The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1880-07-09


ylded he was successful and not any if he was
not successful, and hence the sum offered was
large-a contingent fee. as every LAWYER knows
Now understand that it is said by some of
these gentlemen that that was in some wav or
other with the United States treasury. How?
That pavement was to be paid for by the city of
Washington one-third of it assessed directly
on the property holders, and paid for just as
you pay for a pavement here in Warren and
the rest has to be paid by the city of Washing
ton in money that it borrowed, and for which
the citizens are ultimately to be taxed to pay
But was Chairman of the Committee on APP
preparations, you say and the House of Repre-
sentatiyes appropriated money for the District
of Columbia How? Whenever a pave
front of the United States Postofice,
or the Patent Office, or Treasury, the
Government of the United States, as a mere
matter of decent justice, pays its proper pro-
portion in front of its own buildings as any
other property-holder would do, and that was
all. Whatever was the legitimate, proper share
OF the United States to pay, it paid. Now does
anybody see in what possible way that fact made
it in any way improper for me to practice my
profession in locatio when [ was not needed
in the public service But some one says 'The
pavement was a bad one. 1t was a swindle.
Who told you that? Why, a man that went to
Washington to testify, and that hal different
pavement of his own he was glad to say that
the De Golyer pavement was a bad one.
Now, | want you to understand. fellow-citi@
zens, that of the 156 miles of pavement in the
city of Washington fifty-three miles of it only
are wooden pavement, and of the ffty-three
miles of wooden pavement laid in Washington
there were $4,000 square yards of it only of the
De Golyer pavement. There are 1.005.000
square yards of wooden pavement laid in Wash
ington, and $4,000 of it only was of this patent.
There are ten or twelve different kinds of wood
en- pavement in Washington, and only one
twelfth of this is of this kind, and the price of
this pavement was fixed by a Board of Engin-
GERS before Mr.. Parsons or | had word to say
on the subject 1t was only question which
of the two or three or ten pavements will YOU
adopt and / am here to-day to affirm that it
is the best wood pavement that was ever laid.
Now, do not believe much in wood pavements
as compared with concrete or some other forms
of payements, and this Board of Engineers
recommended concrete in preference to wood.
But what were the facts? There were thirty
two different streets in Washington along which
the people petitoned to have wooden pave
ment They preferred wood pavement. It was
cheaper than the asphaltum. They wanted
wood pavement, and the American people gen
orally believe in wood pavement and the ques-
ton was, if the people want the wood pave
ment, 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 I had
when [ made the argument, certificates from
Chicago, ST. Louis, San Francisco and all the
other cities where the pavement was laid, that
it stood better than any wood pavement that
had ever been laid, and in the report of this
committee 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 the De Col
yer pavement, and thus far it stands well and
is in good condition" There is twice as much
of that pavement in Chicago to-day as there is
III Washington.
Now, will tell you another fact about it.
The testimony before this committee discloSes
the following That in the city of New York
they paid $3.50 to $3.50 per square yard. In
the city of Brooklyn they pay SIS per square
yard, and in the city of Baltimore for putting
down Nicolson pavement (Which is not SO ex-
pensive), they paid 81 per square yard. Now,
all the De GOlyer pavement put down in Wash
ington was put down at $3.50 per square yard
under this tariff of prices fixed by the Board of
Public Works upon the recommendation of the
Board of Engineers. Well, now, fellow-citi-
zens, who has raised this storm of criticism
about the De Golyer pavement? Who? Early
last winter several of us came to the conclu-
sion that the Board of Public Works was an
expensive machine; that it was costing the city
of Washington too much that 1t was overload
ing them with taxes, and that we were bound to
pay too much money out of the treasury to keep
up our end Of the business. But we set on foot
an inquiry into the cause of the large expendi-
ture and committee of investigation was APP
pointed, and they have published some 1900
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
a result of it we have abolished that form of
government and had the President appoint Com
missioners, and he disappointed Gov Dennison,
of our State, as one of them, to manage the af-
fairs Of the District of Columbia until winter.
That Committee of Investigation went over the
whole ground of this business in Washington
1t was a committee that had Senator Thurman
of this State on it for one Judge Jewett, of
Columbus, for another man, who is now Pres-
dent of the Erie railroad, both of them Demo-
Gratis of the strongest stamp. We had on from
the House, as Chairman of that Committee
Judge Wilson, of Indiana, one of the strongest
and ablest and best of our members. and they
went over this ground most thoroughly and Sc
verely. Mr.. Parsons went before that COM
mittee and told them all he knew about this
pavement told them what he knew of its merits,
and told them he and / 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
100 Democrats would have been exceedingly
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 nee,
but when asked about it said there was nothing
whatever In the case that reflected in the slight
est degree upon Mr.. Garfield. Nov, in the
midst of this tempest that was raised in the
gainesville teapot a few weeks ago. the Hon.
George w. Steele, of gainesville, wrote letter
to the committee who had charge of that in
vestigation and he wrote back the following
letter:
N CoNNERsvILLE Ind, Aug. l. 1874
The Hon. George w. Steele
DEAR SIR: To the request for information as to
whether or not the action of Gen. Garfield in con-
necion with the affairs of the District of Columbia
was the subject Of condemnation by the committee
that recently had those affairs under considerations
answer that it was not there, in my opin-
ion, any evidence that would have warranted any
favorable criticism upon his conduct
The facts disclosed by the evidence, far he is
concerned, are briefly theses
The Board of Public Works was considering the
question as to the kind of pavements that should be
laid. There contest as to the respective merits
of various wooden pavements. Mr.. Parsons repre-
sented, attorney, the De Golyer Il dcClelland
patents, and, being called away from Washington
about the time the hearing to be had before the