Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-07-14

question was, if the people want the wood
pavement and are determined to have it,
which pavement shall we give them, the
best, or not the best!
Now, l have before me here, what
had when | made the argument, certifi.
Gates from Chicago, St. Louis, San Fran
cisco, and all the other cities where the
pavement was laid, that 1t stood better
than any wood pavement that had ever
beeu laid, and In the report Of the Com
mittee OF Investigation in Washington a
letter was received from the Board of
Public Works of Chicago, dated Oct. 81,
1874. in these words: ''Since 1869 there
have been laid here in Chicago 100000
square yards of De Golyer pavement, anu
thus tar 1t stands well and in good condi-
ton" There is twice as much of that
pavement IN Chicago to day as there is in
Washington.
Now, will tell you another fact about
it. The testimony beEore the committee
discloses the following fact: That IN the
city of New York they paid S. so to
SO so per square yard. In the city of
Brooklyn they paid SIS per square yard,
and in the city of Baltimore, for putting
down Nicolson pavement (Which is not so
expensive), they paid 81 per square yard
Now, all the De Golyer pavement put
down in Washington was put down at
$3.50 per square yard under this tariff of
prices fixed by the Board of Pu3 Die
Works upon the recommendation of the
Board OF Engineers. Well, now, fellow
citizens, who has raised this storm of
criticism about the d. Golyer pavement
Who? Early last w inter- several OF us
came to the conclusion that the Board of
Public Works was an expensive machine /;
that it was costing the city OF Washing
ton too much; that 1t was overlooking
them with taxes, and that we we're bound
to pay too much money out of the Treas
| ury to keep up our end of the business.
| But we set on foot an inquiry into the
cause Of the large expenditure, and a
committee of investigation was appointed,
and they have published some nineteen
hundred pages OF a report. They have
| gone over the whole ground of the doings
of that Board of Public Works and the
| City Government, and as result of it we
have abolished that form Of government
aud had the President appoint Commits
sioners, and he has appointed Gov. Denni.
son, of our State, as one of them, to man
age the affairs OF the District of Columbia
until winter. That Committee Of Investi.
cation went over the whole ground of
this business in Washington. II
Thurman, OF this State, on ii
for one; Judge Jewett, OF Columbus
for another man, who is now Presi
! dent OF the Erie railroad, both of them
Democrats of the strongest stamp. We
had on from the II 1use, as Chairman OF
that Committee, Judge Wilson, of Indi.
ana, one of the strongest and ablest and
best of our members, and they went over
this ground most thoroughly and severely
| Mr.. Parsons went before that committee
and told them all he knew about this
| pavement; told them what he knew OF
| its merits, and told them he and l argued
that case. 1t was early in the session
| when he told them that Now, what has
been said about that in Washington
| Don't you think some OF the one hun
| dred Democrats would have been ex
| ceedingly willing to hit me blow on
| the head if they had discovered anything
| in that to find fault with? The Committee
made its report in full, and not only made
| no possible reflection on me, but when
asked about 1t said there was nothing
| whatever in the case that reflected in the
slightest degree upon Mr.. Garfield.
| Now, in the midst Of this tempest tha
was raised in the gainesville teapot a few
weeks ago, the Hon. George w. Steele. OF
gainesville, wrote letter to the commit
tee who had charge of that investi CATION
and he wrote back the following letter:
CoNNERsvILLE, Ind, Aug. /. 1874.
| The Hon. George w. Steele:-
| DEAR SIR-TO the request for information as tt
| whether or not the action of General Garfield III
com ection with the affairs of the District o
! Columbia was the subject OF condemnation b.
| the committee that recently had those affairs
under consideration, answer that it was not
nor was there, in my opinion, any evidence tina
| would have warranted any unfavorable criticism
| upon his conduct.
| The facts disclosed by the evidence, so far 81
| he Is concerned, are briefly these:
| The Board of Public Works was cons iderin,
| the question as to the kind OF psvements that
should be laid There was contest as to the re-
| spective merits of various wooden pavements
Mr.. Parsons represented, as attorney, the DE-
| Goyer d McClelland patent, and, being called
| away from Washington about the time the hear
| ing was to be had before the Board of Public
Works on this subject, Or cured Gen Garfield te
| appear before the board In his stead, and argue
the merits of this patent. This he did. and this
was the whole of his connection with the matter.
1t was not 3 q estion as to the kind of contract
that shou d be made. but az to whether this par
| ticular pavement shoald be laid. The criticism
! OF the committee was not upon the pavement In
favor of which Gen. Garfield argued. but upon the
| contract made in reference to 1t; and there was
no evidence which would warrant the conclusion
| tHht NC uau JtuluR W 10 Win tuo ldIteT. ofy
respectfully, etc. JAMES WILSON.
Now, fellow citizens, it is not pleasant
for me to be reading things of that sort
concerning myself, that the man who had
charge of the investigation in the District
of Colum bia, the man who wrote the re.
port on the part of the House, who was
the Chairman of the Committee, who
knows all the facts in regard to it, says
there was nothing whatever In the case
that in the slightest degree reflected on
me. 1t is left to the excessively virtuous
Judge of the Probate Court of Paines
vile, and perhaps the Judge of the Pro
bate Court of Trumbull county, to dis
cover that this Ode Golyer business" was
a fearful business on the part of General
Garfield. Tremendous applause
II there is any gentleman in this hall
who has any question to ask in regard to
the De Golyer pavement business,
should be very glad to hear it.
Quession-Was the appropriation for
the payments for the pavements made be-
| fNrn off " nd hx1$b Pno I'D