National Republican., 1874-06-01

q. Now wiI put this question to you: Wa
not Henry ID. Cooke one OF the benetciaries oil
O. Was he not interested IN Il? A. Only 60 faz
IS being one Of the arm of Jay Cooke Co. Te
what extent that Is do not know. .7 l.
sstsd in the purchasesi 4. Yes, sir. - :.
q And SO far as Henry d. Cooke wasinterested
In that firm he was tnterestedf A. presume so
Was Alexander r. Shepherd Interested in thess
purchasesf A ] say emphatically he was not, tS
Q. was Mr. Mullett interested in these pur
chasesf A. He was not Perhaps had bettel
make fuller expression hero, and say under oetf
that no man connected with the government @ thu
Dlstrict OF Columbia was interested, directly o.
Indirectly, to my knowledge. and not one OF then
but one, possibly, is . citizen Of the District o.
Q. You must except from that Mr.. COOkei A
,e 40 not know that -bsy Cooke = TO- are re'iasn'
Q. understood you to say no member Of the
District government was interestedf A. Except
Henry d. Cooke, so far as he was concerned.
Q. He was Governor then and s- ofcfo presi
dent of the Board Of Public Worksf A believe
q. Was the $4,000 all that the firm Of Jay
Cooke & Co. advancedf A. Yes sir.
Q. You say, ave had to make = ring Of about
seven persons, in order to accomplish ressta In
phsne, yourself, Kelley, Kidwell and myself com,
IN h the "finsi" A Unknown to me II there ever
was one. ....- -.- :
Q. Did you ever have another man initi A.
q. How many did compose the ring tnAllyf A;
lei me right here remark Of Dr.. Kidwell, that he
never had any interest IN II IN any way any ol
the other parties. except these mentioned.
ment ring intefested In this real esiatef A Ne,
q. Except yourselfl A. Exactly; snd no par
ties that I represent In real estate were inter
lad i'm var hat n
l am positive they were not. ..--..,
O. You mention here several persons; Why DID
not the balance Of them tas
chinery to do the work. -. .. g..
Q. Mr.. Knbourn, do you know who composed
the Board of Public Works; and If so, was any
member Of the Board Of Public Works Interested
IN your purchase Of this real estate at any time
q. Have you ever stated that any parties con-
neoted with these paving contracts were interest,"
ed ia these purchaser A. Not to my knowledge.
q Just state to the committee why your atten.
the city, and why you made purchases IN that d.
reotiOn. A. Well, sir, / have been in the real es-
tate business here for ten years The tide OF In
moving in that direction, and that Is the reason
we have Invested there. The tide OF progress and
improvement has been so-was 30 before this
change OF government here.
O. State what knowledge had you, and derived
from what source, Of any contemplated improve
ments In that section Of the city under the direc
tion Of the Board Of Public Works. A; had NO
more Information than the general public.
O. From what sources was your Information de-
rived? A. Well, think the first was from an
made by the board to the Legisla-
ture or to the public, laying out comprehensive
plan Of improvements, which thought included
that portion OF the city. knew very well that
the city could not be improved unless II would
benefit that portion Of it, because this tide was
going that way.
@. Was there any diversityof opinion among
the public or parties interested In real estate 10
A. think some parties Of whom
we made purchases thought that these improve
ments were going to ruin the city. They sold,
and We bought. know Of no other reason that
Q. Was there any attempt on your part, or, 50
far as you know, on the part OF any OF the bene-
hciarIes under any Of these trusts 10 obtain from
the Board of Public Works any special improve
ments in that section Of the city? A. Not to my
The only application we ever made
to the board was within q year, when we signed
derland, and other psrties to have some sewerage
or water mains put down, and sewerage connec-
tions think that IL the ONLY application WeeVer
made to the Board Of Public Works.
q. Was that before or after the property was
purchasedf A. o, that was within Six months or
3 year. -.-. = -. -. .---a.
q. Did you purchase any property out In that
direction from any one Of tho memorialists who
signed this memorialf A.. Yes, sir; made heavy
purchases of Messrs Corcoran and Riggs.
O. Any other that you can recollect2 A. Pur-
chased OF Mr.. Thomas Young, and we purchased
cannot remember the names. Pur-
chased one, I think. from Mr.. Columbus Alexan-
1er In square lS0, for about 2sor 80 cents foot,
which we have since sold for 30 cents and dollar.
