Evening star., 1877-11-15
Answer of Commissioner Bryan to the
Charges Made Before the Senate
Committee.
An Effective Document.


Hon. Thomas B. Bryan has, in respoHss TO
an invitation OF the Seaaie District Commit
tee, sect the following answer To ch lrges pre-
sented against him before that COMMITTEES,
intended 10 defeat his confirmation:
To ths Stno,e C.HBHitee Of ths Dis'ric. qr Co.
tmbid:
NOVEMBER I3th, 1851.
SndtoTs: BY letter OF this date f.om your
Chairman am invited TO make such aus wer
as see lit to certain charges prese n;ed to
your honorable COMMITTEES. ref cling uoon
my official conduct as Commissioner of this
District. The synopsis furnis isned me in IN At
letter mentioned two CHARGES aSall Iha' are
ton"
First. william B!rney quotes tom a let
Ter luollshtd by You in th- EVENING STAR
newsI aper OF september 25tn, TO snow that
you are opposed TO the enforcement OF the
tax laws OF the District, which You, as q nm
missioner, Will be In duty bound to execute"
have hunted up tie article In question zone
dashed of amid many iutarrnpIions), and I
presume his quoiatl rs must be- The only
words referring 10 ta2es which occur in thai
CnCh1cIal enumerat on of the needs OF thus
District. I'VE need relief from excessive
special assessments-many in the past hay.
Ing been special inigQt'es-and from the
odlous personal tax; the only mana
iac'ure that seemed TO thrive here
having been the manufacture of taxes.
We need far and rot exorbitant assess
and such they are still. 1t won seem, in-
deed, needless TO occupy the valuable time
Of United States Senators with auy aTgu-
ment 10 prove how hypeTcritical and far
fetched. Lot 10 say absurd, is such a con
stIuctIon of this paragraph as that suggested
in this charge. One wound suppose thSl even
mOdicum of common sense, without the
slightest legal acumen, would have sufiiced
to interpret that passage, when READ by one
as iamlliar as the District attorney with our
eXetrable assessment frauds as The mere eX-
naA1 N : a
but also of administrative relief from those
illegal tLceSSes Of taxation which have well
nigh impoverished This people. Recent dis
cOveTies by the Com isSlOners of the gross
est frauds, as well as most glaring errors in
many of the old special assessments for i'm
provements in this District, show conclusive
ly the need OF such legislation as VIII no.
only afford relief, bpt Will render such ex
cessive and fraudulent assessments no longer
possible. am not opposed To the enforce
ment OF the taN laws OF the District out |
am uncomrromlslngly oppO Ell to any sys-
tenn that Will render this people, and also TO
some extent tie United States treasury, the
b. lpless prey of INSCRIPTIONS cormorants.
3cC1id. The second charge, in which the
mslcon,ents under Mr.. Btrney's leadership
seem to unite as in a refrain, is 10 the effect
that have removed ftithf al and competent
men from office, because they were unfrield-
Iyto jonathan Taylor" The authors ofthis
charge (as of all mentioned In The synopsis
bt fore me- happen 10 be the dLscharged men
impartial judges of their own fidelity AMI
competency. The alleged mysterious lnfil.
ence is SO entirely new To my colleagues, as
well as 10 myself, that We are utterly at a
loss 10 know where The silly sugy y-stiO EN- u
mates, as none OF US ever spoke To Taylor, or
be To us, respecting the remOval OF any one
in Tie service OF the District, nor di I any
thought of him ever enter my brain, how
ever Il may have been 6gTneat of ihs bra;l
OF these accusers, in cOnnec ion with any
such removals. The "resignatiops" OF all tnc
Iar;ies 10 tnese charges were for cause, and
there certainly has been not the slightest
occasion Tor regret or our part at Our ac.iol,
eSps cially as the entire community, with
UpaEimlty unprecedented in this District,
have rejoic,d al ard publicly sustained those
discharges. AS an ILLUSTRATION o. the facts IN n
Justify the ediemissal OF those men, need only
cite The following respecting VIM. Birney:
My Information is that his appointment as
Assistant District Attorney wa on the 7h Of
Jidy, 1sT4, ard that only two days thereafter,
the 9fh @, July, 1874, ne became the attorney
for the Wa hipetOn market company, which
has ever since been one of the parties having
cuIstant business relations with the D;str CT
government, and being indeed one or It's
chief litigants; VIM. Birney, as he admits,
having received besides the salary OF himself
and lately Of his son lin the District Attor-
nsy's Officel two thousand dollars (S2 O00)
each as a retainer from The market compa
py. am not now designing any criticism
OF the market company; but simply 500 wing
the dual relations held by the attorney, and
the rem arks b y significant coincidence OF IN |,
almost simultaneous date OF the two appoint
MT nts. II seems also that when consulted by
/
District, he would occasionally, and without
/ the knowledge of the Com inissioners, ask
and receive fees from citizens SO applying
ann% Ia1se wnT naFe M rS nan Occasl0n TO
conduct, l may refer to Dr.. Richie, OF
: Georgetown; TO the Aualostan Bo IL Club,
and to Mr.. George Cumberland. By state
mt mt and affidavit, it appears that both the
/ latter parties applied TO the District authori
/ ties (as SUCH for the privilege of using a
/ space on the water front. The boat club
hxrf ft,<C
I ers To the assistant attorney, Wm. Birney,
who thought the permit could he obtained
/ but would involve considerable trouble,
/ etc, and the preparation OF papers, and ne
! UOttpteeTed 10 ask that he might he retained
as tteiT attorney, and he was. There il in
my possession Tor exhibit TO your honorable
3 committee the check paid and indOrSe1 by
VIM. BiTDey for 500 as fee paid in that case
MI George CnmOerland's a1fitavit / also
submit herewith. He is poor man, and, at
the suggestion of one OF our prominent cIti-
Zens, called only a few months since on the
same District Attorney to obtain permit 10
occupy very small space on the river front
for boat house, in which he might hire oug
boats. He was told that the ground could be
secured only upon payment TO VIM B rney
OF one hundred collars tS100l as a fee-which,
in this instance, was an absolute proh 10. ton.
TOese simple facts, without com from
me, are offered IN answer TO the above
charge, and as showing the eminent fitness
OF this ex official TO prefer charges az aiuss
one whose Offense consists in desiring TO live
aud labor in pure atmosphere. As 10 M.
Jonathan Taylor and the utterly grouniless
charge OF favoritism to him, because of sup
posed acquaintance, the fact is that prior To
his application for work a ter my ap point
ment, did not know there was sucn man In
existence, and now know bal little more OF
him-cer'aiDly nothing beyond this work IN
der small contract for the paving OF only a
single square. As the work progressed W.
Dot only watched IL ourselves, but w. B.
Reed, esq, and others, accompanying affi
davit shOws,) were specially charged by me
to inspe ct the work closely, aud To report ID
us the slightest neglect or variation f;om The
contract. The work was thoroughly ami
most satisfactorily done and AZ a great saving
to the District from charges for similar W )rk
on the same street, as the pro perty- ho iders
declare. Mr.. Taylo was the lowest bidder,
ard fair play demanded that he should have
The contract, aid he or any other man, fairly
the lowest bidder In an honest competition
shall always receive a contract if in my
rower 10 award 1t. As for the supremacy
riliculous twaddle about Taylo or WiLhers,
or Coltman, desire once for all TO cover In
this sffidavit, these several vile fabricatiols,
all of like inspiration, and To say that am
ready ST all times 10 produces the docu-
ments, duly executed, duly witnessed
with many voluntary letters and recei pts,
OF suose quent dates, and including even Iha
---A.a