New-York tribune., 1895-12-06
J. ]. PHELAN UNDER FIRE
HE sorJ1RMs AND wRIGGLEs WHILE MR.
TERRY TURNS THE SCREWS

DECLARES THAT THE INVESTIGATION is HYPo-
CRITICAL AND HAS COST THE CITY
THOUSANDS OF DoLLARs-INso-
LENT TO THE EXAMINERS.
rh. Commissioners OF Accounts devoted most
Of their investigating session yesterday TO an
effort to get some facts out OF James D. fhe'a'.
one OF the old Tammany Dock Commissioners and
treasurer of the Board for several years
After Phelan had been sworn. Commissioner
Terry began a rigid examination of the witness, IN
the course of which Phelan caused the Commis-
sioner considerable veXation by returning huiner-
Gus long and irrele, ant answers to the questions
put to him.
The Commissioner was compelled to put question
after question to Phelan before he secured the de-
sired information from the witness as TO where ne
lived and what his business was When some NJ
teen minutes had peen thus occupied Phelan nnaliy
came to the point and said that he was lhteres'ep
,n the Manhattan Storage Company the Hahse-
WORT Cold Storage Company, the Goode Cordase
Company and may others, just In time 10 save
himself from 'a scathing rebuke from Comms-
sIoner Terry; who fdgeting nervousy in his
chair. his patience well nigh exhausted
The Commissioner was not satisfied as yet' now
ever for the next question was:
Are you interested in dredging company:
NO"
Were you no. interested in the Panama Canal
Dredging"
Not since 1S9o
"were you treasurer Of the Dock Board?'
They so"
Don't you know?
II do"
when were you appointed Commissioner Of
Docks
June !. 1890"
And your term ceased?"
May. 1895"
The matter Of the treasurer's orders was then
taken up. ana the method of their issuance ex-
plainod. Commissioner Terry wanted to know how
4 was that Notwithstanding the fact that Powers
d CO. had underbid A. j. Murray by S2SS on pile
contract the latter got the job
Was not Murray officer in your poiifical Or
ganizaton?" asked the Commission er
What is my political organization|
According 10 your testimony it is Tammany
Hall
How did you learn that
Mr. Terry did not answer, and further asked:
''Nho is MIR Murray
Il don't know him-never met him.
"Do you think you were saving the city money by
awarding this contract TO Murray
..yes Y,u ought TO know ali about that. You
have investigated it-ths whole investigation is
hypocritical"
do YOU think you were throwing away the citys
money ..
NO This investigation has thrown away sloV""
OF the city's money.
THE WITNESS GROWS PROFANE.
Comroissioner Terry then got to the question as
10 how the bids opened.
They were always opened publicly was the
answer.
Gould the public examine them?'
That depends. l would not allow ever! uahnieo
joafer TO examine tnem.
DO YOU regard Charles Du Bols as d Ioaiei'
He might have made himself 81 ch
The matte, Of several of the Du Bois bids was
then taken up the prices quoted as made by theH
and the erssures of these bids by means of acids
the contracts going finally to the MOTIFS q Cu'"
ming Dredging Company
III appears that the city paid FOR forty-two
scows but that only thirty-two went TO sea?
.-They all went 10 sea: perhaps the tickets were
lost"
But Lieutenant Delehanty says that was impos-
sbie."
What does he know
know James D. Leary?
"Oh yes. paid MIN over slV'oV"
"Did he give you any Of that money PACK!
- nove, received a dollar from him in my iife.
.Tid YOU know acids were used TO change BIDS?
"Oh. that's chestnut. 1t was used pefore
went in tho Board"
aids hv Du Bos Graves e. Steers and others
were then taken up. and in each case MI. Pheiaa
said: "Oh. they could not live up to the pids rrst
made; sometimes they could not furnish the stuff
and so on.
II then developed that when Mr.. Greene. the chief
engineer went 70 Phelan with check for cam
| paign purposes he told to take it to Tammany
] Hall.
Later when asked whether or not Mr. Croker
had ever spoken TO him regarding discharging
Greene who he said getting old. and substitut-
ing a Younger mana man named Lasner-Phe!an
said that Nj Croker had suggested such thing to
him "But Green" he added was not discharged
The stenographic reports Of the Boards meetings
were then taken up. ard the witness was ques-
toned as to his references TO Croker Carroll Sti'-
nngs and Plunkitt OF the time appointments were
made
.Oh. those were only pleasantries between us
Sometimes they bluffs made against my
Mi cram and Mr. White testified that they
each made third Of the appointments Did you
Il never made any appointments the Board made
"But you named them?'
al Mr. Croker's suggestion?
"I}ut these stenosraphic reports say SO!
'Who the stenographer-"a
Ana YOU paid him 5000 year?"
win you swear you never used Mr.. Crokers
name in suggesting PERSONS appointment?
HUMOROUS MINUTES.
NO: II was merely pleasantly by Mr.. Cram.
Yon see Judge White was sedate, l was morose'
and Cram was only enlivenins things UP bit
The Riker's Island crib next taken up. ana
Phelan said that the crib never built with any
idea Of permanency. lie said II served its pur-
But we have had it examined by Mr.. Klein. and
he reports that it is unable TO hold itself up
yes: YOU had il examined by an engineer who
was inco;nDete1t-a man discharged by our Board"
You iie" shouted Engineer Klein. from the rear
How do you know he discharged"
From hearsay.
was he not employed by your Board
Did he not resign Of his wi?"
Il don't know. He had some trouple WIN the