National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-04-17

Q: Without grading and without parking,
Q. Have you spoke i'm your testimony of the
tagging on B street, along where the old canal
wasi A. No, sir.
Q. You are familiar with that, are you noti
A. No, sir; merely glanced at It in passing
along.
Q. Do you know how that was laid in regard
to the amount of sand on Ill A. No, sir.
TESTIMONY OF H. C. EVANS. ,
H. c. Evans sworn.
By the Chairman: Q. Are you the book
keeper Of j. o. EYsnsi A. Yes, sir; and have
been so since the fall Of 1871. entered his
employment about the latter part Of Septern-
Der or the LIST Of October, 1871.
Y. Have you kept his books continually since
that timea A have for that company.
e. Who were interested in that company
Clephsne.
e. No other names OF your booksi A. No
other. .r
g. Where are those books, A. They are in
Mr.. Evans office. He had them here-the
books kept.
Q. Are those the only books YOU kent, A.
Yes, sir; we had blotter and a journal.
Q. Where Is that blotterf A. In the Office;
the Journal Is also there ...
Q. They were not brought here by Mr..
Evansi A. They were not brought here, but
the books that were brought here contain every
thing that Is In the other books-all the cash
payments that were made as shown upon these
books were brought here.
Q. You have spoken. of these two books that
were brought here by Mr.. Evans. You saw
them, did you'll A. did.
Q. When were these entries madef A.
They were made at the time they purport to
be made. -as-..,. < =. &C.
Q. At the different datesi A. Yes, SIR.
Q. How do you explain the newness Of these
booksa A. suppose took good care Of them.
know Of no other reason.
Mr.. Christy. prefer not to continue the ex-
animation of the witness until we can have the
blotter and journal produced.
The Witness. will state to the committee
that the blotter that I kept was merely to
enter these items as they occurred at the time,
and they were Immediately posted on this cash
book-the same day. This was mere
memorandum book that we had on the desk to
enter those things as they came along-psy-
ments, SC.
By Mr.. Thurman: Q. The question ask is,
have you those booksl A. They are in Mr..
Evans Office.
Q. Are they under your CONTROL A. They
are.
Q. You can bring them theni A. 1 can;
will do so tomorrow by ten o'clock.
TESTIMONY Or WILLIAM roRsYrH.
William Forsyth sworn and examined:
reference to the Board of Public Worksl A.
am surveyor Of the District of Columbia.
Q. Have you occupied that position since the
organization of the boardl A. have.
Q. What other position do you hold with
reference to the District government A. am
employed by the District government the same
as any other person. Whatever business per-
form, they pay for it. My Office is one of fees,
and do business for those gentlemen just the
same as do for you; and they made On ar
rangement by which they were to pay me SO
much year, and was to furnish all the papers
and plats, and sll other information they might
require; for the use of the Office, and also to
perform any other duty that might be required
of me by them.
By the Chairman: Q. Did you at any time
oppose the cross sectioning of streets to be
improved, when recommended by Mr.. Barneyf
Mr.. Barney, an engineer-1 suppose an engi-
| neer under you-stated here the other day that
he recommended cross-sectioning of the streets
of this city. Did you oppose -. A. On the
contrary, recommended that that should be
done in all cases before any work should he
measured, at all. My letter will attest that
| fact, on the books
Q. That is the only Ineligible way of reach
ing the amount Of grading, is it mott A. That
| is so.
| Q. We had some testimony here in relation
| to the grading done by David Connolly, on Mas
sachusett's avenue, wherein Mr.. Barney stated
he estimated forty thousand yards, and you
afterward estimated one hundred and fifteen
thousand yards. A. That is 80.
Q. Now, what explanation have you 10 mske
| of that great Discrepancy A. The only expla-
nation can make about that is this: That the
matter was referred to me by the board because
Mr.. Barney had no data by which to predicate
any estimate upon. had very little in my
Office at the same time, because it was all in
relation to the cutting down of Chickencock
hill, out here where the Government took
gravel for two or three years of the war, and it
was in such q condition as 1t was more from
memory than anything else. / could make an
estimate as stated before the commission.
| Q. State how you came to make so large an
estimated A. Well, the hoard that had charge
of that examination have got all the papers
have had in relation to that, and they will be
able to give you the data that had to make
that calculation by. Ihaye not got it.
By Mr.. Thurman: O. You say that was an
estimate made BY you of the amount of grad
ing donea A. The amount of grading that was
to be done in Massachusetts avenue, on the
whole length of the avenue-that is between
New Jersey avenue and, l think, Lincoln
square.
Q. 1t was here on Capitol HIP A Yes, sir.
There was a large place there where the Gov
eminent took the gravel out of probably two or
three years--during the war-considerable be-
low the grade, and refused, the first instance,
to do it, because could not get at the facts.
However, had no cross-sections Of it. Then
II was referred to me again, and from my
knowledge, as stated before the commission,
that this matter was referred to, took testf
mony, and, as 1 stated then, and as nov, it
was from the best of my knowledge of the
premises that made that estimate, whether it
was too much or too little am unable to say,
as stated then.
O. State who had the contract for that grad
ingl A. presume Connolly had.
Q. That contract was let to him by the
Board of Public Worksl A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you surveyor of the board, or
engineer of the board, at that time! A. was
surveyor Of the District.
Q. Who was the engineer of the bosr1l A.
Mr.. Close was the engineer of the board.
@. Did you or Mr.. Close, or anybody else,
for the board, cross-section that avenue before
J Mr.. Connally commenced the gradingi A. No,
sir.
O. Were any measurements made Of the
surface of that avenue before Mr.. Connally
was put on there to do the gradinga A. Not
that am aware of, except what was done by
myself, when was employed by Mr.. Coyle, in
1851 or 1859. There was q centre line of l9Vels
taken along the centre Of every street In this
city, which was dune by me for him.
Q. In 1851 or 1881 A. Yes, SIR,
Q. Had, thsIs been no change from that
time-from 1851 to 1s52-had there been no
change in the grade Of that avenue! A. There
had been several changes IN the contour OF the
ground, because, as 1 stated before, the Gov
eminent dug immense gravel pits there, which
had to be filed up.
@. Then understand you that, prior to put
ting Mr.. Connally 10 work after the contract
was let TO him, there was no survey made Of
that avenue. No oss-sectioning, nothing by
which the then existing contour Of the ground
could be ascertainedi A. None, whatever.
O. That being the case, was it possible, after
: he had done the grading, BY any survey, as he
or any other engineer, TO enable to tell what
was the amount of earth that he had removed,
or grading he had donel A. Not exactly.
O. Is It possible at all, without knowing how
the ground originally stood before the grading
commemorate it possible to tell how much
grading was donei A. Il Is not possible. Il
, was not possible in that case. What was done
was done from the best Judgment we could
form, and the best Information we could get
from the people. We had to judge from the
immense holes dug there by the gravel being
taken out by the United States.
O. 1t was nothing else in the world than
mere estimated A. That Is all that eonld be
made of It.
O. Do you know of any other grading that
was done In that loose way1 A. do not.