The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1869-10-27

1851, as sh0seH w Cm0gEf pad on cosssacts
Amount paid on contrasts 81. 81 which. at
Id per perch, furnishes I1iies. "a psrca-
Stone furai.hed from October 1, lsCI, to April j,
1865, as shotgn BY an0wst paid on eontrsetS
Amount paid on contracts u, 1885, which, 81
lSs par perch, furnishes. IA miles, l2s perch
Stone furnished from Apnl 1, 1865. to October ],
lSoe, as SAOsrn b. am0ESlt paid on contract
Amount paid on contracts Sse5.ls which, at / &c
per perch, viii furnish..-.-.3m miles, rs perch.
Am furnished first year.. u miles, Isl perch.
AN FURNISHED % year. l5S
Am I furnished in two years 40
III may be that this amount of stone
mas furnished during those two years,
9ue tIe people on the line of the road
don know where it went TO, aud don't
believe the half of it was furnished.
Bet one thing Is certain; whether il was
furnished or not, Mr.. Ferrell got from so
to go cents per perch for hauling il II
he was the sub-contraetor for bsnIing
for the contractors to whom the moneS
was paid. His contract for hauling was
30 cents per perch on some sections and
90 cents on others.
If be was the sub-contractor for haul
ing for all of the contractors to whom
he paid this money. he would get for
the hauling, at IS cents per perch,
S2.34O.SO. If only half the amount he
paid was for was hauled, his stealings
on that would be l,l70.40. l cannot
suppose for moment that any member
of this Board believes that twenty-one
miles of stone was furnished In two
years.
At this rate the road would be covered
/ pa r1r fxt-fn IN
is certainly matter which calls for
explanation.
There are other circumstances that
tend to confirm the suspicion that there
is something wrong in this matter.
1t will DO recollected that although
Harvey has only eight of the eleven
sections that were let last Janunry,
yet neither of the contractors on the
other three sections have been called
upon to furnish any stone.
Take into consideration also the fact
that Roth testifies that he was sent for
by Mr.. Terrell on the day Harvey says
he had the conversation with him and
persuaded him not TO bid; that Mr.. Fer
rel refused to permit Mr.. Erskin to tes-
tify that he had been tempered with TO
prevent him from bidding, and the con-
clusion that there was COLLISION between
Terrell and Harvey is almost irresisti-
BILE.
But there is another item of evidence
that is still more conclusive to my mind.
The bids that were offered in evidence
show that Harvey got the first and sec.
oud sections from Marshall by under
bidding him half cent per perch.
That he got the third section by un-
derbiding him one cent per perch.
That he got the fifth section from
Branstrop by undertaking him one cert
per perch.
That he got the seventh section from
Prettyman by undertaking him one scent
per perch.
Here is five sections in which he only
underbids his lowest competitor cent
and half cent. Wasn't he lucky to hit
the proper figure every timei
And on section four, which lies be-
tween three and five, where there was
no competition, he bids Sl.75.
! How did he know there was no COM
petition for that sectioni
None of the other bidders could make
such a neat calculation. Mr.. Crumney
gets section six by bidding fifteen cents
per perch below his lowest competitor.
He gets section eight by bidding five
cents per perch below his lowest com.
petitor.
Mr.. Branstrop gets section nine by
bidding six cents below his lowest COM
petitor.
Harvey alone bids no lower than is
absolutely necessary to enable him TO
secure his contracts.
And in this connection comes the sig
nlficant fact that no person was present
when the bids were opened.
Mr.. Lunsford says he always had the
bids opened by two citizens. These bids
to my mind furnish the most conclusive
and satisfactory evidence of collusion
between Mr.. Terrell and Mr.. Harvey.
There is divers other modes OF turning
a penny resorted to by Mr.. Ferrell, some
of which it may be well to advert to.
Amongst others he hires Euerroad and
Fay to work for him by the month, one
at SIS per month and board, and the
other S25 per month without board. He
hires them to the road at Sl.50 per day,
thereby making Sl.00 per day off of the
labor of these boys.
In Mr.. Ferrelps account OF costs and
expenditures, he charges the road with
ninety days work by Solomon Euerroad,
at 81 81. per day, between April /, 1865,
and Oct. l, 1868.
He is thus interested in hiring boys and
men whom nobody else will employ, be-
cause he can get them at half price, and
| then hire them TO the road at the high
est price given to first-class hands.
He only gives Mr.. Harvey, who bosses
these boys, the same wages that he gives
| to the boys,
Keeping these oxen in the way he does
is as bald a swindle as can we'll be i'm.
agined. i
1t is not pretended that the grain and
hay paid for by tho road is fed to these
oxen.
He has patched up a sort Of partner
shin between himself and the State for
keeping and working teams partly on
public and partly on private account.
Nothing but abuse could be expected
to grow ont Of an arrangement Of this
sort entered into on his own response
bilitv, and without consulting the
Board.
For | take it for granted that if he
had consulted the Board about such an
arrangement as this, that IL would have
met with stern and prompt refusal.
Hs SAYS that the State pays for one.
half of the grain and hay he feeds to the
horses and oxen, and that he furnishes
eight bushels in addition for every hog
that he fattens.
What proof have you of it'll Nothing
but his word. Let US see how his story
hangs together. From October |, l-66,
to April /, 1867. the road is charged with
grain and hay s2Oj2j. At that time he
had but three horses. So that accord
ing 20 his testimony he must have fur
nished s2O5.25 worth Of grain and hay
himself, and fed the yoke OF oxen and
three horses S4lO.50 worth OF grain
and hay in six months, at a season Of
the year when they would have scarcely
anything TODD.
The next six months he charges the
road with S16314 for grain and hay,
making 1856. 80 for the year. If he fur
nished an equal quantity himself, be
fed 70 three horses and yoke of oxen
1859 in one year. No man in bis
senses believes any such thing. The