The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-06-20

Did you say that you wanted 10 go on record as opposed to asphalt pave ments?" "Yes. I said so then, and say so now"
 II have been acquainted with w, H. Mansfield for several years, l first met him when he was laying the tracks of the Fair Haven and Westville road. do not recollect that l ever told any of the Blakeslees that if they would give a ten years guarantee they cold do the work"
 "I never told N. w. Kendall that l would get him the job if he was the lowest bidder"
 Mir. Johnson then told what he saw on his trip.
 Alderman Hamilton-Why do not these things appear in your report. II did not think it necessary"
 Hamilton-The public would be inter ested and would like to know about it. MT. Johnson-And it is likely to to- morrow morning. The reporters are here and I think are doing their duty.
 Perhaps we would not have had this investigation" said the alderman,
 "Oh, yes we might" replied the com missioner, "as it was promised"
 Do you consider the Sicilian asphalt the better of the tWo?" "I do," 'On what did you base your opinion?"
 Upon the reports and observations in the United States, Canada and Europe"
 Why is it that the cities are not | using this Sicilian rock?" T did make suggestions to MT. Kelley as to changing the specifications and I did so for the purpose of laying down a rule for the mixing of the asphalt so that the company could not come back on the city and say that had we mixed l the pavement as we wanted to there | would not have been any difficulty" "The reason I voted for the highest 1 bidder was that the best interests of | the city be served. And at the end of ten years the city would have a better 1 pavement"
 l Commissioner McGann-We went to Boston because we had to make start somewhere and this was the first place suggested when the bid is for a ma terial which I consider better than the other I would give the contract to the | party which would lay the better pave ment even at higher price. We found some streets laid with Trinidad, of course but they were not in as good condition as we found the Sicilian Have known MT. Mansfield two years and have always found him a gentle | man.
 | Have talked with him about pave ments the same as other agents. He never visited my store to see me about the pavement question. We went to l New York as elsewhere looking to see what we could find in the way of street pavements laid in asphalt. 1 Tn all my travels I have not found a | pavement any better than our ma cadam roads.
 1 q believe the board of public works have carried out the order of the com mon council in this matter. We have | sometimes altered and amended an or der when we were advised by our city engineer that it is for the benefit of | the city That we do and we think We have the privilege"
 l Commissioner Hoyt-I never had any l talk with any of the members of the l board as to what we should do when the report of the special committee was read, I voted to give the contract to the Boston Asphalt company because l 1 believed that it was the best for the city. I base my opinion upon what l have read and seen.
 Commissioner States-In my opinion 1 if the matter was left to me I would not lay any kind of asphalt pavement. Our pavements if properly taken care ! of would be equal to any kind of pave ment we can lay I am on record as saving that with our material right at | hand we can lay a more permanent pavement I think asphalt a luxury and am not in favor of 1t.
 "Of course you find more Trinidad pavements because that was the first l kind laid. I voted for the contract be- cause I was confident that the commit | tee reported for the best kind of pave ment Am certain that l have done right and have followed the instruc- tions of the common council Johnson was not in favor of asphalt and now ia yors brick.
 "One commissioner was approach ed by a man who would give him 5000 if his company got the contract
 Another man told that if he had an old Jack knife to sell he could get $1,000 for it if he would use his influence to get his firm the contract"
 At t12:15 a. m. mutual well wishes and good nights were interchanged and the inuuring board, together with the gen tlemen who had been on the rack for four hours. went down the broad stair way and out into the street together. This ended the first session of the Ham iIt6n investigation. When the next one will be held is to be determined by that gentleman.