The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-09-25
THE EMAFGHHENyEs INTO
r THE GAS FRAUDS.
CORRUPTION IN THE INSPECTORS OFFICE


Mayor Kelley aud the Council Committee
nf Rctrrnchmrnt and Reform met again yes.
trr,lay for the purpose Of continuing their
Investigations Into tho gas tro,,hlcss
The first witness examined W;iS Mr. vii.
liam Hall Crew. Against him there were
several old gas blls standing unpaid. He
stated that he had been accustomed TO give
the money to pay his bills to Dir. Pryde, Mr..
Melton. and other officers Of the Gas Inspec-
tors office, and believes that be always got
his receipts, but many of these receipts are
lost. He believes that the bills against hin,
were all paid. lie rccollccted that in one in-
stance he sent money to the Inspectors Office
by Mr.. fry,le. and that subsequently his Ga>
was turned of. lie inquired into the mat.
ttl and found that Mr., Pryde had
foReoT Tg PAY TBE BILL,
Mr.. Prvdc at once lotind the bill and paid It.
Got the Inspectors receipt, and the gas was
turned on. The witness further stated that
i,n had reason to believe that some of the
payments had not been property credited on
| The Auditors books. All Of the Auditors
| receipts were not sigued by linn. Some that
| hc had seen were signed bv Mr.. Riddick,
who told h'n thnt in some c;lsss oI bills
cIaine,i tc be un.uid It was found that the
| Auditor had -.
| FAILED TO CHECk THEM OFF AS PAID.
! Mr.. White WAS next examined. He stated
ihpi he was appointed deputy inspector. Of
| IA. in June, Just two years ago. His duty
was to make out gus bills. Did so from the
rIetlr-|,uchS The entries III the metre-books
were made by the several young men who
inspected the metres, which were examined
monthly. His duty was also to make out IL
isl of bills for The Auditor and also II. list oi
d,inqucnts. Where the bill tora month did
uul AMOUNT to over 90 cents, the bill waS not
made out until the second month, the oma
amount rendering it unnecessary. tie knew
vl 10 ease where Mr.. Prydc received money
to ,ly gas bills. and did not do so. He knew
nothing Of Mr.. Pryde> not paying his own
bills. (rhr mctrc-hook was here produced.
showing the regular condition ofMr. PIyde'>
mclre.1 Mr.. pryue, continued the witness.
owes two or three bills on the old delinquent
list. His attention had been called to one in
1861, which he said he was under the i'm.
preston he had paid. The witness had had
4 conversation with Mr.. Pryde in relation to
tbs old bill since this investigation began.
II WIS on Sunday night before
Mr.. swEETIAS WAS DROWNED.
He told him he would do we'll to pay dies"
bills aud destroy the evidence OF their eN-
iScucc. This was i'll the presence ot Mr..
Swcvtnr'u and Mr. Emmett knowles. Did
not remember that Mr.. Pryde made any
particular Response. The idea was to secure
Mr.. Pryd" from any trouble. This conver-
>ii,;on was after Mr.. Melton aud himself had
been removed. lie Uhe wiIncSs) bad always
been OH good terms with Mr.. Prytr, wh,,
>:Iii tla, he would attend to the mailer. hut
did not say whether hc would or would moi
DESTROY TIE EVIDENCE.
The Witness could net remember Positively
about the delinquent bill of +. Lallhc. There
were Il number OF unpaid bills in the office.
: W hich it WAS understood Mr.. Prydc would
;sW. II excited no surprise that Mr.. Lauhc' :
hill stood unpaid for year or more, as h"
lad buried child of Mr.. Prydc's and that
Mr.. Prydc would pay it as soon as hr WA:
able. II WAS often the conversation that a
drlinVulcni'> .,;lS WAS not turned of because
some vollrc man in the office would ask that
it l." not turned of, promising TO pay ii at
thp end ot the mouth. which wnS usually
done. Mr.. l'adhDs had told witness that y
service -a pipe had hccn laid for Mr. Nc
tar,hv tor which nr hill was mad cnt
, against him. Mr.. Filde had requested wit
nc>~
! Not TO TELL ALL HE KNEW
|
The old delinquent bills of Mr.. Pry;l" mrr
quite snail One of them is for 81 80 cliv.
Everybody in The office who used c,.. WAS H.
deliltilrnt IL he (WiincS>l was. In hiS own
t.lSt lie bad marked these bills paid on the
Auditors books and paid them afterwards.
| VI Prydr Gn answer to Il question:: Mr.
pcrc"ri and Mr.. Sciaiicr usually turned of
!ciS.
| In answer 10 Il question by Mr.. Frydc.
witness replied: said you had better
20 down to the office and mark them
paid that night. | have never known
yum to make out Service-pipc bills. OF
,mv other bills, except for me. know that
YOU called attention to improper persons in
The office making out bills. | was provoked
i,y II myself. All the delinquent lists below
lie letter NJ, from 1863 to 1868, are missing.
i'llcse missing lists were in IA book in the
office whcn ieft, on the lSth of last month.
know nothing of
| HOW LIT DISAPPEARED.
,lo not know what benefit its disappear.
anre would do anybody in the office There
was delinquent bill against Mr.. Prydc in
the missing lists, but it did not amount to
-. There were also tiliDg bills against
Mr. Knowles and Mr.. Melton. never knew
If the loss Of this book until few days ago
Nr. pcne"li told me OF il in conversation
in the street.
City Collector Regnault was also question
ed, and in reply said that the amount of de.
iinuncnt gas bills placed in his hands was
THREE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY
FIVE DOLLARS AND sIXTY-sEvEN CENTS.
He further said that he had collected very
little If the money due from delinquent gls
bills. Found that some of the fractional
hills were covered in some c;iseS by recetpted
bills for The whole month. In presenting
: these bills, said Mr.. Regnault, | am gene
rally met by an excited assertion that they
have been paid. Mr.. pcrkinson, of Pcrkn-
son 6 Granger, says that lie paid his bill to
Mr.. Melton. Mr.. Tyndall. at the Second
Market, swore that be had always paid his
ras bills, and said that he would see the party
to whom he had paid them. Just at this time
Mr.. Schatter passed and Tyndall said that was
The man he paid. He then brought Mr..
SchalIer to me, who said that be would pay
Mr. Tyndalps bill (SI2.32) and Mr.. Brauers
hill $685. He afterwards paid not only
these bills but Mrs. Maynards (S2.46 and
:l.oG), l.. Nj. Grant X Co.'S, &. w. Armls-
twd'S ($13.H2) j. Eowmans (Sl.22l, " illiam
| McGrrder'S (S2.l1 and $l.7G). }. L. Rcddy' =
$.IN, 7. NJ. saunders's ($G.G9 and A.22), C..
Sihert's (S3.G and Sid, j. T. Undertakes
81. .7M. j. l.. Timherlake's (Sl.06(, II. l.. Sala-
monsky's ($3.32, $l.GS, S1.96, and 7Oc.)
William Lambert agreed to pay one bill, but
said ne had paid the other. On this other
| AIR. Schntfcr Said he had received So, which
he wouid refund Mr.. Emmett Knowles said
that he would ray the following bills: Simp-