such large interests and upon those integ-
~, ~ .a p ~, =. ,..., ,hs,. 49,. 49,
statements supPosing 'ha' al iess' 'nete must %
something to be offered in mitigation IL not in full
defiance ~ the coprsa nursued bv the canal officers
i,.. a. p..u,-,
whatever that course might prove 10 De- nut hs seec'
committee appointed by the last Assembly ito investi'
go,a ,hs frauds IN thu axnensures on the canals hsv
So '". u' ~ ps,, ,on, ronor, s;unoa b., A.
length presenter very long 'ePor'' signed ny tue
whole committee. Much labor has been performed in
bs which have resulted in the disclosure
80 $3.50 -e s-.,as ara .hrss Of coreaonco .roh ..
seldom come to light
In relation to the charges made against the commits
.;anar Tho committse expresa no opinon but davota
chantsr NJ their renort 10 a statement of facts
The renort states that the committee have devoted
the he frauds than 10 their character and variety
The COMMITTEES commence with the Genesee Valley
Of that canal ia the sprpr Of sta and
con.;pued INIT, he resigned on the 18th of March ls45
that during all TINS ams Ussn Rsy noids wa: his
i,.a ~ An HE nlacs and Hooper became Revnold
Osndan and as early az uy Issa he sna Revupd.
a" hv b use Of false and forged that this
80 .vtarsv.Iv and almost uanar.lIv rect;o.d
~ .Sa, Until the removal of Revnods nv The Canal
in july s45 that their practice wa: to 20 along
~ .anai ta arst ~ every month nav tho man Obtain
the tine 10 the printed form Of with he
time AMI amount left blank and receive the check rolls
Of the hon return to their office I'll up the
rayv rhact rolls IN corresnond THESE blank recepts
in several instances taken for twenty i've cents were
aed mn for mora dollars In other insances checks
rolls previously sworn to- were interned and added
ist o nass and Savs and the amount inc accor.
dsscripon presented and paid in one instance
10 900 feet Of lumber for deck at Mount Norris and
structsd of lumber then on hand belonging to the state
and yyh the engineer at Mount Morris was selling for
and sX dollars like lumber for which the year before
tho commissioner had paid contractors from Is to %
dollars nor thousand And these frauds when compared
with others practised upon that canal are said OF
small but are given to show the character
of the operations
The Committee further state that in 1885, f C. Mills,
ga En.;nser under the direction of the Canal Commits.
sionars. made minute survey Of the Genesee Valley
canal and Dansvie side cut and estimated the cost at
ST 64 2including S43 s4b % for reservoirs the
summit level. The amount already expended this
canal exclusive of damages contractors, Is about
So 900 The estimate by the engineers in ls42, Of
the of completing this canal 81 s4S 303 max
ing aggregate sum Of $0 72s 303 large portion of
this difference between the estimate by Mills, and the
unwise and unskilful management and in some in
stances, fraudulent connection OF the engineer corps
with many OF the contractors
They state that at the letting of the contracts notices
were posted the stone along the Line OF the
canal to be unsuitable for the Of the locks
from Mount Morris TO CUBAN elevation OF over nine
hundred fee-nnd that would be necessary to procure
the stone from Caledonia for the purpose distance OF
over forty miles The preence for this extraordinary
notice that in all previous surveys and examina
tons had been represented that stone TOR the
locks could be procured along the line Of the canal but
had lately been determined that this stone was unht
for the purpose The contracts were taken with refer
ence to this notice but the contractors in
nearly every instance found suitable stone IN the mme
date vicinity and frequently in the very bed where the
locks were constructed
small quantity OF quick sand clay and gravel
This was soon made known, and the consequence was
that propositions including exorbiant prices fer which
SO little had been estimated were received and such
made The contract prices for ordinary excavation were
from nine to twelve cents and for quick sand but little
more expensive-from seventy cents to seven dollars
per yard and tavorte contractors were paid for large
quantities ofquck sand and cemented clay and gravel
at these enormous prices.
The hIst case OF fraud examined BY the committee was
Assistant Engineer and Others show that after the
posals had opened and examined the resident Eng
altered the one put by his former partner ncreas
him the contract; that this contractor then pecu.
niary irresponsible and that the section at the prices
in the proposal before it was altered according to
the tables Of previous measurement would amount to
about by the altered proposition and contract
the RESIDENT nrnser hs Of
increasing the amount of the contract to
and subsequently as the work progressed he changed
the classification of the material and
ed to him by the assistant engineer in the immediate
charge of the work, from quarred stone to rock excava
ton, at the highest prce-hus IN another way falsely
and audulenty increasing the amount paid to this favo
rite contractor The amount paid on this contract to this
contractor up to the time Of the SUSPENSION $l2a
600 The estimated cost by the Engineer Of completing
this contract is $l2 O0O-pakng the actual cost Of this
section $34 000-about $45 900 more than the amount Of
the proposition, as put in BY the contractor himself
Here Is another and somewhat different case =
The resident engineer directed the contractor for sec
ton H. to cut ditch across bend OF the Genesee river
with the view OF changing the bed Of the river The
ditch was cut from six to ten feet in width which, by d.
vertng the water from the river into the ditch washed
out channel, nearly half q mile in length across
the bend for which the engineer allowed him for exca
waiting channel from ~ to 100 feet in width from six
to ten feet in DEPTH amounting to yards OF which
1914 yards was aio we'd as clay, cement and gravel
and 1852 yards as quick sand, at dollar yard!
The report also describes another OF these new chan
nels Of about the same character Neither was advertise
ed and let on contract In being SO constructed
washed away about fifteen acres OF valuable land 10 ad
d0n to the ordinary width OF the river Tor winch ths
owner claims payment OF the state.
The contractor on the Portage Aqueduct was allowed
by the engineer and paid for excavating $50 yards OF
quicksand az 20 20 per 10 S3 $685. where
rappears frem the testimony none existed .
4 rHat yhnE IN Annu