National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-05-25

that, that left the far implication that the
whole sum had been paid. N-a
Mr.. Mattingly. Yes, sir; I was fortified by
that at the bottom Of page 1881, wher: he says
that Colonel Magruder had been waiting hardly
until the ink was dry to take the voucher of.
| ITO the witness.l Relative to this matter,
understood you to say that when you ascer-
tanned that these excessive and fraudulent
measurements had been made, you did not re-
port 1t to the board because you were waiting for
the anal vouchers to come ing Ayes, sir.
Q. That is correct, Is it! A. Yes, sir; that Is
correct.
Q. And therefore you toalI no action about
Il because no final voucher ever come int A.
4 No, sir.
! q. That Is correct, A. That Is correct. I did
not take any official action. / had it In my
mind. ---
q. Have you not since that time approved
accounts for Mr.. Gleasonl A. Do you mean
other aceountsi
.. Yes, siri A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you make any mention Of these
measurements at that timel A. did not.
Q. Why did you moth A. Well, because his
work Is always proceeding. He does work now
| at present, most likely to the best of my recol-
lectiou-some work on Fourteenth street.
Q. But then you had the idea OF this exccs-
sive measurement in your mind; you had the
further idea that the measurement, although
partial measurement, was larger than the
| final measurement would be; why did you not
when he came in and when you were measur-
ing other work for him, correct It'll A. Be-
cause, as public officer, had Interior views;
I did not want 70 pluck the fruit before It was
| ripe. /, thought the time would still como
when could yindicate public honesty.
wanted to take my own time for acting on it.
should certainly not have failed 10 bring IL up
at the time when ii should, in my judgment,
| be proper.
BY Mr.. HubbeH: Q. You think the fruit is
ripe now, and you are going to pluck IL A.
The time would have come, sir.
By Dir. Mattingly: Q. Since that time have
you not, from time to time, approved the
measurement of MIR. Gleason's work that has
come to your object A. Yes, sir. g.
| Q. Have you yourself given contracts to Mr.
Gleason siuce that timel A. could not an
swer definitely. As a general thing the vice
| president, as have stated before, gives out all
the contracts. There might have been, per-
haps. small, unirnportant work, especially In
the present state of affairs, when we have to
beg men to do the work.
| Q. State whether you dll or not, without
that long explanation. A. do not recollect.
Q. You may have done so so far as you recol-
lect nowt A. might and might not.
Q. Then you approved every voucher of GIea-
son that has come through your Office since
| that; you have yourself given him a contract,
and you made no effort during. the whole OF
that time to correct this fraudulent measure
ment because the fruit was not ripe YETI A.
Yes, sir.
Q. That Is your reason for having acted a.
you did! A. Yes, sir.
@. On page 2052, in your tabular statement
there as to sewers, haye you included in that
statement all brick sewers charged to the Gov
eminent at s4.7oi A. am
Q. Now, just answer the question If you
pleased A. cannot answer this question d.
rectly.
Mr.. Chrissy. He says he cannot answer 1t di-
rectly.
The Witness Not directly can answer it.
The Chairman. You can say whether you
know or not.
The Witness. know that there was claim
before Congress for maiu sewers, and there
fore, when Mr.. Oertly In his statement, which
Is opposite TO mine, when he calculated the
price of small and pipe sewer, included shorter
or greater lengths Of main sewers, even going
in the cost as high as over one hundred dollars
per foot, then, Of course, 1 LEFT of, because
knew that there was claim against the Gov
lernment, put in by the Board OF Public Works,
and knew further that If this sewer had not
been charged to the Government yet It was
only because there was no appropriation for
IL. The fact that these sewers have mainly
been charged not under the head of 10, hut
at their actual rates and the like, was sum-
cient evidence for me that had, in order to get
an honest price for pipe-sewers, to leave of
these main sewers.
o. Turn to page 2Os4. At the bottom of the
page Mr.. Wilson put this question to you:
9'Do you know how the skating-rink was filed,
and where the earth came FRONT A. That was
done before was a member of the board"
What skating-:ink had you allusion to! A.
Most likely alluded to the skating rink where
you most likely have been skating, and myself
and many others, Q couple of years ago. l do
not remember the exact limits.
O. Most likely you allude to thatl A. did
not allude to anything Mr.. Wilson alluded
to something.
Q. Mr.. WI son asked you: &c Do you know
how the skating rink was filed, and where the
earth came fromP Your answer was: That
was done before was a member of the board"
You say that it was filed before you were
member of the boardl A. Yes, sir; If it was
filed.
o. Now, I ask YOU what skating-rink did
you allude TOT A. / alluded to the skating
rink which every boy in Washington City
would have alluded to, two or three years ago.
Mr.. Hubben. Describe it, so that we can
understand it.
Mr. Mattingly. There are two here.
The Witness. 1t is on the rivers edge,
somewhere between Seyenteeth and Twentieth
street north; could not say the exact loca-
ton.
By Mr.. Mattingly: q. Did you not know at
the time you were testlfying that that prop
erty belonged to Mr.. Shepherd A. No, sir;
did not.
Q. Had you not heard III A. No, sir.
Q. Did you not understand it sol A. 1 have
nothing TO do with Mr.. Shepherds real-estate
speculations; could not keep the run Of that.
Q. That Is not the question. At the time
the question was put to you, were you not
under the impression that Mr.. Shepherd owned
that property A. lido not know, sir; did not
know.
o. You did not knowf A. No, SIR.
Mr.. Wilson. will say about that, I never
, heard that before; that Mr.. Shepherd had any
thing to do with that property. T. 10
Mr.. Mattingly.- 1t was stated in the last in
, vesLigation.
Mr.. Wilson. I never saw IL or heard it be-
fore. -...... -... .- .--
Mr.. Mattingiy. It was In the last investigation,
and has been alluded to in the papers that he
had that skating rink filed at the expense Of
the District of Columbia.
MIR. Wilson. Well, I never heard Of it be-
fore.
By Mr.. Mattingly: Q. Are you able TO state
now whether, in point of fact, that skating
rink has been filed or not 2 A. am not able.
O. You are notl A. No, sir.
@. Why did you not state that, then, in an
swer TO the question, and not state that it had
been filed before you were member of the
boardF A. Well, it has been filed. Oh, yes;
was mistaken in answering that. know it
has been Tiled, because We have not been
skating there for several years.
Q. Is that the reason you say 1t has been
illedl A. Oh, know, in going over the
! ground saw II filed.
Q. Do you swear now that il has been filledl
A. do not swear, sir; l say did, not know
anything about il.
Q. Now, how Is it; do you say it has been
filed, or has not been filed, or dojyou know
anything about IT. A. do not know enough
of 1t to. be able to make q statement under
OATH
Q. Then why did you not answer on We'd
nesday last when that question was put to you,
that you lid not know whether it was filled or
not3 A. Well, it was question: hundred
questions were asked me
Mr.. Wilson. (To Mr.. Mattingly.) Where is
this property that It is stated that Adams had
bought which is in the skating rinkl
Mr.. Mattingly. do not know, sir. / was
not here when the testimony was given.
/ Mr.. Wilson. That Is the property l was al
Iuding to.
Mr.. Mattingly. I very naturally supposed,
you can readily understand, that you were
abiding to this as the rink referred to in the
former investigation.
/ Mr.. Wilson. No, sir. I never heard Of 1t be-
fore. did not know that there were two skat-