The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1869-03-24
THE GIRoD FUND CASE.
A FULL HISTORY OF IT.
PRESENT CONDITION OF AFFAIRS.

The recent action Of the City Council Ia this
matter, which dates back rs far as the year 1928,
prompts Us to lay before the public brief history
of the facts connected with it, in order that it may
be well understood.
In the year mentioned above Mr.. Stephen GIrod,
Frenchman by birth, then mayor of the city of
New Orleans, position which be occupied with
honor for several years, died. leaving Q
bond for the sum Of 500 900, for the purpose of
erecting and establishing an asylum for destitute
oprhsns of French descent. After due proceed
ings in the Probate Court 1t was sscertaned that
the estate not sufficiently large to meet all the
legacies made by the deceased. The succession
having been brought before the Supreme Court
that court decided all the legaces valid, admit.
ting the bond AZ q codicil of the will and appor.
toning $2s 900 towards the erection of the asylam,
with the understanding that when this sum, In due
course Of time, through the process Of certain
financial dispositions should amount to $l00, 900
the asylum should be built. In 1866 Mr.. Monroe,
then mayor Of the city Of New Orleans, estimat.
ing that the appointment Of the Supreme
Court had increased 70 ~tfe yum tot ei00 0O6s and
believing that be was justified. ia accordance
with law, to enter into contract for the erec-
ton Of the necessary buildings without consulting
the Common Council Of the city-the point 10
debate-caused plan for the same to be made
BY Louis II. Pile, then city surveyor, aud actu
ally entered into contract for that purpose with
Samuel johnson; the price to be paid for the
buildings was $4,000, and Mr.. Pile to receive
five per cent. OF the whole amount to draw the
plans Nearly the whole sum. therefore. would
be absorbed.
The buildings were to be erected upon square
Of ground donated for that purpose, by John
Davidson. Esq. of this city, and situated the ex
tremity of Benville street, few hundred yards In
rear Of the City Park. The works upon the Asy-
lum were actually begun By the contractor. aud
we believe were in progress Of erection, when Mr..
Heath superseded Mr.. Monroe. as mayor of the
city. At this period, Mr.. Joseph Grod, nephew,
and one OF the legal heirs Of the deceased, not in
his own name. but in the name of the French
Benevolent Society of New Orleans, of which he
was and still is president, having observed to the
mayor that the locality In which the proposed
asylum was TO be built was Objectionable, on the
grounds: /. That it was marshy and co.,
sequently unheslthy, besides unpleasant from
its proximity to the ridge cemeteries. 2. That
IL would be injudicious to expend the whole
sum In the construction of the buildings
without reserviDg fund TO support the orphans,
after they had been constructed. Mayor Heath,
through Difference to those more directly inter
ested. called meeting In his parlor of the French
residents OF this city, in order TO obtain their
views upon the subject. The meeting took place
accordingly. Mayor Heath declared that the
fund had never reached the sum Of 100000, pre-
scribed by the decision of the Supreme Court but
only 10 s94. coo. OF this sum $40 900 were not
available at the time, sl5 .000 having been lent to
Jacob Barker and $4,000 either to himself or to
Mayor Monroe. Therefore the conditions of the
will had never been fulfilled and the contract not
authorized.
The committee on the part Of the French re.
sidente stated that they were nevertheless ready
to assent TO compromise Of $4,000 with Mr..
Johnson, the contractor, in order to clear him of
expenses already incurred in furnishing labor and
materials for The necessary constructions. To
this Mr.. johnson did not acquiesce and claimed q
larger eum variousiy estimated from twenty to
thirty thousand dollars. There was no issue to
tie difference of the parties concerned further
than that Mayor Heath persisted In his conclusions
that the contract was Dull and void. Mr.. John r.
Conway, on his accession to the mayoralty, sued
out in The Sixth District Court of this city writ
OF mandamus against Mr.. Samuel Johnson to show
cause why he should persist in carrying out his
4leged contract with Mayor Monroe. Judge
Cooley decided that the contract was legal one,
and the writ was dismissed. At the solicitation of
the Representatives of the French Benevolent AS
socistioD, Mayor Conway did not appeal.
j. Ad. Bozer, Esq.,. in the name of Joseph Girod
and the French residents OF this city. intervened
the matter and asked that a suspensige appeal to
the Supreme Court be granted them. The ap-
peal was refused by Judge Cooley on the grounds
that the intervenors were not Interested. The
supreme Court was next petitioned by Mr.. Ro
zier, IN his capacity aforesaid, to obtain order
compelling Judge Cooley to grant the appeal.
The petition was rejected on the same grounds
stated in Judge Cooley's decision refusing the ap-
peal. The next step taken by Mr.. Rozier was to
petition the City Council TO order Mayor Conway
to take the necessary appeal to the Supreme
Court, but in this the council took decisive
action. Later, however, another memorial was
addressed TO the council upon the same subject,
and on the 9th March both boards adopted a
resolution requesting the mayor TO furnish the
council with full report Of the Grod Fund case.
The mayor thereupon addressed note 70 each and
every member of both boards convening them 10
his parlor for the purpose of holding personal
conference with them upon the subject at issue.
At the meeting there was not Q quorum
Of the members present, but Mayor Con
way nevertheless expressed his views TO
the members present, maintaining that
the will of Mr.. Stephen Girod expressly
stipulated that the mayor OF the city Of New Or.
leans should he the custodian OF the funds be-
queathed for the purpose of erecting the asylum.
and that the Common Council were not interested
in the matter. From the statement Of Mr.. Con-
way we obtain that the meeting adjourned leaving
the impression on his mind that the explanation
had been satisfactory. At the following meeting
OF the council q motion was made to reconsider
the vote by which the resolution was adopted re-
questiDg Mayor Monroe to make the report men,
toned, but the motion lost, and the resolution
stands as originally adopted. Accordin to Mr.
Conway's statement the amount on hand te the
credit of the fund is about sl04 900, while the rep
resentstives of the French side of the question
contend that II does not exceed s65 900, with the
five per cent of Mr.. Pile. the surveyor, yet unpaid