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


ebce m any report signed by yOa In that man
ner, and assuming 10 "a be correct? A rheSe
PAPERS were prepared under the special orders
OF the Governor, and were presented 90 me- ana
instead Of signing those things like = desd-head
took one night carefully 70 look over them.
O. -, Wa, wss there any objection 20 yoHT looking
SAID the report must 80 IN, and in order not %
hsye fuss OF . hght sacrificed one night.
q. The law requires a report 20 be pat IN tue
lst OF November OF every year? A. Therefore
! y Vas very wrong, a. the contract clerk, a.
shown here, presented me with these pspers
q. But the Law requires tia, TIA, report shsu
DC msde every year, on the nrst OF November.
does 4 not? A IL may be 50. I cannot state
| 20 under oath. suppose a L. So
q. You are very particular about What Won stare
under oath? A. Yes, sir, OF course
Mr., Mattingly-Thst is right. Bat you did
time, in putting the certificates that YOU did,
and signing them. A. Zee. sir. I did the hest
could. ! corrected : great many errors In
| the first idea OF siguing my name did not call
Il forgery, but II Mr. MSttingly calls Il 80 take
| 10 such.
q. You say your name has been forged A.
| IL my name is not in there.
.. Suppose your name is there, then do yoa
cal II perjury on your part? A. an ready Tor
q. Now, Mr.. CIuss, referring 20 these govern
ment measurements of which you deny at
knowlecge and responsibility, this question Was
20. iwlu cali your attention. now, in that
connection, 20 some matters which may have
attracted your attention. For example, there
was an account W hich seems 90 have been male
out, which was made the basis 81 an sppropris-
| ton OF Sl-2iO,@O and upward. Did you have
anything Ia do with thsty A. No, cir. I wish
to say, however, that this Il one OF those cases
where an assistant, responsible 20 me. Was taken
away from my supervision, and he, under the
direct order OF the vice president. then mate
these charges: am not responsible for an iota
Of the whole"
Q. Doyou mean to say thu, statement is trueq
A - afa a. .f.-Hl sH.fr
hope, also, verbally. IL is - long, and in the
careless WAY in which the work OF the Board of
Public Works is done, that IL might possibly
have been lald before me for signature. I was
then only q few DAYS a member Of the board. 4
WAS appointed on October p, and on November
l. only seven days thereafter, this report had 90
be signed and did in this seven days the best
l cOuld.
q. You state here that an assistant, reszousi-
BILE 10 you-see that do not misstste yoa-yOu
state here, under oath, that an assistant, re-
sPonsible TO you, was taken out OF your ONCE.
under the orders OF the vice president, and iii
rected TO do this work; now, MIR. Cluss, dOn't
| you know that at the time this statement WAS
made out you were not a member Of the Board
| Of Public Works A. L was a member OF the
! BOsrd Of Public Works when the report Of 1872
| was in, and, In justice 20 my position, the
/ papers ought 20 have been submitted 10 me.
q. But when the assistant engineer in your
/ effice was directed TO make that statement were
you a member OF the Bosrd of Pablo Works
and had you anything 10 do with him; do you
know when that statement was made out? A.
has been AZ work upon II as early a. from Sep
tember.
@ Made IT out in September A. No, sir;
from OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES In September.
| Q. Were you a member o the ROsrd OF Pub
/ lie Works at that time? A. Not in September;
but l wish TO qualify what 1 said here;
thought, you know, when Judge Wilson asked
those questions, that he had reference 10 every
| thing that related 10 the payments obtained
| from the government OF about three and a hau
millions, and L may have been bere-l may
have been misled In the wording Oft; thought
| this had reference to all those appropriations
when was q member Of the board.
| q. Didn't you, when L read IL over 20 You lust
now, repeat that il was substantially true, and
you hoped verbally? A. Well. have 20 quail
! ify that in 50 far a. this iuterfered with the
organization OF the engineer department, and
had reference 20 all the work under which
| the money from the public treasury was OBJ
! tanned; this might have been an unintentiOnal
error.
Blythe Chalrman:-Q. want 20 ask a question
! right here. DO you mean what you stated here
| yesterday is mistake, aud that you wish %
correct IL nCw2 a. Mr.. Chairman, l mesu 20
| say that when these questions were prOpOundc
| 20 me certainly thought that all OF them re-
feIred TO those statements in the report OF 1873,
q. Then you were mistaken wholly in this
answer OF yesterday A. ! suppose 4 was mis-
taken when the very question was propoundei 4.
BY Mr. Mattingly.-Q. understand you nov,
then, 10 state that that statement Is not sub
stantially true, or verbally either: A Well, I
/ had In the way this question was put, refer
/
q. Is this not part OF the statement OF less?
| 4. Viii you please give me the report?
Q. Here il il, thandiBg the witness a COPY
A. IL is my impression that 10 is in the report OF
| 1872; my answer was especially TO say, yOa
| know, that all these vOlumiuOus statements in
the hsst part Of the report are not, ia my opn-
son, worth the pen and paper they are written
| upoD, and that they are TO misead the public
| q. What statements are you talking about
| Low? A. The report OF 1S53.
q. They were made 10 mislead the pubncf
A. Yes, sir.
Q. / understood you. in answer TO the quss-
ton yesterday, Gs TO whether yOu had anytniDg
to co with the statement OF appropriation
| with the preparing OF q statement On which the
appropriation Of 81 ,240 900 was 20 be based,
that you referred 10 your answer % all these
| statements ia the report OF 1873, which were
| made to deceive the public; is that 20? A. Yes,
sir.
Q. Did YOU, in making N AZ answer, pay much
| attention TO the question asked yoaI A knew
| that the ST. 600 had been obtained on the
! 10th OF January, or the Sth Of January, 1s13. 4
certainly, when this question was pat to me,
thought At related TO the Measurement upon
| which this 81 ,2i0 600 were obtained.
| q. How was that money obtained, on any
| measurements made by the engineer OF the
Board of Public Works, or any engineer under
| the Board OF Public Works? A. I nave read
| the law, and saw that the Government engi-
| neer was 10 re- measure that work, 50 4 thought
for sure the measurement ought 70 have been
| made by the engineer OF the Board Of Public
| Works.
Q. You stated here day before yesterday that
| there was an account made out, which was
made the basis OF an appropriation OF 81, 10000
| and upward, by one OF your assistants, respon-
| sible 10 you, taken from your own supervision,
| and under the direct orders Of the vice presi-
| dent. IL that statement true? A. have re-
| peated already my understanding OF this. 4
| misunderstood the question.
! q. As an answer TO the question printed there
| IL II untrue? A. Well, as answer mean
| TO answer the question that the money WAS OBJ.
! tanned from the Treasury and no estimate
made. LSm glad TO make this correction. It
| was an unintentienal error.
q. Do you mean to state here that money on
| the Treasury was paid on that statement Of ac-
| count made by q subordinate In yOur of &c?
! Do you mean TO make that statement? No re-
| Spouse.
Q. That money was drawn out Of the Treas
| uTy? "A. Yer, sir.
Q. You say, in your answer, you understood
| when you were making that answer IL applied
| 10 when the money was PAID II the manner in
| which the money was paid2 A. ] mean 10 say
| do not know anything OF IL, but that, as the
responsible officer, 1 ought - have known VI IL.
| This "a my answer.
| q. You feel sore on the subject, know, in
| regard 10 this matter. As I understand ft, your
| version rs simply this that you think these
| measurements on which the gov. rnment paid
40 49,