National Republican., 1874-05-27

book. '',0 ~ : =, =
Q. 80 that this does NOT, then. represent for
NAL meetings Of the board, but informal meet
ings Of the boardi A. Not altogether formal
meetings. - - -,
By the Chairman: O. That book and thas
class Of books purport to be the hooks Of entry
Of the proceedings OF the 6osrdi A. Yes,
9. Is that book in your charged A. Yes,
9. And in your custodyi A. Yes, sir. :.'''' q
MT, Cluss,s Office was above yeursi A.
Q. How often was he in the habit of being in
that office Of The Board Of Public Works properl
A, It would be pretty difficult to answer that
l. q. frequently or d ddniraeaquently,, 4. wen.: We
Ws: he ever sent for thai that you 4 iik know Of,
Q. For what purposei A. As said mo-
ment ago notices were sent to each member of
the board when It was specially desired that
there should be fun meeting, but generally
I that was not the case. - =.
T. Q. Did you ever send messenger for Mr.
Cluss at. those Informal meetings Of whSeh
you speak; would you send for Mr.. Cluss to
% PRESENT. A, Yes, sir; there have been
Q. Was that often doues A. There have
/ been times; not often, sir. - ...- -..,,
] Q. When you had these formal meetings of
the board-sthat is, upon notice-they were for
q special purpose, were theYi a. When It was
generally desired 70 have full attendance Of
the members. .-.,.s.-...,.- ..-.-ri 80 -
Q. Were they for specific purpose indicated
In the notfcel A. Not indicated In the notice
mot generally 90; simply formal notice: "You
are requested TO be present at q meeting of the
board at the office Of the vice president" at
such date and such an hour. -, - r..
Q. At those informal meetings, did the mem
bers take their seats around the table and look
| over papers, or what was done at those in
formal meetingsf A. The room Is q large one,
and we have but one desk in the room, which
Is an ordinary sized desk; il Is generally occu-
pied by the Vice. president or when the Gov
ernor was present BY himself. .,., r.. -.
Q. They were meetings, then, at which they
sat around and talked matters overt A. Yes,
| sir. "a 20 ~ e.. -.s. L.-. . 7s
Q. Not around the table. "A. No, sir. 10. .
| Q. And did not examine papersf A. Oh,
yes; all our matters now, at present Of con-
siderable consequence, we hold over. We hold
over those matters, the vice president not feel
ing disposition or authority to undertake to
decide matters. The papers are held over and
then at those meetings they are brought up
and read.
;Q.awhen did that habit begin of holding
over papersa A Well, do not know that /
BY Mr.. Wilson: Q. What was the habit be-
fore Mr.. Willard came in2 A. No so much so
as since he came in. ..1.r "
7 g.. What was the habit OF the board with
reference to reading up the minutes Of the
bosrdf ' 80 9 on i..F ,.I .-'. ~. q
The Witness. Do you mean of the preceding
meetingl q .-r- 60 aa-
Mr.. Wilson. Yes. A. That was never done.
q. Who examined the minutes after they
were spread upon the records by yourself or by
your direction A. / do not think any one ever
examined them critically, with the view OF
testing their accuracy except myself. '-L.
Q. They were not read over by the vice
president or by the boardl A. Not in their en-
tirety as q matter Of every day occurrence;
frequently he did send for the journal and ex-
anime as to certain matters. l- f,-I ,--
Q. Were you always present at the formal
and informal meetingsl A. Almost always.
@ Who directed you what to put upon these
minutes, as a rule, and what was the habit
with reference to them; how did you know
what to spread upon the recordsl A. Well, as
said moment ago, in all formal meetings
| and matters of moment, took down at the
time notes which were spread upon the jour
nal. In some other cases that was not done;
through the vice president was Incorporated
upon the journal; but that ] have always un-
derstood to be after q consultation with other
members of the board.
@, You spoke awhile ago of the transferring
from letter-booKsf A. Press-books.
