The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1875-04-03
TIE ILIINnIs STATE IInrsr.


months, and the other day brought forth
: majority and mnorityreports.
=. The majority report, signed 10y Hons.
n II. r.. Mccoy. 4. F.. Merritt and John
Iisc, all Democrats. is lengthy. filling
several columns Of small type in the Chi
= cago papers.
a The report states that, In the judgment
of the committee. a saving In the cost OF
the building might be made in reducing
the expenses Of the construction of the
dome and porticoes, or at least deferring
their completion until after the building
has been made ready for occupancy, but
expresses no opinion as to the propriety
Of doing so. Referring to the purchase
of material and labor from the peniten-
tiary, the committee are Of the opinion
that had the Statc-house Commissioners
not been required by law to purchase
such materials and labor of the pcnitcn-
tiary, saving Of $780, 600 or 5000.
would have resulted to the State. This
they say IL the opinion Of the Commits
sioners and architects. The law aud con.
tracts between tho State-house and Pcni.
Tertiary Commissioners and referred TO
at length. and the sub-letting of the cor
tract to w. ID. Richardson, claiming that
he received the benefits which should
have accrued TO the State.
The committee criticisc the action Of
| the State-house Commissioners in having
work done by the day, which under the
law, 1t Is claimed, should be done by con-
tract. As the Commissioner, are saw
ing the State some $1,000 in the peculiar
work performed. and the law in reality
not violated, the people will not credit
the committee with any great degree of
sagacity In discovering this "loop-hole."
especially as the Twcuty-cighth General
Assembly Investigated the matter and
unanimously approved the action of the
Commissioners. The attention of the
House is called to the fact that in sin.
gle instance the law governing appropri-
ations was technically ignored and The
Commissioners rolmtariiy cana toypard
and ddrised NE committee ofHc fret. In
asmuch as the section Of the law rcferrcl
to was made for the express purpose OF
allowing contracts to be made in adj
vance. the point Of the report j. rather
obscure.
| The report i very complimentary 10
Major Whane, one Of the Commissioners.
and says he'appcarel before the commit
tee, manifested a disposition to conceal
nothing within his knowledge, aud his
evidence. verbal and documentary, adds
much TO the chain of circums lantial evil
dence. Yet the report and statements of
members of the committee on the floor
, of the House show conclusively that the
State-house Commissioners made the full
est expose of their business and all trans
actions.
The following prediction is made: LAS
a reward for the action OF Major Whanc
! before your committee, In the verbal evil
q dcncc given and letters produced. we
here venture the prediction that, within
sixty days after the adjournment of This
Legislature, he will be removed or NJ.
n toloed 10 resign his commisSionership.''
e | In conclusion, the committee ''makes no
, recommendations, but submits the evil
dencc, fixed in the belief that every I'M
biased mind will assent to the conclusions
arrived at
The minority report is signed by Hons.
a. Nj. Jones and y. W. Branson.
II states that the reply to COMMUNE
cation addressed to the State-hou,c Com
missloners appears TO be explicit and to
the point. and TO cover all the matters of
inquiry included in the first series of re-
solutions which answers are set rortl,
in full in the report.
The committee say that after pro-
tracied investigation they have discovered
nothing 10 east doubt upon the truth of
the answers of the Commissioners, but on
the contrary the undersigned find from
evidence that all the money has been
faithfully applied to pay for the labor and
material for the use of the building: that
none OF the moneys have been advanced
TO contractors or Others before the work
was done or materials furnished. The
transactions of business and relations cy.
lsting between the Statc-house and Prni.
Tertiary Commissioners are reviewed AT
length, and the conclusion Of
the committee on this point is
that, considering all the circum-
stances, there is no reasonable objection
TO the dealings between the two boards.
! Inc committee say: 1.-The building has
been constructed OF the best material and
IN an economical manner" In proof of
inns, testimony j. adluced showing that
TINS building will cost less than any pub-
lie building similar in class, than any
public building in the county. The his |
tory OF the stone cutting at the penitcn-
tlary and the transfer OF the contract 10
W. d. Richardson is set out in fun. and
shown to,bc legal, regular and in the in
tercst OF the State. An anomalous con.
ul'loh OF the law on the subject Is stated
anu shown up, and for which the State.
mouse nor no other Comm issioners were
responsible, and for whatever blame or
credlt Tor making the contract with Rich.
afusoh belonged 10 the Penllentlary
commissioner and Governor Palmer
py whom II was made. The Committee
ATTACHES no blame to Governor Palmer
ior hl' participation in the matter belioy.