New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-05-30

,.r,,, many people at Washington ana else
where ar, beginning 10 inquire with something
,ho, closely resembles fcvcrish anN'ty WH"'
s,rf ~ q concern the Chicago Wrrrking ION
nan, is som. call il ihc Columbian salvage
r,nr,nv md indeed there may be two ais
,fnrt establishments for all We know; Dut III
or,lor to avoid confusion. and in the absence oil
my explicit information. we shall speak OF II
a. ,hc Chicago Wrccking Company, feeling tha'
hv this name. rs well as by any other IL VIII
,dorn and Illustrate our tale. We may not pe
ohi. ~ Identify the company exactly, but We
,-,, q, least Indicate what sort Of corporation
II il and expedite a pretty fair guess AT Inc
ro,ure Of It's pull with this Consecratcd ADMIN
istratiUn.
rh, reading public is aware that for some
,,,,,hs mast the work Of removing the FAR
,,ld,rys NJ Chicago has been In progress
spcculators have purchased these buildings
from their proper owners. and have taken 'h'''
To- nicces and transported the debris under such
stipulations as were prescribed by inc local "u
thnritics When II came TO the building when
contained the Government exhibit, however,
,h,r. seems to have been n delay. This was
all the more mysterious because the Secrcuh'!
~ the Treasury had appointed II special com
/ m
and had chosen for that purpose no less per
SON than Colonel q. O. Stealcy, OF hehtuchy'
lifelong intimate friend Of his, his private sec
Rotary while he was Speaker OF the House anu
~ oll times the able. alert though somewhat
erratc. Washington correspondent Oh INC
Iou,sville Couri,rJournal" Colonel Stealey
was already immersed in pubic duties h"''"s
hecn about a year before appointed to the re-
~ IN
tho mort Of Georgetown 0he westernmost sub
division OF Washington city; but he suaiheu
q noint in behalf OF the Administration, and at
once brought to bear In Its interest the great
business talent for which he is justly celebrated
| wherever known.
I, was Of course. only a coincidence that
| about the time Colonel Stealcy departed Tor
| chicago 70 hasten the sale OF the Government
exhibit building an agent OF the Governor Oh
Georgia arrived in Washington for the purpose
Of urging the Secretary Of the treasury 10 re-
rove that same building to Atlanta, where the
great Southern Industrial Exhibition Is 10 De
held next winter. 1t may be another and still
mara significant coincidence that some time
during the three OF four weeks following Colonel
| Stealcy's departure, and while representative
IIv,ncston Of Georgia, was daily comforting
! with the IrtsSury ohi'i"i' 40 w ''N
Of the building TO Atlanta, that wel-heahns
! CONGRESSMAN was astonishcd by the receipt Oh
mn offer from the Chicago WrecklnS Company
10 sell It TO the State of Georgia for SZoooo
And finally as the most pregnant ana peculiar
coincidence OF ALL II leaked out that In the MIDST
az ,bose negotiations between the Governor OF
Georgia and the Secretary Of the Treasury
Colonel o. o. Stealey, the Secretary's Intimate
annOintpu
had sold to certain parties in Chicago -presum
ably the aforesaid Wrecking Company-the
building in question for the sum OF S2,Soo.
The Hon Mr. Livingston has not yet recovered
altogether from his bewlldernent. but he Is De-
ginning I'm the lucid intervals between the long
fits Of coma to put two and two together. lie Is
asking himself how it happened that the Treas
rrv officials were negotiating with him for the
buIlding and at the same time telegraphng
Colonel Stealey to sell 1T III chicago Anu ne
Is furthermore guessing a little as TO what
would have become Of the profit on the transac
ton had the State OF Georgia purchased from
th. Chicago Wrecking Company at $4,000
propcrty which Colonel Stealcy, acting for the
Treasury Department and by Its authority, had
inst sold 10 that concern for 81. 500. As he gets
stronger and RECEIVERS the full use of his facul-
ties he will no doubt ask some further and more
searching questions, such, for instance, ms to
why he was never referred 10 Colonel Stealey
or told I'm the course Of these weeks OF almost
daily conference that Colonel Steaey was try
ing 10 sell the building; and perhaps, before
long he will have those conundrums solved 10
his enlightenment. II not to his satisfaction