National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-04-23

broker could get the advantage OF that re-
i duction A. Yes, sir.
Q. When did the first issue Of these ceVtff.
Gates begin A. August or September.
Q. What has been the market value of these
certificates A. really personally don't know.
from seventy to seyenty-ffve and eighty cents.
That is my impression about it.
Q: You paid them to the contractors at part
| A. Yes, sir. ~
Q. Have any Of the contractors refused to
receive tbemi A. A. I think not.
Q. Have they all taken themS A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did their contracts provide they should be
psid IN money or DotS A. don't recolle6
whether they said anything about their being
paid In money or not My,impessioR 10 they
SAD paid n lawful money. Rather than wait
they took these.
II there Is 10 provision In the contract to the.
contrary 4. or course. =
Y. But notwithstanding that the contractors
have taken these certihcatesfs 4. Yes, sir.
.. Does the amount paid the contractors abb
soro the Whole $1,000 ,000i A. Yes, sir.
About one hundred and seventy odd thousand
dollars Of them have been paid TO other par
| ties.
Q. Substantially, then, the debts due the
contractors have absorbed the whole Of the
money! A. Yes, SIR.
Q. Then, the effect Of that is that the Dis
/ bhACs a8to ou2NO4 bfkC CuubEaCAOLB 8DOUb 6QirIY
per cent. That IL the way Il comes Quit A. No,
sir; we have not shaved them any. They were
not obliged to take these things we told them
that If they would wait until the money was,
collected on these things, we would pay them
the money. great many Of them, suppose,
have these things yet-have used them as col
laterals. =
Q. But you promised to pay them by the con-
tract when the work was done. A. I do not
think the contract states that we would pay
them as soon as the work was done.
Q: What time does it giyei A. I do not
think It makes the payment particularly due
at any special time.
Q. Then It would be due on demandf A.
Nine-tenths of them understood, when they
| entered into the contract, that they could not
get the money; that they would have to wait
for IL. They knew the law Just as well as we
did.
Q. Did they expect to wait untfl the money
was raised BY taxationl A. Until the money
was raised by these special assessments.
Q. This act that was passed for extending
| the time for paying special assessments for five
years; was that passed before or after the bulk
of these contracts was lett A. Il was passed
sfterward. 49, =.
into the credit to be given the taxpayers was
twelve monthsl. A. Yes, sir.
Q. And the contracts were entered into, and
the men expected to get their pay when the
tax was collected A. Yes, sir.
Q. Then the Legislature extended that for
five years. "A. Four or Eve years, I think.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And then, after having done that, the
Legislature issued this currencyi A. Author
| lied Us 20 issue 1t.
Q. Authorized the board to issue this cur
rencyf A Yes, SIR
Q. So that the dilemma the contractor was
Il in he hfa In, fnaf alI
ming from five years to four years, from the end
Of the year, or 10 take these certificates, which
were worth 20 centn In the markell A. Yes,
sir; that was the effect Of it.
| Q. Don't that look like pretty strong shay
ing operation on the part of the government
A. The government Is not benefited by Il.
Q. The District government A. No, sir; the
board Is not benefited by it.
Q. If the taxpayer can pay bis taxes for sew
enty cents on the dollari A. He is benefited
Q. When I say the government, I mean the
peoples A. The people themselves are bene-
ftGd by 1t, but the government Is not bene-
flied BY it, nor does the board receive any ben
ehts.
Q. What margin of profit do you think there
must have been In the contracts, that would
justify these contractors in taking this kind Of
paper, which Is worth only 20 cents on the dol
lara A. I am sorry to say that do not think
i
good many of them have been broken up. They
have suffered, and am sorry for it.
Q. In other words, the District got even with
them at lastl lLaughter.l 4. Il looks like it.
| Q. And the result Is, both sides are brokepf
! Laughter A. We think we have got enough
to pay off, If we ever get it.
| @. You do not know anything about this
matter of anticipating the taxes, do you'll That
does not belong to the Board Of Public Worksl
A. No, sir.
Q. III understood what was said on former
day here the Board of Public Works don't con-
slider itself bound by that provision in the or
ganie act which provides that no extra allow
ance shall be madea A. They do, to certain
extent.
Q. What is the certainty of that EXTENT A.
A man makes a contract for specific worn,
| and all that sort of thing l would not agree to
allow him anything extra. He ought to know
what he is doing when he makes his bid.
Q. Have not extra allowances been some
times mades A. Under very peculiar circum-
stances. For instance, you take a man who
has q contract for the building of q sewer.
He digs and finds before he gets to the depth
his contract calls for that he comes to quick
sand, and he comes to springs, and things Of
that kind, which would break him up
Q. And you make 1t equitable to allow him
extra compensation. am not inquiring
\ whether there have not been cases in which it
was equitable to do it. have no doubt neces-
| sarily there must have been some such cases,
In which it would be equitable to allow a man
something; but that is not the question. The
organic act, for certain reasons which were
satisfactory to Congress, or at least which con-
trolled 1t, prevents this-prevents that being
done. The fifteenth section Of the organic act
reads
That the Legislative Assembly shall never
EoTanes to any public oSioer, agent, servant or
contractor, after service has been rendered oe
contract made, nor authorize the payment OF any
| claim, OF part thereof hereafter created against
the District under any contract or agreement
/ made, without express authority OF law and all
such unauthorized agreementsor contracts shah
/ be null and void.
Now, do / understand you that the Board Of
Public Works do not consider that provision as
binding upon them A. l should not think L
] was.
Q. lido not ask you for your own opinion
ask you whether the board goes upon the
theory that that provision is not binding upon
| them.
The Witness. By the way, since you have
mentioned it, l think there is an opinion of our
attorney that we are not bound by it.
| Q. What attorney was that A. Mr. Cook.
Q. If you could furnish US with that opinion
| would be obliged. A. am not certain; I
| Mr.. Merrick. think his opinion Is on the
record somewhere. He discriminates between
the Board of Public Works and the District Of
Columbia, and he says why the District OF
Columbia Is bound by Il, and the board is not.
Mr.. Stanton. No, the Legislative Assembly,
he says.
O. Let us go back a moment to this collee-
| ton Of special assessments. What Is the law
In respect to the general taxes, not the special
taxes, but the general taxes in the District
A. The law is the general taxes shall not ex-
coed 81.
Q. I am aware Of that But they are pay
able on the 30th Of Junei A. I do not recol-
lect.
Q. There is no extension of time for the pay
meut of theml A. / think not.
! Q. For the general taxesl A. think not.
They allow discount if paid In advance.
| @. But if they are not paid by the end of the
fiscal year an absolute delinquency occursi A.
/ Yes, sir.
Q. And then proceedings must be taken to
enforce the collection of the taxesa A. Yes sir.
! Q. Now, in the thirty-seventh section Of this
act, which is the first section relating to the
Board of Public Works, il Is provided;
That the Board Of Public Works shall disburse
upon their warrant all moneys appropriated by
the United States, the District Of Columbia, or
collected from property holders, In pursuance OF
aF