The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1894-09-07
A ROTTEN BOROUGH.

Wholesale Indictments ae Kew Orleans
COuncIlmen Charged with Selling Their
Fotes-Many others Believed to be GuiItv
ARalnst Whom the Necessary Evidence
craid Not be secured-A ScathInS De-
huneIstiOn.
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. I.-After in.
dieting eleven members of the oity
council, including its president, and,
besides, the city engineer, the term of
the grand jury expired yesterday and
it Tas discharged by Judge Noise after
presenting a report which Is a most
sCathing denunciation of the crooked
hess rampant in the city hail and ex-
pains why several indictments which
were expected could not be found, ow-
ing to the inability to get evidence on
which conviction in the court would
be certain to follow.
The first subject treated Of Is the sale
of railroad franchises by the city eoun-
Gil for ridieulouslv low prices. An in
vestigation of the books of the New
Orleans Traction CO., which now owns
nearly all the street car lines of the
city, shows remarkable discrepancies.
For instance, there is the sale of the
extension of the franchise of the
New Orleans City & Lake railroad,
for which the city received $780,
600. The Traction company's books
show that $500, 900 was paid to Henry
Bier. the broker, for il, besides a com
mission of $50, 900. The books of Mr..
Bier do not show where the 500, 200
went to, and he could not produce his
ledger, as he said it had been lost.
The traction company's books show
the disappearance of S65, 900, which was
paid to Maurice j. Hart, who is the
manager of the Rosetta Gravel Co, and
who in generally supposed to have en-
gineered the railroad deal through the
council.
The gravel eompany's books do not
show any entries of these checks. AS
to contracts, the report refers to the
Jail contract and recites all the crook
edness connected with it.
A deal, which failed to go through,
I'm connection with this contract was
to have netted this official and the
members of the special committee of
the council $1,000.
Favored legislation in the interest of
a certain paving contractor is strongly
commented on, but there was no possi-
bility of getting at sufficient evidence
TO indict for bribery. The fact that
not one member of the city council re-
spOnded to the request of the grand
jury to assist in exposing the crooked
ness among their colleagues is cited,
and then the new garbage scheme is
treated to severe roast. Franchises
granted to the Illinois Central road are
shown to have been given regardless of
the public interests.
Two indictments for bribery accom-
panied the report. One was against
Councilman Dan A. Mayer and the
other against Alderman John NJ.
Clark. The former was charged with
feloniously and corruptly proposing to
receive bribe from Narcesse Lucas,
for steam boiler privilege in the saw
mill at the corner of Marais and st.
Ferdinand on December 6, 1892. The
consideration was $500.
The indictment against Clark was
for receiving bribe of S25 from w. NJ.
b. Vardell, clerk of the National Rice
Mill Engine Co., September ID, 1892,
for favOring an ordinance giving the
company permission to lay pipe from
its mill to the river. Mayer has been
indicted before. but this is the first in
dictment against Clark. He is the rep
resentative of the Ninth ward.