Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-10-29
Attorney Bradford Has a
Little Project
T0SAVE SHOWING THE RECEIPTS
Pick Out Names and We'll
Show a Receipt for Them"
a Novel Method of Comparison--why
DO the Republicans Hold Back the
Receipts?--The Republicans Vote to
Carry Into Eject MIR. Bradford's Tax
Receipt Conccaiment Trick.


the county money in the pending Levy
Court examination of the accounts of
ex-Tax Collectors Mckee and Dough-
erty is not to be done, Notwithstanding
the promises of the Republican mem.
bers OF the committee who constitute
its majority that the tax receipts would
eventually be produced and compared
in public.
The committee reached this deter
mination upon the suggestion of the
court attorney, L, G. Bradford, Esq.
This was done in the face of the open
statement, made just the moment be-
fore by Chairman Hutchison (liepub-
lican), that the present moment (yester-
day week while the Fifth ward list
was being gone through with is a
proper and suitable moment for pro
ducing the tax receipts and for COM
pairing them with list No. 3. 1t must bo
remembered that the other Republican
members tacitly agreed with the chair
man. The only Democrat present, Mr.
Hickman, was, of course, greatly pleased
at what he recognized as an instance of
ingenious. dealing on the part of his
fellow committeeman, and was only de-
lighted that his daily demanded re-
quest, a standing request made and in
sisted ON from the first hour of the in
ception of the investigation, was about
TO he realized
rle was badly mistaken however for
Mr.. Bradford offered what he called
suggestion" really well defined and
matured plan, as described from his own
hours long speech, in which he
described quite graphically how this
plan or suggestion had matured in his
mind as fair and equal substitute for
the production of all the receipts now
in the possession of Messrs. Stewart,
Bach and Mahaffy, or their agents
Mr.. Bradford's excuse for offering
this suggestion which has been adopted
and which now forever precludes the
possibility of the public seeing them or
of knowing anything about them was
in effect that some of them are not in
the hands of the purchasers and there
fore any comparison made with those
producible would afford an incomplete
examination.
10 this, Mr. Hickman very tersely
replied, that the tax receipts in hand
should be produced and compared, and
as for the small remainder let the
buyers account to the committee for
them. They could not be unwilling to
.tify again to each one of those given
at that it had been given out, thus
identifying it, which is just the work
the. committee is expected by the public
to 20, viz, to account for each receipt as
sworn to on list No 3.
This is the information people want
as it is part and parcel, the actual and
only guarantee that the money in sever
atty and in total alleged to belong to the
county does belong to the county.
AS the testimony stands now the com
mittee is in possession, officially, If no
evidence that $4,000 or SO was paid by
certain Republicans to the ex-tax col
lectors for county purposes outside Of
the receipt for $1,500-the tax receipts
have not been produced. And there is
the rub.
The receipt Of Mckee and Dougherty
has been produced, in testimony, for
$1,000, but no other receipt, bearing the
collectors names, and indicating in any
technical way, acceptable as evidence in
court that the remaining S2,400 hal
been paid for county purposes. The
balance drawn by Mr.. Stewart in check
from bank making up the S2,400 is not
looked upon by the minority members
OF the committee as evidence that the
money was intended to be paid over to
the county while the tax receipts which
are alleged to represent them directly do
and therefore should be produced as the
evidence and the only evidence properly
representable.
Why are not the other receipts bear
ing the collectors names brought for
ward and planked down as the straight
substantial evidence Of cash exchange
or payment? AS it is they are not. The
committee intended yesterday week
to produce them and place them in evil
dence. But they went home last night
after passing resolution drawn up by
Mr.. Bradford with the determination
that it is not necessary to produce the
tax receipts informally in their possess
sion and producible before the citizens
of New Castle county with the stamp
and signatures of Mckee and DouGhcrty
--producible by a slight not OF the
chairman's once willing head.
Late in the afternoon Mr.. Bradford
appeared before the committee and made
the following address:
: would state, as attorney for the Levy
Court, but more particularly for this com
what ought to be done in the further in
vestigation of the Mckee case and also
what ought to be done at the proper time
to complete the investigation of the
Dougherty case. You will rccollect that it
has already been shown by witnesses,
against whose evidence no testimony what
over has been offered that an understand
ing was reached between Messrs. Mckee
and Dougherty and certain gentlemen on
behalf of the Republican party in the city
of Wilmington as to the payment and re-
ceipt of taxes, and that understanding
was, in short, that the collectors were to
furnish q list of the names of all the
persons who had failed to pay their taxes
and who, presumably, would fail
TO pay their taxes. in order that list
might be prepared of Republican taxables,
for whom these gentlemen, on behalf of
the Republican party, desired to make pay
ment Of taxes. You will recollect that IL
was proved, without any evidence to the
contrary, that a list was furnished by the
collectors, which list was copied and ON
the copy the letter "Rp was placed oppo-
site the names of all the Republican tax
ables, asd that from that copy of the
original list furnished by the collectors, a
third list was made, known as list No. 3,
which embraced only the names opposite
70 which the letter "R" had been written.
You will recollect the testimony of Messrs.
Stewart. Bach and Mahaify that setsiu.1ert
was made upon the basis of list No. 3, and !
that, whatever may have been the clerical
errors or discrepancies in amount, they
supposed at the slime that settlement was
snasade strictly on that basis.
Tou will further rseailect that these