New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-07-06


the rock was all right was entirely unjustifablc.
"Then IL this change entails on extra EXPENSE
Of sl,oOo,Ooo on the city, you would shy tnas
the taxpayers bcing cheated out OF that amouno
would you not?' asked MIR. Boardman. -.
That is rather singular way 10 put ~, ~,
replied the General" deem proper sm mIsc
masonry in good places and did not know thar
II was s. used until this committee revealed the
fact. l do not desire to say that IL was ln'cn-
tionally concealed from me-
At the meeting when this change was author
lied President Spencer was ao.rns as wv r"t
In any sense responsible for the engineering WORK
Of tic Aqucduct except as any other COMMISSIONS
was If any engineering problem came u" ' da s ne
but his own department was too important TO per.
nit him giving much time 10 anything OUTSIDE OF
It, lie much SURPRISED nj inc aaopu" y; - ~. y.
hubble work and particularly wen ~ WIS su1 10
have been done against the ADVICE OF Onici Ell
MI Nicoll asked il the witness had not attended
the meeting next succeeding the one at which the
resolution authorizing the rubble work was adopt
ed General Newton answered In the affirmative,
but explained that while he heard tnf heso ~ hoa
read from the minutes the letter explaining u mao
not been seen by him until some time altcrWaru.
hence the real significance Of the motion was NOT
Apparcnt to him. Ilc did not agree with Judge
Iacombe that the Commission should ADOPT no
formal rule for measurements
Had the Judge been an engineer instead OF
lawyer remarked the witness, be could have ad
vised the formulation OF precise rule
He did not see how the contractors could demand
Che extra eight inches mentioned, and he was not
nware that they were being paid for such space
They might as well claim everything. The con-
tract in his opinion, was perfectly clear and ex-
plict. It needed no one to interpret lts meaning
Referring TO the completion of the work he sald
II would probably he five or six years DeIore wncr
would be flowing through the great tunnel Inc
Quaker Bridge Dam, which would hold the prlnc'-
bal storage reservoir had not yet been begun; The
dnlo IN ri 70 xv0e n
position to its construction offered by u fotter'
Mr. Webb and Others ,.
testimony of Mr.. Lyon. of the Controllers ONCE;
who testified that the contractors were being pald
uniformly for eight inches OF extra eXcavatlon.
The witness supposed such payments were made IN
accordance with the advice of Incorporation
Counsel O'Bricn. There no such opinion, how
ever, in the Controllers office, at least no one
could find it, Hc understood that Mr. O'Brlen had
made on a basis of typical cross-secton, showing
o uniform allowance of eight inches.
GENERAL NEWTON EXPLAINS SOME REMARKS
After recess Senator Fassett took General New
ton to task for some statements that he had made
in an interview about the methods and motives OF
the Committee
Do you know General" asked Mr.. Fassett,
"whcn this committee has examined any improper
Witnesses
o-Do you know OF q single instance where the comit-
has refused allow to testify who desired to
do So Al cannot say that do.
Q.-Thcn is 1t fair to say you have said that we
have advanced sided it right ana proper
to pass judgment until the committee has completed Its
labors? A.-Terhaps not, but what said was pred-
Gated what had heard about soreheads being cult
waited by committee But desire to say here that
In all 1 sad had intention OF rejecting upon the
motives Of the committee
Mr.. Fassett wanted to know il there was any
legal or ethical objection to accepting the testl-
mony OF any witness, whether a "sorehead' or
not. General Newton thought there was
o.-DA you know when you gave that interview that
Judge Spencer had been before the committee twice
A.-No, did not.
o.-Dh you know that Commissioner Fish had been
allowed To crosscxaminc witnesscsi Al did not
o.-Then you said what you did saw with an imperfect
knowledge OF facts, did you not? Al did not have
perfect knowledge certainly.
The Senator asked il there were any
examined. General Newton said that he
on s the ssn the cet
his assistants and all the division engineers In
fact, he would make out list OF men to summon;
And If the committee summons these men,
remarked the chairman, Your charges fall to
the ground ~ .,,.s a., cono,.,
The witnesses, he was informed, would be called
Speaking of the Committee on constructor,
which includes all the members OF the Aqueduct
Board, Mr. Fassett wanted to know If it and the
Jclyl and Mr.. Hyde, without saying which IS
the Doctor The witness thought the case might
A fair price for rubble work was 50 or 81 a
yard. The contractors get so Ihere were ot
present, he said, no official plans for the Quaker
Bridge dam in existence special committee
of engineers was celebrating whether curved or
straight dam would be the more desirable. inc
witness thought the dam would cost so'UoOoOV
or $4,000 600, that is according to the estimates
Until this dam should be completed; new ofN
would not get the full benefit of the Aqueduct.
TIE EXTRA PAYMENTS NOT WARRANTED
judge E. Henry Lacombe, notebook in hand,
took the stand. lie was Corporation Counsel from
June, 1884, to 1SS7. On Saturday preceding Feb
ruary Is, 1887, he gave opinion that the
line A A \ fixed the boundary within which the
contractors were to be paid for excavatlng, except
larly by the Chief Engineer The contract IN all
eases was sufficiently specific lie read ms Ict'ef
TO General Newton There was morning III any s or
the extra eight inches excavation.
Judge Morgan j. OBrien followed Judge La;
combc During the six months in which he held
The office Of Corporation Counsel he gave no written
opinions on the Agueduct contracts tic concur req
IN the views Of Judge Lac3mbc IN seppog for for
which the city should pay. He thought Jour
inches a fair allowance and if the contractors
felt that the city should stand its Interpretation
of the contracts. No settlement was erected, Dc
cause the contractors declined to settle on the
bnsis suggested. The witness was also certain
that he never gave opinion that would JUSTIFY
the payments now being made for extra eAcaVa-
tons oo,,aa
and Inc said the samc-that is he had given nc
opinion warrantng the payment for extra digging
The investigation will go on this morning. =.
Controller Myers was seen after the committee
had adjourned. He said that he had peld our
about $50 600 alleged, surprising that his prcde
ccssor. Mr.. Locw. had acted on the advice OF the
CORPORATION Counsel When he discovered that
there was no such opinion in existence he stopped
paymcnt until he should receive ADVICE on the
matter from Mr.. Bcekman.
En-. Controller Loew is out Of town.
yyyEsryGAT TING HE OLIVETTE DISASTER.
The United States Local Steamboat Inspector investi
eated Yesterday the accident In Newark Day on June 20
In which six persons their lives The steam launch
Ollveuc containing a party Of young men ana women
struck the end OF dyke and some OF the young womcf