New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-14
OFFICIALS NOW SHOW PAPERS.
CHANGE IN TACTICS REGARDING THE BROOK
LYN WATER SCANDAL

CHANGE IN TACTICS REGARDING THE BRooh'
Lynn WATER SCANDAL
The officials who have been holding back the original
records of the connection between the water mains Of
The Long Island Water supply Company ana thos1 OF
the city OF Brooklyn decided TO change their tactics
YESTERDAY and the papers were displayed with The great
est anablnir When Mr. Hawkes. the water purveyor,
was seem T. said he had found the letter OF J0hn =.
Short the foreman, which had been misaid among
other papers. He had IL carefully pinned 10 the oay
record OF the same work and brought ont portioho
with tho daily reports for 1882 The letter Is TO al
appearances written by the same person who made out
tho daily report, aud Mr. shorts signature Is In a
different hand written with different pen ana TO all
appearances with different ink The Ink does nov
look particularly old. The daily record, however, tells
the story more plainly. 1t Is In folio with otler
daily records, some OF them made few days Deioro
and after this one which Is dated November l, 1hoo
The Others are written In ink which has turned To
dead black but this one which Is In the same mana
writing Is of rather pale green wellknown INK
manufacturer in New-York was asked by q ir'Duho
reporter how long the inks commonly used would re-
tain the blue or green tingc that they have wheb
fresh He answered that might retain IL rev
weeks or months, but that he had never seen one
OF the grecnish inks that did not become back lhsiuc
of q year. Commissioner Adams also exmDi'cu tne
letter Of Chief Engineer Nevins to Mr. Hawkes. ashhs
for tbe connection 1t was pinned to type-wi1tten
dated January IL and saying that he returned tse leu
ter OF Mr. Nevins which he had had since January :
for use I'm the motion of Zlegler against Chaplin Ihe
remarkable care taken that letter and lis travels now
contrast strangely with the lack Of knowledge about 10
hitherto.
Mr. Nevins's letter Is dated october 81, 1889, bnt
where the "21n is there has been erasure with a
penknife The writer had no doubt about the montn
or the year. The lette: is marked dictated, ana Is
written with "a pen. The signature is In the samo
handwriting as the body of the letter and has no per
under It, The letter is interesting In othcr way
The ink was never bloted ana In many places retslS
the lustre which unbotted ink has when first dry.
The ink manufacturer already referred to says tha'
only special Japan ink made to retain Its lustre ana
some few brands Of copying ink which are not com
monty used ever have that metallic ustre after rev
months II is evident that the letter was not written
hastily and blotted II done carefully and left TO
dry. No copy was made OF 1t, and no mention OF IL
made In the annual report
The letter is single sheet OF heavy paper, aoou'
eight by ten inches, and bears the heading OF tho
Fire Department There are two transverse fS ora
about third of the distance from the top and Dot
tom otherwise ii is not creased. The size d lno
sheet then when folded about eight by three
Inches and the only envelope 1t VIII ht Is ialEe
business envelope. 1t seems strange that single
sheet ettsN Aoud be put in an envelope large cnOugn
for a legal document. or even II II were tlat auer
being filed away for year it should SHOW no otner
creases nv a strange coincidence the folds OF Mr.
Jenks's letter. to which 1t Is pinned exactly CORE
snond TO IL.