The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-11-23

to Mayor Baileys administration. Mr..
Goldberg came TO my Office one day and
said he was unable to get his license
this year; that Mayor Connell was will
ing. but the street commissioner was
not. and he wanted to retain ule 70 see
II could not get Mr.. Kinsley to grant
the license. l met Mr.. Kinsley the next
day going down to the city and rode
with him in his buggy. We talked
about the lunch wagon license and he
said he was opposed to granting 1t and
understood the incoming administra-
ton was also opposed to 1t.
This, I think, was week before
Mayor Bailey's inauguration. l met
Mr.. Burros and told him what Kinsley
said. The very day that Mayor Bailey
was inaugurated Messrs. Goldberg and
Burros came to our Office and were
anxious that / should go at once and
see the mayor and street commission
er. / went to see the mayor and Mr..
Kinsley both and the mayor told me
that a number of the restaurant keep
ers. who kept their places open all
night, had spoken to him and urged him
not to grant the lunch wagons IL
cense Up to that time Mr.. Burros
told me that he wanted license for
only one wagon, and after two or three
interviews with the mayor and street
commissioner | told Mr.. Burros I could
get him a license for his wagon and
asked him where he wanted 1t sta
toned.
! NOTHING SAID ABOUT PAY.
so far there had been nothing said
about what he was to pay me. / had
not asked. and he never told me. But,
then, he said 1t wasn't one, but four Ii
censes he wanted, and l told him l
thought it would be impossible to get
them. He then made the following
proposition to me: He said II l could
get q license for four wagons for him,
one on Franklin avenue at the Valley
house, one on Penn avenue opposite
Samters, one on Lackawanna avenue
opposite the First National bank. and
one on the corner of Main and Lafayette
streets, Hyde Park, that he would give
me $500; that's Goldberg's own state
ment, and I was to get him the licenses
and see that nobody else got a license.
Il Informed him | could not guaran-
tee any monopoly of lunch wagons, and
didn't believe i could get four licenses
for him. To this he replied: Il think
you can get those licenses. ] am in
formed that your partner Mr.. Watson.
is a very good friend of the mayor, and
I believe you can get them ii you try
hard
Il told him to call in few days. I
then spoke to Mr.. Watson again about
it, having spoken to him a number of
times before, and told him to go and
see the mayor and l saw Mr.. Kinsley.
After a number of visits running over
week or ten days, during which time
Mr.. Goldberg or Burros, one or both of
them were in our office every day and
were very anxious to know how we
were getting along | was able to tell
them that we finally succeeded in get
ting the street commissioner and mayor
to grant the four licenses. but the sta
tion of the Penn avenue wagon was
changed to the court where ii stood
last year, and with the provision that
If complaints should be made against
the wagons they should be moved to
some other places.
BROUGHT A BLANK CHECK.
"They brought the check up; it was q
blank check, and l sat down to i'll 1t
out for $500 Mr. Goldberg told me to
fill 1t out for $3.50, as they wanted me to
pay the license fees. which. they
thought, were $3.50 apiece. l filled out
the check and got 1t cashed the second
day afterward. l got the four permits
and when / paid for them they were
only S. apiece. When / gave Mr.. Gold
berg the permits / returned $50 in cash
to him. l agreed with him at that time
that would do what could to prevent
any other lunch wagon licenses from
being granted. told him l didn't think
there would be any more granted: that
| the department was opposed to II, and
1 felt that they considered these four
enough for the city.
II also agreed to defend him in any
suits which might he brought against
him by parties who might arrest him.
There was also rumor at that time
that an ordinance would be introduced
in councils to abolish the lunch wagons,
and ! promised him l would do what
could to prevent any interference with
his license If such were possible. either
by getting his license exempted from
the force of the ordinance if it would
be impossible to prevent 1t from being
| passed. Since that time have defend
| ed Messrs. Goldberg & Burros in a suit
and there is suit pending against them
now for keeping their lunch wagon
Notwithstanding their license, in which
/ am their attorney.
ABOUT THE GUARANTEE.
Mr. Goldberg is correct in stating
that he wanted me to guarantee that
there would be no other licenses grant
ed. He Is also correct in his statement
that / refused to do 1t, because. | told
him. / could not control the depart
ments. l never heard any dissatisfac-
ton or complaint about this transac-
ton until Mr.. kinsley granted IL
cense to man named Weisberg. Then
Mr.. Goldberg came into my office one
day. was very angry, and said ] ought
| to have prevented 1t from being grant
ed. I repeated again / could not have
done so, and that never agreed to do
! so.
Il heard nothing more about 1t until
! Friday of last week when Goldberg
and Burros come into my ONCE and they
| were very angry. They said the street
commissioner had granted a second Ii
cense to Weisberg, and they demanded
| should return some of the money they
had paid me. l told them I wouldn't
do anything Of the kind; that it was
a business transaction of their own
voluntary offer, and didn't see why I
should return any of the money. They
then said:
"'Well make it hot for you. Well
go ard tell Newcomb that this was
blood money you forced us to pay
II ordered them out of the office and
they left very angry. This man Finkle-
stein ! never saw to my knowledge.
| and never spoke to him at all or saw
him In my office. Mr., Goldberg was al
ways in company with his partner. Bur-
ros, or alone. So far as bringing let
ter to me from George Perigo is con-
cerned, II is absolutely false. They
never brought such n letter fIom him
to me. nor did l ever speak to rerigo
about license. Nor was any of the
money which Goldberg paid to me ever
received or used in any other manner
| than as fee for my services"
TWO WEEKS OF CRIMINAL. COURT.