The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-05-08

81
streets for the lowest bidder and thought
the full amount of the appropriation
| ought to be used.
"Do you know man by the name of
Murray who put in contract for cleaning
| the streetS?'
Can streets be swept for IS miller"
| "No, sir"
How much, in your Judgment, ought
II don't know. Pm no contractor, but
wouldn't do it for 81 mile. When we
received the opinion of the Corporation
Counsel that we could do the work with
out contract we decided to advertise to
make Safen
why was the contract the second time
awarded to Maillys"
| Witness did not answer, and Judge
Garretson then asked If he knew Stanley,
who was one of the bidders The reply
There is no such man."
why did you not award the contract to
Cook, who was a lower bidder than
Mailly?"
Because some property owners came
to the office and said Mailly was the only
man who could do the work.
MR.. WINFIELD TAKES HIM IN HAND.
| On crosse Examination by the Prosecutor
the witness said there was no reason that
| the contract should not have been given
to Cook, except that the Board of Finance
thought the contract ought to be given to
the man whose proposal was nearest to
| the amount of the appropriation.
| Prosecutor Winfield put Mr.. Kern
| through lively course of sprouts when
| he got down to the details of the street
cleaning contract.
you have said, believe" the Prose
cutor asked, "that the street could be
cleaned for $17 per miller"
II am not a practical contractor" was
! Kern's response.
"Mailly is practical contractor, and he
offered to do the cleaning for S17 per
mileo
"Mailly ought to know He's been
| foreman for all these contractors"
| Now, if the streets can be cleaned for
$17 per mile, why should you have paid
| Cook, doing the work between contracts,
at the rate of 500 per mile?n
! well, that was winter work. It's
| harder to clean the streets then. They
are frozen and hard brooms ain't of no
USE and it's worth more money"
"Cook did the work between the expira-
tion of an old contract and the making OF
a new one?"
| ''Yes, sir"
| 'Did you ever know new contract to
be made so as to begin with the fiscal
| year?n
"There's generally a delay of month
| or two"
During that time the work is done by
| days work."
| 'YeSn
'Now, isn't it the design of this delay,
secured through the medium of bogus
bids that require prolonged investigation,
and by making contracts that the Board
Of Finance will not approv,eE7isn't the de-
| sign of this delay to enable you to have
the work done by days work so as to put
money in the pocket of favored con-
tractors"
mo, sir; / hurried the making of the
contract along as fast as possible"
A QUESTION THAT STAGGERED.
Then Mr.. Winfield called the attention
of the big chief to the garbage removal
contract During the four months during
which there was no contract the Board
had paid w. R. Cook 81 400 Carey, who,
when Cook had succes sded in getting the
81, 400, received contract, had offered at
the beginning of the year to do the work
for $4,000 for the year. Yet when four
months of the year had expired the Board
| awarded the contract to do the work for
| the other eight months for $13, ,000. Mr.
Kern was asked to explain how this was.
The big chief was so muddled in his
answer that it was impossible to report it,
Finally Mr. Winfield tackled the making
of that famous combine.
"What influence" he asked, brought
you four men togetherW
"Well, Van Keuren had claimed the
right to change the committees" Kern re-
sponded. 1--WE claimed that he couldn't
do it, and they made me president and
let them make their own committees"
'tYou four made the claim about the
committees?"
"No. only three = Watt, Hilliard and
aWhat brought Reynolds to your"
II don't know"
'sWhat influence made you four vote
.xNfl
the other way?"
"They had no appointments, and they
wouldn't vote to pay the claims of our
men. That's all there is about that"
"Do you mean to say that there was no
arrangement bindingyou four to act to-
gether."
"No, we didn't agree to bind ourselves
to nothing"
"You got together to throw men out and
put others in?"
"oh, yes; we'd have an understanding
about it,"
HOW REYNOLDS GOT THERE.
"When you came to putting Reynolds,
pipe yard, that was part of the COM
81 asked Reynolds if he'd take it."
"Reynolds said he'd take it?''
eyes,
"It didn't require much forcing to in
duce n1m TO accept IL!
"Non
"He overcame his reluctance so far that
he voted for himself at the last?"
81 believe he did,"
"Well, now," was the Prosecutors cul-
minating question, 'do you know of any
arrangement by which the employees of
the Board were to divide up with you
four?"
81 do not"
MIR. REYNOLDS TESTIFIES
Ex-Commissioner Thomas Reynolds,
one of the defendants, testified that he
did not enter into any conspiracy with
Hilliard Watt and Kern to defraud the
city The payroll that Larkins, Smith
and Dooley's names were on in December
he voted for because he thought it cor
rect He saw Larkins at work once, but
did not see the others.
'The several pay rolls that are disputed,
Mr. Reynolds said he voted for, and that
he believed them to be correct. Many of
the men came to the office and applied for
their money He believed the Byrnes and
Drum claims were all right.
'sWhen you first went in the Board how
was the street cleaning done?'
at was done by days work, and have
always been in favor of it.
''You thought that to be the best plan to
expend the appropriations"
''Yes, sir; and did what could for it,
I did what could to have the work done
by day work, and not contract"
"Did you vote for Mailly, and why did
you vote for him?"
''I did; and / did it because the Mayor
said he would not sign a contract for so
low contract because it could not be