New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-10-23
THE Ex-cANAL COSAlIssI0NERs REPLY


GENEVA. ~ l., oct 16. 1879.
DEAR SIR; 7 have received your favor Oh the
lttn insr. making inquiries respecting A1. Howard
-.ulti. connection with lie construction cf fie
Ot-ro Lake reservoir loT The Erie Canal n Justice
10 Mr. >oulr have 40 objection 90 stating al INC
facts far as au cogrZan OF them. leaF ing s. u
t0 make such of ms statement as ln your jltg-
mclt viii best -ubserve the ends ol truth aud JUST
ice. aO this the more freely, rs II is nv htehIoh
~ give Hlratlo Seymour, ig., cordial support for
+. eectlon and believe Ar. Seymour seeks no adj
,a,fac,~ over his opponent growing out Of any
INSTRUMENTATION OF Ills true character ana record
Tue report Of the committee that investigated
this work in $50 contains vast Nolnme OF
hearsav evidence, runors and gue-s-work sworn %
boy witnesses w-o had misundei standings and diih-
On ties with those IL charge OF tne work. az Well as
"a lesser amount OF testimony Of those competent
from tieu avocauou ana experience 70 FORM
Judgment IN such matters aud Mo -Wore 20 posi-
tive facts. but I'D Their CONCLUSION TIE coAlllilte
seem o. have regarded the former Only as i'ilalic'
me original sum SET apart for the construction
of titis reservoir was $4,000. MI Soule vas then
so I..r era ir-cr aud. iu discussing tnc question
Win Cana. JDilm.s,loucr hayi, explained tuat TINS
sur Was l.-uiAc ent ~ buLc tAc dam and necessary
structure aIa Gear the timber t-oin tAc ground
Ihe commissioner thought there was such an
overriding necessity tor more water on Tie jordan
Level 20 MAINTAIN navigation, that the WoIk
should oe undertaken without providing Tor the
clearing ana directed MI. Soule 20 make hls
estimate leaving Out al yIOYl-l'u Iil clearing eA-
ceyt tee small portion ID the Oed OF tlr uiIA alu
new road. leaving the balance Oh the Gearing lot
furure appropriations ana iliule acIiL. Tue
estimates. amounting to $1,000. were examined
and approved by tic Canal board, and
tIa work advertised and let 20 tie lowest
h.fle- and the record shows tlat al the
work included IL Mr. soule- estimate, eX-
cepting the new road worth about 9l,-oOl was
eoiuulrred al "a cost 10 the state OF .tss than
$4,000. AT TINS point. NJ. Soulcs responsibility
50 fr "a concerns the cost Of TINS reservoir. ends
The additional cost was due 20 clearing the Wool
land. which NJ. >Oule opposed because 10 was hot
INCLUDE Lee, I'D the original contract but Ia when he
was overruled ID its cOmmeucement by Tile dlrec-
ton. oi my predecessor, Mt. hayi ana III ~ COM
.frr t4f IIN "A
mandatory law OF the Legislature apprDpratlng
moneys therefor aud which gave me no dlscrej on
iu letting th- additional Work, ana Oh WHICH Aad
the highest lcgtuadvlce.
The completion of the clearing was done under
another resident engineer Air Ioodselll VINO mace
up The final account from MEASUREMENTS dLu Lhlh-
uf,s made bv Mr.. Charles 4. sweet. under whose
immediate superntendrnce this reservoir was con-
sfrurf.d and who was soon after promoted 20
DIVISION Engineer and served two years under the
reform administration of Governor lllden and one
wear under max of Governor Robinson.
Nr Noule certified as Division Engineer 10 the
completion of the work, and that II was made up az
the prices contained III the contract, nut dld not
certify that The final account was correct as the
report of the committee states he dld. 90 not
mention this ~ indicating that ! OF Mr. S1ulc had
any doubt of the correctness Of the account or Ot
3lr sweets measurements, but merely TO snow how
easily people may mistake essential facts when at
| tempt ny 10 critIcIse such proceedings.
Nj. SOule never enlarged OF extended this work
az al he never made OF modified any contract, or
l-iual or supplementary, ana never ctfilheu 70 "a
dollars worth OF tins work paid by ME except IN
strict accordance with the contract. lhe charge
that the supplementary contract - IN his hanu-
writing has no sd gnihcauce. whether true OF false,
because kept clerk 40 Syracuse, and often called
pom the enI nttTs for clerical labor. he making
OK the supplementary contract was an act Of my
own under this mandatory law, and IN which was
not advised OF influenced BY any OF my suDordl-
mates.
A. an illustration of the unfarncss Of the com
mlttee m ba-lg their report (which thousands
nave read pile few have read the deucel manly
upon he evidence OF disappointed claimants and
meddlesomc people residing IN The vicinity of the
work who guessed that there a great deal Of
wror about IT, tnOut really swearing 20 material
facts ana Ignoring AL tie testimony OF those COM
pef-nt to form correct Judgment, aud 10 make ac-
aui ATE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. let cite few facts shown
by the testimony a. well a. by the report
The report says. " The contractor paid for "A
dam $50 feet long, when III fact 10 = but 100 feet
long One OF he resident witnesses swOre that he
measured II with ten-fOOt pole. aud that 10 was
go feet long, but the report Raced him lOO ieet.
and then records hin as establishing It's actual
length at 1870 feet. The true length or the struc-
tnre a. stated by the engineer in-charge, when II
was constructed. and since confirmed DIV snch com
De ent engineers a. David l.. NhittOrd aud Mf.
Beach, 3uS@2 o. feet. all of Inch shown III the
printed testimony before the committed lsee pages
30 SD. but which the report entirely ignores.
IN L. al gr IN the report that the work to
he COMPLETED and that the fall compensation there
tor should be- s,344.' There IL no such provision
I'm the contract the work 10 be done al schedule
prices and the contractor was 10 be pald AZ tbeso
r,ts toI each item of work done, more or less. The
sum that the Canal Commission could pay under
the contract was limited by the amount OF the
engineers estimate $4,000. but subsequent
legislation changed al that.
The report IN Inmates that the contractor received
nav for a new rOad but which was never butt. The
evidence of Mr.. Soule page 800 shows that IL was
l,at built for the reason that the Inhabitants pel-
toned tire Commissioner To omit Its construction,
aud also that there was not one penny allowed the
contractor therefor.
The report alndes to a great fraud as being COM