New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-03-13
" GOING HIGHER" VAT TRENTON


|
something as to the prices charged for carpets Ss
| furnished the State. as compared WIN 'ie
prices paid by individuals
AN EXPERTS FIGURES on THE FtRNTTCk E'
Manager Mckee. Of the New-Jersey School
Furniture Company was the first witne IS called
| after the noon recess. He had made an eN-
| animation Of the furniture supplied TO the : ate
House by Mullins & Co. at the request OF MIR.
! Corbin.
Here. on February l. 1891 is an item to Lon
| Albeit IT, one desk. slC0; one chair. SIS What
is the ordinary retail price Of these articles?
asked Mr. Corbin -o
Q-Here oak desk for the President r of the
| Senate. charged $780, what Is 1t worth? A.-ih'rE
SHonc for his secretary. at so? A-Twen'y-
"HSre arr four special made desks, which cost
$500; what are they worth A.-Fofty dollars e"c"'
o-Here is a desk in the Controllers ONCE az
| sliSo A-That was worth So. IT,
| Q-Now. do the prices quoted by you admit OF
fair profit: A-They do .,...-. ,..o.,,o, =,
| Mullins bills in the State House? A-No. sir
| MIR Corbln took Mr.. Mckee through every office
| I'm the state House and in each he showed that
| the people had been robbed of thousands OF dol
lars.
GEN srRYKER COULDN'T APPROVE THE
PRICES
| The sensation of the day was produced when
Adutant- General ". 5. Stryker called to the
| wi,ncss-stlnd t. tell about the furnishing OF his
| of'c, with metallic or hreproof vaults by the old
| State House Commission. before FOrds time. In
answer To- questions General Stryker said:
was waited upon one day by Colonel Heppen-
hr,me- controller Of the Treasury who told me
| in the various vaults and advised to have them
| in my vault | had already arranged 10 have ma
| Mia boxes I'm my vault but as manila boxes might
burn ana as had military papers that covered
| a Wis "a mn %
boxes
| AFTER the boxes were put n "A bill was ex-
| hibted 10 you for your approval? remarked
! Mr.. Corbin.
! is this tn, bin YOU wer- asked to approve"
| asked Mr. Corbin showing bill presented In
February. 1894. for t3.7l5 20.
THAT is the bin | received. and refused to
approve. because the price was exorbitant'
What occurred later
The Controller called and asked m why !
refused 10 sign the I'LL and answered that 1t
| was because considered the price "Xorbitant.
! he said that was FOR the commission 10 decide.
and that /, my duty 10 sgn the bill II
! the goods were So ordered
| And you signed it,
II did said the Adiutant.General. SLOWLY.
'as o. the correctness ~ the fact that the goods
| rs charged We're received, but not as I" cor
Thr bll was approved as correct 10y Gov
| .rnor Nrrts Controller Ii"pp"nheimcr, Ir'as
/ ur.r GRAY S.UrctArl Kelsey ana W. q. biu-
| ward Another bill ~ t}G2. for steel cabinet
| b. objected to. and approved In IN" same man
| nor aa the former.
| colonel : Meredith Dickinson. chief clerk In
| th. Chanccry Once. was called next lie told
! ~ fsc csbsnct nles furnished his Office hy the
! DICK Company. ~ Chicago. lie ia not approve
| - NJ glcs but when told by IN" '"ntrpllrT
| fht, All tho departments did. h" mad" no fur-
! Their al lection Nj. Corhiu produced voucher
fo- ). ~ Go. and asked Mr. Dickinson - iden-
MS H.
= approved It correct 10 the goods re-
,eived but refused to approve ~ III" price.
aid d.. witness. 'bccaus" / considered It ok
TN total charge for boxes in tho Chanc"ry
! Clerks office was $500
colonel Dickinson and General Stryk"r were
commended by Chairman voorhees, for their
cours. and were excused
ovERcHARdEs IN METALLIC VAULTS
The next witness called was Henry NJ R'os.
! - phlalelphia. who testified that he had been
in The metal furnishing business since 1881. He
Sold Z. the state - Ncw-Jersev the first metal
| nles ever used herej Mr. Boos had lttcd up tn"
supreme Cour, Clerks Office with metallic boxes
| and drawers As an expert h" mad examiner
the vaults In every department OF me state
| house las, Friday and had made his calculations
| "a :, what they could be- furnished for me
vault IN the Controllers Office could be tur
nishcd for Sll5O. Mr.. Boos said. me state PAID
| 81 oG4 81 TIL trcasurcrs vault cost 32Ns' 90; II
! could be- purchased for ta36 81. Thr one IN the
, Adtntnni Generals office cost Ao2l 20: II could
| be furnished for 1854 p. Thu vault IN me
|
bought for 81 500 -.
| = @ ny Mr. Corbin,-po YOU remember when
| t.oIcnei " G. IcppenheimA~ came INTO Office IN
''s q e. yo "a remember \ II DICK coming to New
| r.,s.y AMI securing a contract Tor hitting up the
| v,u,,s You have examined. I'm N" ana 1871 A.
o. o. What IS the result Of your examination OF the
cost u nttng he faults IN he state House?
,b,s wonld have made a profit Of % l-3 per cent
11,c ,,,4 Ty to- IN. Stat. was sh.A7 IS
| O-po y0u member anything about the award
| .,ff ne Colonel Hrppenhelm"r. y
was In Ch'cngo and met A. ' horm,n " tn~
T r"r AMI that he ana colonc. Hcpp ,nhcm,r
werc friends He wanted me 10 allow Dick 70 sell
| low him do 80. upon condition that | be given
10 per cent Of the gross receipts This agreed.
he wanted TO charge through C lionel II PIP nhe(Tcr
after the Offices had been fitted up and sued the
| company in Philadelphia.
Here Mr.. C)rbIn produced an answer To Mr..
| Booss sult in the Common Pleas Court. Phadel-
phia. sworn to 10y II. J Hoffman. Of the firm.
who sold the goods the state. In this answer
| the firm denied under oath that they had re-
ceved $4,000 for the work the price paid 10y tha
all except one oirce amounted to only u.li7.
| What became OF the other $4,000. then Mr..
Corhin; car YOU tell us that" asked Chairman
| VOORHEES, The lawyer could not answe.
Ar. Corhin showed from the files In the Con-
trollers Office and the minutes Of the State
| house Commission that the steel ixings were
| put In the various vaults without any bids be-
| ing receivedf and also that the Governor had
| approved the eXorbtant bills. although they
| were not as much verified by an affidavit OF
| the person selling the goods.
| MCLLINsS MISSING LEDGER PRODUCED.
Mr. Boos having been excused, John Mullins !
clerks arrived with the missing ledger He de-
clared that he could not find the four checks
Mr.. Murphy examined the personal ledger and
soon found the accounts. with the stubs of tho
missing checks referred to. They all mad,
out to Mullins n CO. and curiously enough. Were
deposited In bank to the credit Of Mullins & Co.
and there the cash disappeared. Another strik-
ing coincidence discovered by Mr.. Corbin was
tt"t IN" checks were given just after State
bill had been paid, and when figured out tho
amount on the stub Of the check and In tbs
personal ledger would make about 10 per cent o
| The nmOunt % tho Din pad by the State. Al