The San Francisco call., 1896-05-28
Proceedings Against Assessor
Siebe in the Superior
Court.
THE WALLACE ASSESSMENT.
D d the Judge Make Affidavit That
His Personal Property Was Worth
Only $1,000?

matter of fact way IN the testimony of
George 7. Folsom, accountant of the road,
that $10,000,000 had been ADDED to the
capital stock simply to make the books
balance and to account for the issuance of
the extra ten millions in bonds 1t was
also admitted that dividends were paid on
this ten millions of imaginary security.
E. Black Ryan has proved thus far the
cleyerest of all the witnesses on behalf of
the railroad company. He has q most
remarkable memory. which instantly for
gets every fact that might come into con-
fict with the interest of his employers
and which remembers instantly, positively
and in detail whatever might inure TO the
benefit of the corporation served by him.
Mr.. Ryan is a small, wiry man, with
Missouri goatee and an air of Yankee
shrewdness. Mr.. Clun,e did not get much
out of him yesterday. The witness did
not seem in the least hurried by the ques-
tions put to him and answered some
directly and others by saying that he for
got or did not remember.
Mr.. Ryan was .he first witness yester-
day morning, and said that in the state
ment he had presented to the Assessor he
had placed the value of the franchise at
81, ,325, 600, but he was unable to say upon
what basis of calculation that sum was OBJ
tanned. He had put it down as general
lump sum, he said.
In making his estimate of the value of
the road Mr.. Ryan did not include the
cost OF construction. He took into con-
sideration the roadbeds and ways.
"What inquiries did you make concern
ing the value of this property?" asked Mr..
Clunie.
Mr.. Ryan replied that he did not know
whether he had made any; that he had
forgotten. He said in answer to another
question that he supposed he had been
appointed to his position in the railroad
company because he looked sharply after
the assessments and did what he could to
prevent them being made too high. AS to
the manner of his obtaining the appoint
1nent all that he knew was that he fell
into the place.
The symptoms of paresis so alarmingly
observable in Secretary Willcutt's de-
meanor on the day before had vanished
and ne informed the court that from Octo-
Der, 1898, to December of the next year the
gross earnings of the com bined companies
were $500, ,S78 %. In 1894 the gross earn
ings were $2,958, ,436 IA, with 81, ,920. 2S6 20
operating expenses, $21, ,934 Y and $23 500
taxes and $44, 600 for sinking fund.
George T. Folsom, accountant of the
road, came on the stand with an armful of
books. Mr.. Folsom is an affabIe gentle
man and gave his testimony behind per-
petual smile. He knew nothing except
what was in his books. He supplemented
Secretary Willcutt's testimony with the
statement that the further sum of $452,-
633 "a should be deducted from the earn
ings of 1894 for interest on large sums bor-
rowed for construction. There was also
an item of $24 $50 loss in the sale of car
horses after the consolidation. He admit
ted also that he had in his Office invento-
ries of the property of all the companies
as the property stood before the consolida-
tion. These inventories he promised to
bring into court to-day.
This statement caused some surprise, as
Secretary Willcutt had testified on the
stand the day before that he did not know
of any inventories.
Mr. Folsom explained that the new is
sue of SIT 500 900 bonds covered all the in
debtedness of the companies which en-
tered into the consolidation. The original
debt was $1,000 900. Those bonds sold at
prices ranging from 50 cents to 81 O5. The
only ones sold below par were $50 to
Charles F. Crocker, 25 to II. E. Hunting
ton and 25 to NJ. T. Smith.
Mr.. Clunie asked the witness whether
he did not know that, prior to the sale of
the bonds at 95 cents, 1. w. Hellman had
made contract to take the whole ST., ,OO0,-
600 issue at par.
The witness consulted his books and re-
piled that 81, 100000 worth of bonds had
been sold at 81 05 and $2O0, 900 at 95 cents,
but he regretted to say that his books
did not reveal the names of the purchas-
ers. 1t was possible, he explained, with a
smile whose frankness raised the tempera-
ture several degrees, that those names
might be found in the books of some
other official of the railroad company.
He had an idea, of course, but it was
only an impression, and he would not be
willing to swear to it. In fact-and here
the childllke and bland smile lighted up
Mr.. Folsom face again--he would not be
willing TO swear that he knew who was
the president of the road. He had a vague
mpression-something akin to intuition
that Charles f. Crocker was the president,
but he could not swear to it.
Then Mr.. Folsom went on to explain
that as soon as a cable road was displaced
by an electric road the capital invested in
the cable road Immediately disappeared,
and he attempted to create the impression
that the railroad people made this change
simply for the accommodation of the pub
lie. and not for the purpose of increasing
their revenue. Mr.. Clunie, however, by
his pertinacity in demanding facts, drew
out of the witness the admission that all
changes in the roads were made for the
purpose Of increasing the revenues of the
corporation. In other words, that corpor-
alton, although devoid of souls, were
human IN their desire to accumulate
wealth.
"But," added Mr.. Folsom dolefully in
speaking of the change of horsecar roads