Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1870-05-17
THE CONTRACT sWINDLEs.
How the Money Goes.

HOW the N Oney Goes.
Mayor Bowen continues to hide the bids of the
ward paving contracts from inspection, and it is
evident that it is the purpose of the Ring not to
have them announced until after the election.
This, as we have shown, Is in direct violation OF
the law which requires not only that the con-
tracts for "setting the curbstones, paving the
footwsys, and paving the cutters and alleys In
the several wards of the city, shall be awarded
only to practical PAYERS, but that the Mayor
''shan publish the bids OF the successful bidders
for paving, grading, and curbing, and to whom
contracts were awarded" Both these provi-
sions Of the law have been violated. 1t il
notorious that the contracts have not been
awarded to practical pavers," but have In
every instance been given to the s.strikers,
for the Mayor; and from the fact that the figures
OF the contracts have not been announced. IL il
quite certain that they have not been awarded
to the lowest bidders, as the law requires. All
The evidence points to the conclusion that the
King In their desperate purposes admitted
by one Of them-to carry the election by foul
means IL they could not by fair, have under.
taken system of contract frauds in every ward
IN the city, on plan of comprehensive rascality
that throws the celebrated Donovan contrac,
-swindie completely in the shade.
Ii must not be forgotten that the Donovan
Htical job to enable the Bowenites to carry the
Fourth Ward. 1t would really be worth the
while OF the good-natured gentlemen, members
vi congress and others, who "to obllge Benson
went up TO "speak good word for Sayles r
bowen II the "outburst" the other night. with
out las they one and all admitted, knowing any,
thing about our local affairs-it would be wal,
We say for these gentlemen before they endorse
Mr.. Bowen for another tenn of Office to look into
the facts concerning these contract electioneer-
ing swindlss- The printed evidence In the Dom
ovan case-the pioneer of these vote-purchasin
frauds-ought to open the eyes of any unsopbis-
ticsted persons who may be inclined to believe
that the Bowen administration "thoush unfor-
tunate is honest"
Mayor Bowen, In his evidence in that case.
was oohged 10 admit that 1t was solely q politi-
cal job He says:-"I had several conyersa-
tions with him (O'Beirne) and other partis. in
regard to the necessity or propriety of giving
contract out In the Fourth Ward, that was for
the employment of men, and for other Dur
poses. You may judge what the purposes
were. You can as well as 1. II piU saw Il ,oas
for the purpose Of aiding in carrying the June cleo
tiOn"
We ask the particular attention of the MEM
bers of Congress and other speakers at the
Bowen meeting to this admission of Mr. Bowen
that the large sums of the money of the people
squandered in that contract and which aided
In putting the city in its present bankrupt con-
dition, were spent for the purpose of "carrvipo
The June eIeetion"' Major O'Beirne, then. a.
now, notorious striker for Mayor Bowen, was
compelled, in his testimony. to admit the same
thing. he says: al suggested to the Mayor that
II would oe necessary that some patronage should
be given to some one, as from the Fourth Ward.
~ rrfxg IA
connection with many others, had determined
on doing, and had resolved upon syste,, 10 az
eop1PlisA IL. So far as my knowledge goes that is
the spirit Of the inception of the contract, Here
Is the naive admission that Bowen's swindIino
gang had " determined" upon carving the cleo
ton, and had "resolved upon a system to ac-
complish 1t 20"
III was proved by the testimony In that re-
markable case, that though Donovan was noni-
nally the successful contractor, that he had no
share in ii, but that he worked on it as a COM
mon day laborer, at one dollar and a half per
day, while the real contractors were Messrs.
O'Beirne, Gleason and Fry, strikers for Bowen.
1t was shown that the contract was not given to
the lowest responsible bidder; that it was not
made with the sanction of the Commissioner of
the Ward, (Mr. Crane;) and that money was
paid on II without the approval Of the Commits
sioners OF the Ward, contrary to law. 1t was
shown, In fact, to be a political job of the most
Ubiquitous character; and though a white
washing report was made by the committee in
the case, generating theS corporation officers,
the Board Of Aldermen found the dose pretty
hard to take, and finally gave the cold shoulder
to the whole scheme of rascalIty, by unani-
nously rejecting the bill making an appropria.
ton Of 1o,539.41 to pay the extra work alleged
to have been done in the execution of this
Donovan contract" The expose made by
Aldermen Emery and Moore of the fraudulent
Character OF the whole transaction was so over
Whelmingly conclusive that not q single member
OF that Beard could be found willing to sus
tain it.
It would require too much space to recite Ali
the remarkable features Of the evidence in this
grand job to enable the Bowen Ring "to
carry the June election" as they had deter
mtned to do" but one or two points of this
o. extra" swindle of 80 500 demand attention.
1t should be promised that the Bowen strikers,
DBeirne, Gleason s. Co., had already got from
the Mayor some - 0o0 more under their con-
tract than the loosest estimate made by the
Surveyor. Then, to enable them to fleece the
taxpayers still further In the prosecution of
this job to " carry the june election" as "deter-
mined they presented this bill of "extras, I,
oAN AoN ~ ohcIcu IN tne name or John Dom
ovan, to enable the real contractor, Gleason. to
swear TO IL e disinterested witness.
And he did swear with Q good viii
and directness Of purpose sufficient to Justify
the good opinion in which he Is held by his fell
low members Of the ring, and the conspicuous
position assigned to him In the present Bowen
campaign. He testified, for instance, that the
contractors incurred loss Of 1854 1-9 yards of
earth and gravel In consequence of frequent
rains and freshets" during the progress OF the
work. Mr.. Gleason Is not man and witness to
make an estimase In round numbers. Not bit
Of IL And therefore he testihes with q particu-
hrity that ought 10 have convinced (but did
not) to tie nish part Of square gard as to the
quantity Of earth and gravel washed away at
various times on three several streets BY rains
falling in the day sndnight-6 they fell at all,
tor seems some doubling Peter has been to
the Observatory records to ascertain the amount
OF rainfall for this period of frequent rains
and heshets," and finds II TO have been the dry-
est season for years, II wss shown ho.-
ever, that very little If any earth or yr,vs,
Was placed near enough to the Tiber 10
he washed away. But the climax of this re-
markable piece Of jobbery to enable the Ring
to "earry the June election" - "determined',
upon, was In the extra claim put In In the name