National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-05-02
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES d ST ! / I i i
co1cLUsIoy OF zHURsDArs rEsrI-
M0NY. -...


coNCLUsIoy OF EHURsDArs TlsSTl-
MoNY. -,
HR. J. G. LAY SWORN.
Is BY Mr.. Stanton: Q. You are auditor Of the
q You succeeded Mr.. Meedsi A. Yes, sir.
is' q. You have been auditor since that timea A.
q. Mr.. Lay, in the 7th specification Of the
arst charge find 1t stated-a provision which
read moment ago, was inserted Uncertain con-
tracts of Mr.. Evans and Mr. ciephane, by
which they were enabled to prosecute their i'm
provements without advancing any considerable
capital, and 70 receive pay in advance Of any
inspection or estimate Of work done BY them.
= Do you know whether any bills have been au-
oited without some certificate or estimate trom
the engineeri A. No, sir. - ~. 800.
Q. Since you have been auditor have you In
al cases audited bills upon evidence from the
engineer A. Always; never without.
Q. You are the successor Of Mr.. Needs A..
Yes, sir. s. ..s,-1s. gsgl.
f. Mr.. Stanton. II the committee please, we
desire to cite another extract nom the Journal
Of the board, having reference especially to the
eighth specification Of this first charge, In
which Il Is stated that the Board of Public
=
that provided for In said contracts, TO the said
LEWIS clephane, by increasing the amount to
be paid for grading from twenty cents per cubic
9 yard 70 the board prices established January
! %, 1872. The extract from the journal VIII
hand to the reporter. It shows that this in
contracts Of Mr. Ciephane or Mr., Eysps, but
TO ell contracts. The order is as follows:
psi - BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS.
aaI DIsTRIcI or ooLUMgIA,
The board met q the usual hour.
from and after this date al 50 cents PEI cubic yard
including the hauling, not TO exceed z9o ieet Eor
each additional 200 feet one cent additional per
4 TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM r. SMITH.
William R. Smith sworn.
ByMr. Stanton. Q. You are public gardener
A. No, sir; superintendent of the Botanical
: Gardens. -.. ... 800. .....
d. You are member also ofthe parking COM
mission appointed by the Board of Public
Worksi A. Yes, sir.
a. Mr.. Saunders, of the Agricultural Depart
ment, Mr.. sanl, and myself.
q. VIII you state more precisely the position
which Mr.. Saunders and Mr.. Saul respectively
occupied A. Mr.. Saunders Is in charge ofthe
Agricultural Department; / am in charge Of
= the ARrIcQlLQrA gIOuuues duu MI. o2u4 -
nnrserymsn of experience In this city.
Q. Are both Mr.. Saunders and Mr.. Saul ex-
rerienced personsi A. think they have ex-
trsordinary experience In that matter.
O. When was the parking commission ap-
pointed A. Ieould not tell without looking at
the papers. :
Q. How long have you been actingi A. !
think about two years; may be more. didn't
reeollect the date at all. ....
O. OF what have you had charge under the
Board of Public Worksl A. We are an ad-
yisory board-adYising them as to the most ju-
dicious manner to conduct the planting Of
trees, and also occasionally advising them as
to the matter of parking.
@. And soddingi A. Yes, sir.
Q. Has the purchase Of trees and planting of
trees been done under the the direction of the
parking commission A. Yes, sir. q
q. Do you know what the price Of planting
trees under the board has been, including pur-
chase and plantingl A. We recommended a
certain price. It is very difficult TO come at
the exact cost, because one Of the contingent
cies is the accidents that occur to trees in the
streets: They have q great many enemies
dogs, men, horses-everything, in fact, seems
TO be en- enemy. And malicious boys also de-
stroy our work. One of the worst troubles is
the maliciously mischievous people destroying
the trees.
Q. What is your estimate OF the cost A.
Here is q paper. The estimate is six dollars.
@. VIII you give the items that enter into
that aggregated A. Here 1t is. The witness
'- wIsHIxeroN CITY, April n, 1874.
honorable Board Of Public Works:
GENTLEMEN: In answer 70 your request, ask
ing for detsiled statement Of the cost Of tree
j. COiiscting surfAce earth and street ma
nure, and mixing and preparing the
4 Digging and picking out hole 50
3 Renewing clay from hole, three loads IS
4 Hauling prepared earth, three loads IS
.. Cost OF tree, insured to grow q Is
Thai, 1 think, is a little too low; but in max
ing up this estimate, Mr.. Saunders and myself
had TO guess Is near as possible at these
various items.
The witness resumed the reading, as fol-
.. Planting and transportation from nursery
or Depot
& Stakes for box putting up and strapping
= WViSittsvashiDg box and repairing damages %
10. Repairing TIf ri around Ta the tree - 60
II. Distributng-b box 10
W. R. SMITH,
.Ea WIN, SAUNDERS-
.....- Secretary Parking Commission.
osWhat have you TO say in regard TO the
reasonsbleness or unreasonableDess of that es-
timatei A. think that Is fair estimate, and
Il lie as cheap, when well done, as It Is in any
citF in the world. In Paris they cost double
that. In Paris they usually take trees and
grow them; even our common plain treeor but
tonwood, as 1t Is called, Is grown for fye years
before they Will risk It in the street. They
give; Il Eve years training. We aim at that In
our reserve garden ont here at the poor-house
We have not been able TO give them that length
If olfhnnOh IL IA mnch heftar m do
For instance, we have yentured to dig trees out
of the woods, and plant them without any
preparation, and am almost certain we will
lose 50 per cent. ct least II they do not all die.
And II they do net all die we viii probably wish
they had for they viii probably drag ont poor
existence. Nothing is pretty in q halEdead
condition. When they are healthy, vigorous
trees, then they are an ornament; but sickly
trees are not. j almost regret we ventured on
that experiment. These trees cost nothing but
labor, It must be remembered. .r.L
By Mr.. Msttingly: Q. II they do not die you
think they ought toll A. Yes, sir; good many
OF them. ---.ss---g 81 II -.y---r =
By Mr. Stanton: Q. What has been the quail
ity Of trees planted in this manner under direc-
ton Of the board7 A. The best collection Of
trees planted In the streets of any city in the
world Twas looking last night at Horstrnan's
List, and his best tree is our American plain.
Then that IS our cheapest; If ! might use the
term, meanest tree. We 60 and take the
higher class entirely. For instance in one
street (Sixteenth street) we put a magnificent
tulip poplar, the queen Of trees, II may use
the expression. Again we ventured and are
inclined to transplant here the Chicago maple,
another magnificent tree not tried anywhere
else in the streets.
: Mr.. Hamilton. They are in my place.
Mr.. Wilson. We have got the preLtiest ones
you ever saw at my home.
The Witness. What say is that they have
not got them In q wholesale way In the streets
We have them here.-Also in Georgetown
they hacl magnificent ones. Ths finest tree we
have probably selected for the avenues Ia the
American elm, ofwhich there is Q magnificent
specimen, supposed to have been planted by
General Washington, right out here. That
avenue out there is planted with them, and on
the avenues generally we are planting elms;
the English elm. The English elm has given
bad reputation to the elms in this country,
because # Is eaten up by insects. One of our
chief troubles Is the insect. They are small
enemies but 90 numerous that Il Is more diff
cult to overcome them than larger ones. 4
Q. In the testimony of Mr.. William Douglass. |
who was examined here, ! find itstated that he
fr1-r, l.a1k -na Ark H. 49, u