Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-09-03
how EaRDSLEY DID IT.
Testimony Taken by the Philadelphia Council
Committee.

Committee
The subcommittee Of city councils to investi-
gate the affairs of ex-City Treasurer Bardsley
met last night. A supplemental report by the
accountants appointed 10 examine into the
affairs Of Bardsley WAS submitted to the COM
mIttee. The report purports to show that
Bardsley i'll 1889 and 1890 received from the
magistrates appointed to collect delinquent
mercantile taxes s3l, sl1.S5. and S31 ,194 20,
respectively. From this money Bardsley re-
tanned each year %, $50 that he should have re-
turned to the state. Upon the stub Of Bards-
ley's check book under date of December 9,
1882 appears the item, Received from magis-
trates one-half Il, SIS" An entry on another
stub of the check book shows that 81 SIS re-
ceived from magistrates accounts was sent to
ii. y. Gratfin. Harrisburg. The H. y. Gratfn
alluded to in the report was a clerk III the audi
tor generals office at Harrisburg but he has
been dead about year and half. For the
year 1890 Bardsleys check book has the same
item of @1.515 from magistrates accounts and
@l.515 was again sent to Harrisburg, to whom
the stub does not show
The magistrates who collect delinquent state
taxes i'll Philadelphia are appointed by the city
treasurer. Nine magistrates were appointed
by Dardsley and the allegation of the r, port of
the experts is that he re tanned $3.50 out of each
OF the magistrates fees for the collection of
taxes These nine magistrates and their con-
stables were subp9naed before the committee
for the purpose of endeavoring to discover
whether there had been anv collision between
them and Bardsley in the matter OF dividing
tine fees. The testimony of the magistrates
was in effect that when they came to receive
their checks from Bardsley for the collection of
taxes he retained $3.50 from the constable fees
None of the magistrates ever received any sat-
isfaction from Bardsley when they asked him
why he retained this money, and from their
testimony none of them ever seems to have
made any great effort TO have done so. Some
of the magistrates testified that Bardsley bad
made their appointment as a collector of deiiu-
quent taxes conditional upon their employing
constable of his appointment All the magis-
trates testified that they never received any
benefit from their appointment.
All the constables examined denied any ar
rangement with Bardsley for division of their
fees or the payment OF any sum for their ap-
pointment- As III the case OF the maSi 5trates
none of the constables who were mulcte6 BY
Bardsley ever made any effort to find out why
he did so. but took what he gave them without
any question. The committee also endeavored
to find out in the course of the examination Of
the witnesses whether there Is any truth il the
charges brought against the mercantile APP
praisers by City Treasurer Wright that they
have padded the assessors lists with the names
OF fictitious OF dead persons. According to
the testimony of the eonst tables in the ma jority
Oh lne cases IN WHICH lney were given summons
to serve they found the persons whom they
sought.
William X. Park. chief engineer of the gas
bureau. was called and questioned regard
ing certain alleged transactions with Bards-
ley and W. ". Goodwin III the Philadel-
phia Gas and Improvement Company and
the United States Gas and Improvement
Company stock. The transaction which Chief
Park was called to testify upon was discovered
by tie expert accountants and was embodied
in report of theirs. The report purports to
show that Bardsley, Goodwin and Park went
into a stock deal in the above companys stock /;
that they first bought $1,000 worth of the
stock with money borrowed from different
banks and that Bardsley subsequently took up
these loans with city money. There is no rec
ord of 900 of this go, 900 ever having been
returned to the city treasury. Chief Park de-
MED emphatically that he had ever had any
stock dealings with Bardsley or owned share
of gas stock.