Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1878-11-01
BRADLEY BARLow's TESTIMONY

|
Question. Where do you reside '-An.Wer At
Saint Albans, VT.
q. What is your occupation A. an presiden t
| o! bank there.
z. That is Jour permanent residence A. Yes,
| sir.
q. Have you resdeuc, here also A | have
| 1850 street
q. Do you live here any part of the year "A.
My family have not been here this winter they
have been heretofore for, think, four winter
q What other business have you besides bank
nE A have been engaged more or less for the
last fifteen years-or perhaps little more than
fifteen years-in staging and the transportation f
the mails.
Certain heavy mail contrasts having been in
q You running those contracts A. We are
running those contracts.
q They were awarded to other bidders A. Yes.
u Did it occur at the last letting as at the first
that the contracts were awarded to the lowest bid
der and he failed 10 carry the mail A. Well It
was no. not exactly that because they were
awarded 10 the lowest bidders who entered into
contract and after entering into the contract they
failed.
q. Now, under the law understand that they
ha re deposit certified check for certain per-
centage Of the bill "A. Yes, sir.
z. Those contractors desposited that check "A.
l suppose so; presume SO, as a matter of course.
now BARLOW CERTIFIED CHECKS FOR THE RIM.
q. You have no knowledge or information abou,
the hanks they were drawn on, or who was respOn-
sibe fol the checksl-A. do not know. certified
myself to great number Of checks could not
tell how many. As president of bank certified
great number OF checks.
q. Did you certify any checks 0. those men who
were the lowest bidders A. could not say.
Y. 10 you mean that you do not remember "A.
l don't remember know | did not certify for
those parties, but gave certified checks 10 great
many parties who gave me their paper for them,
and they used them where they pleased; 1 never
knew For never inquired.
q. Can you tell the committee about the amount
issued at any one Of those lettings q. certified
checks against your banki-A. cannot tell you
now hut il was several hundred thousand dollars.
q Five hundred thousand dollars "A. | think
very likely II was.
q. Six hundred thousand dollar,'-A. think
very likely.
.. Seven hundred thousand dollars A. tmight
have been.
y, Might it have been more than tina: A.
Well, dom know but II was
q. Tell the committee how muck you think il
was.-A. think it was somewhere between $780,
900 and 100000 checks that certified.
z That vas pretty heavy amount of certified
checks for one bank, was 1t not Yes, sir. !
did not consider there WIS much risk in it, how
ever.
q. The bank would have been able to meet the
obligations without any trouble,-A. All that
would have been likely TO come. Banks never can
meet all their obi ,siions-any banks. you find
that out when they are called on to pay.
q donOt know anything about that.-A. Well,
DO. don't think l0per cent OF them can.
HOW BARLOW KEPT Off HONEST BIDDERS.
name on these same routes, and my son in law and
my cashier bid; and they and some other parties,
ii they had go; them at any Of their BIDS, they
would have been able To
q Did not you consider that those were your
bids Well should have taken care OF them.
| guess | was on some OF the bonds.
q. Was II not your intention at the time they
were put in, in other words. did not YOU procure
these parties TO bid for you A. 30 far they
concerned did intend to control and considered
that did control those bids that have named.
Y. Did any of these parties when they
notified from the Department that the lowest bid
had failed TO carry, iai to apply TO the Postmas-
ter General A. don't think that any OF them
were ever notified, except that on the oregon and
Cali.orna route Mr.. Bishop was notified ami if he
replied at ALL think he did reply. or did Tor
him think he did reply and declined the service.
he did decline the service certainly, and it was
awarded to my son-iD-law at $4,000.
q. What was Bishops bid-he was your c ash or
A. II was $4,000.
Y. lie declined. and it was awarded TO Your son
in aw at s7JtOOl-A. lrs.sr.
Y. Why did Bishop declin",-A Because it
worth money than that. it was worth
more money than We are getting
q. Why did he bid, then, at SG1OOl' A. Ash
told you he bid because wanted HIM To.
10. Then you state 10 the committee that you got
him to bid and that that bid made for the pur-
pose OF being thrown out'-A. No, sir. it was not
Tor tho purpose of being thrown out.
.. Please explain what 1t was done iOr.-A
Well, 1t was done because thought it very likely
that We light be- obliged to take II on that bid To
save our stock.
q. You intended to take it at that II you could
not get any III sher a. Yes, ST. II iuld not
get any hi cher presume ] should have taken Il.
q. DO you mean to say that you never employ ed
any person ior the general purpose OF straw-bid
ing a | do. sir.
q. You STATE. however that you did employ
some persons To put in bids A. 10 protect our
selves.
q, What would you call that; would you call
that straw bidding. A. No. SIT. de- not call that
straw bidding. great many people I'D too low |
and suifer 10y it, we have done ii. lm carTyinya
contract now Tor siJ'' and am paying 900 Tor
doing the service.
q. That was not the rule in your bids A. No |
sir II is not the rule but then II shows that low
ID Is not always straw-bld.
q IN you had not been making money On other |
contracts you would scarcely haN carried this mail
at on" cent A. o, certainly would. We |
made money there on the transportation passcn-
q. Therefore you could afford t. carry il at that |
price A. No, We could not Afford to carry the |
mall because If we had It done up press matter
We would get large price for it but we bid on It
at that price because didn't want ANY body else
to have the route-to keep others of.
q Why did you want To keep them oil the route
a Because "" wanted the business.