Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-05-25
THE DISTRICT INVESTIGATION,
Proceedings Of the Joint Congressional Committee.



Congressional Committee investigating District
affairs closed on Saturday, Judge Black was
cross examining Mr.. Adolph CIuss, aud the
witness had said in aus yer TO a question: al
have blamed the system and not the men. |
say the system rs one which tends TO favoritlsm,
and Is bound to lead the best men to corruption
in the end. have nothing to say against the
men, but against the system"
q. Then the system was as well administered
by them as such a system could be? A. | think
so; IL is this mode of doing business 10 not APP
prove OF.
Q. They and you were both engaged IN the
administration OF that system? A. Yes, sir.
q. You being principally respons'b BILE for
whatever there was wrong about it? a. did
not say that.
Q. understood you to say that the engineer
was much the most important officer In the
Q. Did not these Irregularities consist almost
entirely in your failure to perform your duty?
Q. Then who WAS it that caused any failure?
A. have stated so many details that 1t IL
hardly worth while to waste the time TO 60 over
them again.
@. 1t was not the duty of any other member
OF the Board of Public Works to examine and
approve the measurements? A. You Just now
2. Did not the vice president of the Board of
Public Works refer these subjects to YOU
especially-these things about which you found
ault; and did you not examine the subject; and
had they not the right to suppose, after you had
examined them, that you had given your APP
prevail c0nscientOusly? A. The vice president
in referring these papers to me was we'll aware
that it was utterly impossible for any human
being to 60 into the details of these meas ire
ments.
Q. Then he supposed you were 50 much of a
rogue that you would do il without knowing
anything about il? A. They thought upon
seeing the system upon which it was carried on
and upon knowing the men who had done It,
that was justified in fixing my Official seal to It.
z. Did the vice president suppose that you
would take those papers before you and then
simply shut your eyes to the facts and put your
name to them without knowing whether they
were true or false? A. did not shut my eyes
TO the fact
Q, Did the vice president expect you to do
such thing as that; wasn't 1t your duty, IL
you had not time to examine them. to keep
them until you had time? A. could not pos
sibly have done it; that is just the same as If |
took hand book Of mathematics.
Q. See here; please state whether or not
there could be any jrstiication2 A. There
could be a Justification.
Q. What; for your signing false papers? A.
l did not say these papers were false; but / say
L Go not know whether or no they are accurate
in all the details; do not say they are false.
Q. If they are not false, they are true? A.
There is something between the two-between
the two extremes.
@. Was there anything between the two ex
tremes in your conduct: were you not false,
them without knowing what you were doing,
or nquiring what you were doing, is not that
as bad as If you knew they were iaise? A. No;
that is not as bad.
Q. DO you think that when a man swears to
fact as true and he does not know whether it
is true or not, that he does not commit perjury?
A. That is for you legal gentlemen tU deter
mine.
q. A legal gentleman or a man of common
sense either. A legal gentleman will determine
that is perjury. A. Very well, then. You are
say that have done the beat any practical man
has been able to do
q. You and your friends in the Board OF Pub
lie Works went on very EarmOaioIsly; you
made " han hs-
come their enemies, aud did not attempt to en-
pcs3 their errors? A. No, sir. Frequently. ia
4 cordial and friendly way, [ spoke 20 them,
and frequently they have tod Ine ali the tim.
a. have stated here before, and repeat nov,
that they thought the system, carefully intro
iuced here before l became & member of tn
ooard, should not De changed without tue
grayest causes.
Q. When did you como to the conclusion that
you would go back upon them? a. L have nos
gone back upon them TO this day.
@. Haven't you gone back on yOurselfP
No, sir.
Q. Don't you go back pretty badly on tbs sys-
tenn, as you call it? A have never had any
regard Tor the system, and the same idea, OF
which speak here frankly and openly, have
often expressed TO the members of the board.
q. When did you come to the conclusion yoa
you'd come before this committee, or any other
committee, and denOunce these people public
ly? a. No, sir; had 10 idea at all. 1 came TO
answer allquestions frankly and fearlessiy.
had no other purpose. have no personal feel
ing OF revenge toward anybody.
Q. When did you come to the conclusion that
you would do This? A. When the committee
sent me a summons to come here.
q. And you knew you were going to be wit
--s, and never thought Of what you were going
to cay until the comm tee officially notified you
to appear before them? A. OF course, 1t was
very natural that L should think, when so m any
charges were made, that Mr.. Cluss would be
called upon to make statement For this
purpose was quietly preparing and taking my
notes.
Q. You thought you might be called upon?
A. o, certainly; would be fool If had not
q. And in anticipation that you might be
called as witness you prepared yourself fully?
A n ot a. fully as l would like to.
q. Stll, you made whatever preparation was
necessary; evidently not as fully ss you would
iiketo see you were not as well pre- pared as
you would like to be. How long did Ii take you
20 make PREPARATION? A. 60 not know, ex-
;e1t that do these things in ietsurely way In
the evening, while other people are spending
their time in the inns and tbeaters; 1 have my
books at home, and statenents, and work quiet
~, and so could not say when commenced.
@. How long? A. For several weeks, it might
Q. Two or three months? A. Not so long.
y. Two months? A. No, sir.
O. Six weeks? A. No, sir.
z. Four? A. Perhaps four weeks
y. AFTER you got prepared to specify the wick
edDfss that had been perpetrated in the Board
of Public Works, you volunteered yourself as a
witness, didn't you? A L didn't; / am no. fully
prepared now, otherwise / would be able to show
q. Now, MIR. Clu.s is here, and want to ask
him question. 1t is the same gu esten asked
A long time ago, when a certain char acter ap-
peared and was asked why he was there? Ii is
the first chapter of Job that refer to. You
recoilect it, don'l you?
The Witneks-I do not know much of the
Bible, am sorry to say. 1 knew more about
mathematics; that is my branch.
q. You did not offer your evdeuce? a. No,
.ir.
q. You did not volunteer, in any sense Of the
word? A. should have been glad TO stay away
from this place IL possible, but since for the last
wo or three weeks the newspapers Of the coun-
try have trumpeted 1t abroad that IL there Is
anything wrong the members Of the board are
simon pure, for 1t is the engineers who are at
fault altogether felt 1t q duty to my associates
in the engineer board, able, competent, and
honest, men Of integrity
Q. Mr.. Forsyth and Mr.. Oertley? A. 1 spoke
OF Mr.. Barney and his associates, MIR. Danen-
hover and Mr.. Franklin. speak especially Of
those men under my special care, and who have
right to expect from me that i should vindi-
cate their integrity, 80 that they are not to be
blackened for life because employed In Wash
ington city in making theee government meas-
uremepts. 1t is duty lowe to these mon.
The Witnees-f must repel the idea in the
most definite form that / have, directly or in
directly, had any connection whatever with
any OF the memorialists, or counsel, or whoever
they are.
Judge Black.-You did not furnish to any
.bOdy concerned in this iuyesti0nfiou apv-