Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1889-06-27
The q Street Rider.


constrained Messrs. yandsgritt, Ferguson
and Msull to break silence as to their
connection III the G street rider, though
Messrs. Var iegrift and Ferguson, the
latter with unnecessary guinness, refused
to appear and testify under oath before
the Council committee. This is the more
10 be regretted, as Senator Ferguson's
statement fails to harmonizs with the
sworn testimony taken by that commit
tee. As to Mr.. Maull, we are mot aware
that he was asked to appear and testify,
Binoe il was not known until late in the
Investigation that he had written the
rider. But Mr.. Maull says that, as chair
man Of the committee on municipal cor
porations, he reported the bill fsvorably
to the House with the amend
ment" and gave ii no further attention.
he says that he himself approved of the
rider-which 10 pretty clearly indicated
by Its being in his handwriting does
not state whether he consulted with his
fellow members Of the committee regard
ing it. Mr.. Armstrong, who took charge
OF tbs bill in the House and therefore
had reason to be more directly interested
in its course than any other member, has
testified under oath that no amendment
whatever was offered to the bill, and the
endorsements Of Clerk Gum, on the back
of the bill, bear ont Mr.. Armstrong; tes-
timony. This does not necessarily con-
fict with Mr.. Maulrs statement that he
reported the bill with amendment; but 1t
does make it reasonably clear that the
amendment was overlooked or suppressed
when the bill was called up by Mr.. Arm
strong for its third reading, and, there
fore, that the amendment did net come
before the House for adoption and
formed no part of the bill as passed by
that body.
Turning nov to Senator Ferguson's
statement, the discrepancy Of testimony
is even more apparent. At the time the
alleged amendments were CONQUERED in
by the Senate. Msssrs. Donahoe, Crossan
and Ferguson we're in the House, dis
oussing with the conferrees of that body
the county commissioners bill. So that
it would have been within Mr.. Fergu-
sons knowledge that Mr.. Donahoe
could not have moved for the
5enate's concurrence in his absence,
since they were jointly absent on
the same committee of conference.
In addition to which Mr.. Donahoe has
sworn that he did not call the bill up.
and it was universally known that his
opposition to the purpose of this rider
was so marked that he would have been
the last man in that body to have favored
its adoption. Mr.. Ferguson Gays that
Speaker Lewis told him Senator Dona-
hoe called tho bill up land that he (the
speaker) stated when the bill was called
~ thst ere qrrardmsrt wee 90 re~sSl
chapter 159, volume GEll4, and 'sG! ,t
passed without dissenting vote ! put
Speaker Lewis testified before the Co1n-
oil committee that he did not know who
called the bill up OF that time.
In view of this tspgle, il may not be
out Of place to ask Senator Ferguson il
he has any objection to stating what Yves
on that corn-colored slip OF paper which
Mr.. vsndegrift handed to him in the
House, as the conferrees were separating,
and which he, (Mr. Ferguson), forthwith
took into the Senate chamber and up to
Speaker Lewis desk?
EVERY EVENING does not imagine, as it
has said before, that the community at
large cares very much whether this fund
is controlled by the City Council or by
the Street and Sewer Department
whether it is deposited in the Union or
some other city bank; hut it has vital
interest in Learning whether this or any
other measure, irregularly or surrepti-
tiousiy Struggled through one branch OF
the Legislature, is entitled to be regarded
as an Act of the General Assembly. II
tsickery can succeed in one case it may
In another and in something Of much
greater public concern.