Q. Who made those press copies-that is,
who did the writing which was copied into
those press-books2 A. II was done by one of
the clerks in the Office, in the first instance.
Q. lwant to test your recollection as to
what really did 60 upon the journal IN this
record. Were you satisfied always that You
were making correct records of the things that
really transpired! A. do not think I ever
put down anything that was satisfied was in
correct. 1t nefer has been my intention to
do so. sB- o.. --.-.r -E-g
Q. The record was generally made up from
directions given to you, then, from those press
eopiesi A. Yes, sir.
Q. That is, when there was no: full meet
ing Of the boardi A. Ordinarily. "
BY Mr.. Mattingly: Q. As understand &c
those minutes, or an abstract OF the current
proceedings of the Board OF Public Works,
whether done at regular formal meetings OF
the board, or done through the vice president,
as the executive officer;of the board, and that
is alll A. Yes, SIR.
By Mr.. stantou:Q. These press-eopies arc
OF letters and of Endorsements of papersl A.
Not of Endorsements; those are always mere
matters of routine. ! -
TESTIMONY OF 8. p. BROWN
S.P. Brown sworn.
By the Chairman; @. Have you at,any time
been member of the Board Of Public Works;
and If so, state when, and from what date to
what datea A. ] was q member from, l think,
the 10th of April, 1871, to some time in June,
1873, when resigned. --.-.
Q. Has your attention been called to the
testimony Of p. a. Reinhard, as affecting
yourselff A. It has, sir.
Q. Have you any statement with reference
to the matterl A. have. handed you q
statement which will read. This Is the letter
addressed to the chairman of this committee,
which will, read, and it is al wish to say in
relation to the matter: - r.,,r f..'-
WASHINGTON, d. G., May %, 1874.
SyR: My attention has been called to tho testi-
mony OF p. II. Rcinhard, given before your com
D. g. Forney told him that he was 10 pay me ono
third Of one half Of the nrodts from acontract
swaTdsa e M5 NJ Essss1 rol, ss;i5s 5s ySIF M
EFF. NJ. Eaehtx in relation to said charges, which,
as far as am concerned, are baeely false; nnd IN
never had to the value OF one eent,Elnterest In
this or any other contract under the Board Of
Public Works or the Dlstriet Goyerpment, and
Indirectly, from any contractor or from any per-
son connected with any contract under said Board
Of Public Works or Distries Government during
the time Twas q member OF said board or since
my retirement from said ONCE. ~.
By communicating the foregoing statement to
your COMMITTEES you Wal greatly oolige, very re-
-f''' - ---l'-'S ID puo1vx
Hon. Wm. B. Allison. Chairman Joint congrsssion-
al Committee Investigating District Afafrs.
Q. That you give as your statement under
oathl A. Yes, SIR. - ---l.a-5 = -Sf--
CHARLES Z. BARNEY RECALLED. ,sg
By Mr.. Wilson: Q. Have you seen the origi-
nal papers, copies of which purport to be set
forth on page 2204 of the testimony A. I
have seen the final estimates for that work.
b @. Have you seen those original papers that
are set forth there. A. Oh, yes, sir; 1 have seen
those. ~, .'- - 'H
. Q. Did you assist In making any measure
ment Of that work. A. No, sir; think not.
Q. Why did you noti A. I suppose It was
not called to my attention.
@. Did you know anything about 1t ait A.
Well, ! am not able to say positively, but
think not. 3 -
Q. Have you any recollection of ever having
seen that until your attention was called to e
during this investigationi A. No, sir ] think
not. !" s5-.Se ---' -.
Q. You viii see there the Endorsement made
on this paper Is: aMessrs. 0ertiy and Barney
viii have these measurements made ct once,
and report. (Signed) A. r. s." Did those
papers come into your hands for making any
such measurements A. Well, would not
like to swear positively that never saw that,
for may possibly, but ] have forgotten 1t If I
did. Icertainiy did not assist In making the
measuremeuts. - -, Z - - s.sr