We had faith. We sold one lot to Q Senator Tor
70 cents and the other lot for dollar and It was
! good Investment.
3. On your part, or on the Senator's partH A.
Both He can sell to Q nice advantage now; but !
believe he intends to improve it:
g. What did you psy MT S;Sa shepherd rh, fST the
q. What is It worth nowf A. We sold one lot
or SO cents. We are asking q and sl.2' for the
y. Property was then great deal cheaperT A.
Yes, sir; sone property We bought OF Governor
Shepherd we are now holding at D.. so foot, and
Sasy Gnf Shpt' nice building site 1t is good
o. MI Kii0ourn, please state what connection,
Z any, you or your firm, or any Of these benehcia-
les to your knowledge had with the passage Of
he sewer bIllF A. 1never knew anything about
he sewer bill until it was passed and became law,
md cannot say nov when it was passed.
4 these parties interested In this properly, 50 far
q you know, approach the Governor Of the Dis
rict, or any member OF the Board OF Public
work. OF any ,Sa Soa yf.ls,Tns sSU,s wtts Hn
laving the rate Of taxation there for other parties
Ikea at eleven millsf A. never TO spoke to
hem on any subject with references 70 sewer or
4 the law, and DO not know that heard Of Il
wen until 1t became Q law. ] certainly never
poke to any member Of the Board Of PUBLIC
Iever was at the Legislative Assembly but once
n my life, and that was the last hours Of the ses
ion.
he part Of the Board Of Public Works, or any
member thereof, in any Of the contracts for i'm
,rQvements made in this eityf A. do not, sir;
O. You did not learn from any member Of the
3osrd Of Public Works, or any oihcer Of the gov
rnment, that It was their purpose, prior to the
st day Of September, to depart from any plans
hat they had made IaDiic IN, 10 any w way: a. I'D 40
lad no information from the Board Of Public
Works or anybody else as 70 what they were going
Ex-Governor II. d. Cooke recalled.
Q. There has been some testimony here 10 re-
alton to what is called real-estste pool. do
lot know whether You ever heard oil that testt-
money or notf A. have sir.
q. State to the committee what you know in re-
alton to the whole subjeetf A. j have simply TO
tate, 10 that connection, that was informed BY
hat he wss intending to make some purchases on
he parteT some Of their CUSTOMERS Id real estate,
md he invited our firm to join In the arrange
1ss no UNDERSTANDING as TO the precise location Of
hese purchases, and an not definitely aware
ven now Of the specific location OF the different
bis matter as there probably might have been
ut for. ths suspension Of the firm with which ]
m e6Hh6efed. = ~ AAx - -.
By Mr.. Mertick: @. Who were the ether per.
ohs connected with that real estate pool? L.
10 not know.
Q. Do you know none of themf A. No, sir.
Q. Was there anything said about the purchase
T real estate to be made in connection with the
rogress Of public improvements that were in con-
emplation? A. No, sir. can say that had un-
'ounded faith in the future OF Washington and In
Is growth, and l purchased as. any other per
on would have done: that Is, my firm did. i be-
eve these improvements have been so equally
nd impartiaIfy distributed throughout the Dis
lict that one could hardly have gone emiss In
making purchases. believe that the advance In
roperty has been almost universal throug hout
he District, justifying my snticipations st the
ime agreed to make the purchase.
@. Was there any statement as 10 what was 70
tatement. The understanding got was that II
ras to be some CSC, 600 or too, 900 at the time.
@. What interest were you to havef A. Merely
o the extent / put in-the pro rata interest-or
hat the firm put in, should say.
@. What was your personal interest in the
nd four thousand dollars; about three thousand
Iollars. a.. ." rE - -
O. Do you now know, or have you ever known,
he location of the property that was bought by
Or. Kilbourn7 A. No, sir; rot specifically.
Q. Could you point out any ofthe lotsf A. No,
@. Had you any arrangement with Mr.. XII
,ourn where he should purchase, or did you leave
entirely to his discretion? A. LEFT It entirely
o Mr.. Kilbourn's discretion. -. -
And this is the evidence to sustain the charge
4 conspiracy upon which the Board Of Public
Works has been srragned. s rt-t.
The spool" when examined, means simply the
interest Of Jay Cooke Co., the interest OF Hallet
and the interest Of other gentlemen
Vhom he would not name, amounting, As Cover.