Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-05-23

for signature? A. II Is the onlv time I "a y Mr.
Oertley and MI Same, aud they came TO me
about anything.
o. Did the Governor send them to your A.
de not know whether he is on record: he il TOO
smart 70 go on record In these things.
q. Did the Governor send them 70 You? A.
could not recollect-
q. III you will answer my questions you will
ger along q heap easier. A. cannot reco!lect
II; IL Is too long back.
q. 1; you will take up the Governors an
sUer there, the list OF contracts there on pages
them
O. Did you not say If your name was there IL
was a forgery? A. said you called 1t so.
Q. And you adopted ito mo response
q. State whether that Is your signature.
Handing witness pspeI.I A. 1t seems to be
Q. What have you got to say about it now; isit
aforgery? A. lIepest, merely, that the system
in vogue by the Board of Public Works Is apt
TO catch any one in these measurements.
Q. That will hardly do, Mr.. Cluss. A. Twill
repeat that the most important document in
here-that which relates TO money-these, am
Governor Shepherd.-Answer as You 90 along
please We have got plenty of them for you.
This paper that is now shown you has just been
obtained from the Government Printing Office
1T was the original paper that was sent there
wien my answer was being printed. It will be
found on page S3s of the printed volume.
=, Y. Is that your signature? A. Yes, sir; that
q. Is this your signature? Handing witness
original OF statement As il appears on page $780,
a. That is my Signature.
Q. Don't you thiuk now that You did have
some knowledge of these government melsu
n,ents, or had the means of sscertsining some
thing abont them? A. No, sir.
.. You cannot, II seems, fasten responsibility
1pSn a man who puts his signature to papers.
A. Under the workings of the system.
q. And in your opinion 1t is a system of
TWeedism? A. Ii is a system of William M.
Tweed, which WAS admired oil over the United
States before his irregularities were discovered.
A..ur fr.aAw. a 49,.
from the date OF your appointment, October,
1872, until the present time? A. / have done
the best 1 could 10 remedy il by talking the
matter up, day by day, between different mem
Q. Did you ever examine the system organized
By Mr.. William NJ Tweed? A. knew the blanks
were imported from New York.
q. What blanks? Specify the blanks. A.
The blanks for vouchers and all thosA things.
y. Suppose you were told that there was rot
single blank for a voucher imported from
New York, and you were satisfied that such
Was the fact, would not you think you were
swearing little hOtly and hastily? Would not
ness to run away with your Judgment to some
extenP A. do not know; perhaps ought not
to be so much in detail. L mean the whole
neutrality-suspicious. and 80 on.
Mr.. Mattlngly.-Do you mean to say that this
system was organized here, or copied after the
system adopted by Tweed in New York, for
did not mean anything like that.
q. Do you know of fraud or corruption on the
part of the Board OF Public Works? A. 1 know
or gross neglect; have never said that there
was any fraud.
q. Do you know of any corruption or fraud on
the part of the Board of Public Works Of the
District? A. No, sir; do not. Certainly not.
q. Do you know of any cases of grosser
neglect than certifying TO vouchers, as you
have, without knowing Of their contents, or as
you say you have? A. have reported TO you
how | signed those vouchers.
q. am not asking you about that i am
asking you whether you know of any case CT
gro ser neglect than that, by any other member
OF the Board OF Public Works? Witness paus-
ing. After brief pause witness says:l A. do
not admit this was any neglect in any shape OF
form; OF course, the mater was done so of
hand that indeed / was only aware that had
10 sign those vouchers which had come from
our 0thce-out indeed II was more than /
thought
Q. IL was your duty, "a head of the depart
meEt. TO sign them, was it not, and very proper
for you TO do so? a. Well, if tue work had been
done in our department, could very we'll have
signed those vouchers; but, a. il was, every
body will see it was absolutely impossible to
know what it was; it was brought, you know,
by these assistants.
q. Do you know of any grosser neglect than
that? IL so, detail the fact A. 1t was Ger
tsinly grosser neglect TO ask me to do those
things.
Q. DO yOu know OF any other cases OF grosser
neglect en- the part Of the members of the
board than the signing OF these estimates for
the measurements of government work, without
knowing what was In them? Witness pauses.l
4. Certainly.
Q. Let Us have them. A. have stated this
was asked from me as a mere clerical matter.
&. What wss? 4. An assistant, paid q 600
year, bad brought those papers there, and II
seems, a. a clerical matter, for the purpose of
gaining mere confidence in Congress, my sig
nature was asked.
q. Then the assistant brought you these pa
peTs on the 18Th of November. You kept them
for eight days, and returned them, each one
signed by you. And now you come mere and
say YOU returned them after eight days with
your Signature, with long letter accompany
ing them, explanatory OF them and giving an
abstract OF them, and that II was a mere clerical
matter on your part, and submitted 10 you, and
that ycl signed them without consideration.
Now, can you indicate any other cases of grOsser
neglect on the part Of members of the Board of
Public Works than that? A. / wish 10 say
these papers were for a week, to the best OF my
knowledge, there. They were Just as stated
IePeatediy-they we're brought to me in order
TO have proper shape.
q. Why did you ign them? A. Because out
Of accommodation to the Governor.
q. DO you mean to say the Governor asked
you to sign them" A. Official courtesy.
q. Now, put the question again TO you. l
have not been able TO get 81 answer yet. Do
that? A. do not adRit il is any case OF gross
neglect ST all.
a number Of the final vouchers OF John D.
Evans, signed By witness, were produced, and
he Acknowledged the signatures.
John Q. Evans bin for work done on street
Il
final vouchers have signed.
q. Are these final vouchers false? A. No; sir
q. Are they correct? A. To the best of my
inform alton and belief.
q. Wasn't it your duty, when you were max
ing out a final voucher, to be signed by your
self and Mr.. Barney, to see that the proper
amount OF work alone was allowed. and proper
rates allowed for ito see that it was correct?
a. Certainly.
Q. Did you do that? A. l have explained
that before; have not understood IL; there are
a great number of vouchers that have to sign;
/ generally 90 over them; would see that they
were generally correct.
Q. Here is a bill OF John o. Evans for the
triangular reservation west of the P-street cir
clC-upWard OF 80 Consigned by Adolph Cluss
and Mr.. Barney? A. That is signed by Mr..
Bsrr.,y and myself; it is q final voucher; this
is measured by Nj. oertley, and, therefore, as
far az accuracy is concerned, sample now
O. Was IL correct? A. %, yes,
Q. Is that true? A. o, yes haye stated 50
upon the outset.
MIR. Mattngly.-He has said that everything
signed by Mr.. Barney and himself Is correct.
To-day's Session.
The committee met at ll:45 a. m.
Adolf Cluss, recalied:-witness made a cor
TectiOD of his testimony, stating that Mr.. For
sytE measured tbs street circle, instead OF
He had the vOncbara IN nrOva