National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-04-23
DISTRICT INVESTIGATION
FTazs-- TESTI4oTT-RELlTI TO
WOOD AND ASEHALE

WOOD AND ASFHALE
DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE AS TO THE COS
or TRKrs-FoRsYTH ON MEASUREMENT
NEaRUDER,s -sTCBs EXAMINE
rIuE OF Il, Ic~EVASs IN REFERENCE T
JuHS O. EVANS PAVING BOOKS.
THIRrY-FIRsT DAT.
WEDNESDAY, April "a lsTL
The committee met pursuant to adjourn
nent.
The journal of yesterdays proceedings wa
read and approved.
JAMES 4. MAGRUDBR RECALLED.
By Mr.. Stewart: @. What books did yo'
open when you commenced to pay out money
A. ( kept regular set Of books, and chArge'
all the payments that are made. -
.... O. Whist books did you haYef In the hrs
Mace did YOU have blotteci A. A blotter,
journal, and ledger.
Q. You paid on certificates oil the audito
slWaysi A. Yes, SIR
%. When o certificate Of the auditor came II
and was presented to you and you did not paJ
it, did you make any note of that fact-of 1T
being presented A. No, sir handed Ii bach
TO the party who owned 1t.
@. Did the auditor furnish you with list o.
the audited elaimsl A. No, sir.
Q. You had no communication with the
auditor except the presentation A. Yes, sir
of the claim.
@. And you made no note of thesei A
None at all until paid the claim.
Q. You do not know how many were audited
NJ ef-
Q. You did not have those facts before you
YOU say that you sometimes only paid so pei
cent. on themi A. paid all Of one certificate
for instance, o man might come In with
twenty or thirty thousand dollars; would pay
him portion of the certificates, and hand hin
back the others.
O. Now, you exercised discretion there and
what want to get at is what basis you had fol
exercising that discretion. You say the auditor
did not furnish you any list of the audited
claims; and when they were presented to you
you did not take q list of them at ALL A. No
sir
@. Then how could you tell how 10 exercise
that discretion in paying parti A. 1t would
depend upon what money l had, In great
measure.
@. Did It not always depend on the amount
Of accounts ont aad who owedl A. had gen.
eral idea. / would send for the auditor very
often, and ask him the state Of an sccount; how
much was due him, and how many certificates
he had, and how much had been paid and
then turning 70 my books could tell exactly
how much 6e had been paid.
@. But would yoa know the general state Of
Indebtedness, whatever their claims Ihers were,
and their merlts-how wOuld you ascertain
that7 A. did not know that &c anything Ike
q nicely.
O. You did not know that to anything like a
nicctyl A. No, sir.
O. Might you not, then, without having
those facts before you discriminate UNFAIRLY
A. Well, yes might have done IT. but not
intentionally.
Q. You do not know any rule by which TO
pay them whom your money run out. You had
no rule by which 10 distribute this money!
You did not pay them in order Of presentation,
and did not register them when they were pre-
senIed! A. No, sir.
Q. You made 10 note of it, at alIl A. No,
sir.
Q. You had no communication with the
auditor, except what came on the certilcatei
A. ] VERY ofSrn :akcd with the auditor, and
went up in his room ard looked over his &C
counts very frequently.
Q. State what investigation ynu made prior
TO exercising this discretion. You say you
frequently called on the euiitUr. A, IRE
GuCEtiy callcd on the auditor in relation to he
state Of particular Gccount-a large account
j asked him low much was due a man an I
how many certificates be had issued, and then
" looking at my looks could tell exactly
low many Of those certificates had been paid.
Q. Did you look over the auditors books \:
hat time 10 sec the stste Of othey mems &C
cunts, so as to know what proportion and how
ong they had stood, 10 form any idea OF how
much you ought to pay to that man? a. No,
sir.
Q. You made no comparison of that kind1
A. No, sir. II had gone all over those things
never would have done anything. 1t would
have taken all the time had to do it.
q. Now, for instance, here is check on the
18th of January. You paid a good many on
that day. "Moscs- Kelley, 70 take up check on
F. N. B., So, l44.O4" What was that fort
National Bank, and they had held them. They
were not paid. We had no money in the First
National Bank.
Q. You say you have given q check to take
up check. Who drew the check on "P. n. B.P'
A. did; good many different checks.
@. These were checks that you had drawn
ON the bank! A. Yes, sir; and they never
were presented to the bank. If they were pre-
scented they were not paid. Mr.. Kelley took
and took them up from him.
Q. Were there any complaints at any time
about your discriminating In favor Of one and
against another in the payment Of theni A.
Not TO me.
Q. You think yourself It would have been o
good deal better if you had had some orderi
A. Well, think it would, now.
Q. Do you think II possible that the inforna-
fion that you had before. you-no record of the
time when the claims were audited, no record
of the time they were presented to your Office
do YOU think It possible for you to get such a
general knowledge of all the transactions Of
the District as TO pay them equitsbly; TO make
an equitable distribution of it! A. had &
general idea Of the account there; the worn
that had been done by the different parties, and
I had the assistance Of the Governor, who
knew more about the general work than any
bodS in the District.
Q. And when you were at loss about II yor
emit and made inquiry A. He and Con
tlted about those things when we had sum.
money, as how it should be paid.
Q. Were you able, when you consulted him
D show him how the Indebtedness stood, IN
rdeT to take his opinionl A. No; he knew
letter than did how it stood.
o. 1t was not his business to keep thoes
books, thought A. No, sir.
@. Was it possible for anybody to remembel
all the creditors, and how they stoodi A. No
sir; nobody could remember them.
Q. If you had kept the books in some orde
that would have fixed il by rule, it would no
have been necessary TO consult anybody, woult
liz A. Well, do not know but that It would
Q. If you had had q rule you would havI
stood by it, i. There were certain things
for instance, work done around the Govern
ment property-hEd TO be paid for out Of thes,
Government appropriations.
Q. Could you not have had rule for that
a. We did pay them, helping others as much
as we could.
q. Then you did have rule that you pait
fer work done around Govern, nent reservation
out of the appropriations Inadei A. When
ever q certificate was presented 10 me for Hcrl
done around Government reservations, and
had any money, would pay It.
@. You mean out of the Government appro
priationsi A. Out of the Government appro
priation.
Q. You mean the United States Govern
mentl A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you set apart that fund exclusively
for that businessi A. No, l did not. We
helped everybody along when we had money
Q. But you mean to say, simply, that you
gave those who had done work around that The
preference, other things being equali A. Yes
sir.
Q. That left pretty wide discretion, did
noti A. Yes, sir; It did.
By Mr.. Jewett: Q. Had you any suthorit,
to determine whether you would pay the credi
tors Of the Government In whole or in parti A