The San Francisco call., 1898-06-25

Yesterday was a bad day for Presi- dent Colnon of the Board of State liar bor Commissioners. He received a visit from members of the present Grand Jury.
 To speak more correctly, the visit was not paid to Commissioner Colnon personally, but to the new ferry depot building. The object of the visit was the inspection of the building for the purpose of ascertaining the details of the frauds by which the State has been robbed of more than $100,00o by means of the manipulation of contracts.
 No one but members of the Grand Jury was invited to be present at the Inspection, but during the course of the afternoon all of the Harbor Commis- sioners dropped in, one after the other. Supervising Architect Swain, whose of ficial approval has been given to all of the changes and various other kinds of jugglery that have resulted in such rich profits to favored contractors and such great loss to the State, also strolled in to see what was going on During the course of the afternoon he was joined by a majority of the em- ployes and petty officials in the employ of the board. None sought to intrude on the little band of jurors, but they hung about on the outskirts and kept a cautious eye on the proceedings that mean so much or so little to those who have been accused of being responsible for the tobbery that has marked every stage in the construction of the build ing.
 Those of the grand jurors who par ticipated in the investigation were Foreman M H. Hecht. J. D. Mckee, J. B. Stetson, J. J. Rich, Luke Battles, Samuel c. Irving and George A. Kohn About three hours and half were con- sumed in going over the building, and at the end of that time the jurors ex- pressed themselves as being firmly convinced that the apparent frauds were so numerous and so costly to the State that it would require several weeks of patient investigation to get at the facts and fix the responsibility on the proper persons.
 The ferry building is now almost com pleted, with the exception of the meg Zanine floor, which is to be left un- finished because the numerous raids that have been made by favored con- tractors on the treasury have exhausted the appropriation of $500, 900. The build ing presents an imposing exterior, and parts of the interior are sufficiently showy to catch the eye and elicit the admiration of the casual observer. From without the building seems to be. as it was intended to be, a monument to the wealth of a great State and the public spirit of her citizens. Yester- days investigation disclosed the fact that the monumental walls enclose nothing but gaudy sham that is a disgrace to the State and a reproach to the officials who are responsible for its existence.
 Access to the main floor is gained by a broad flight of steps f1anked by wainscoting of highly polished marble. At the head of the stairway one steps at once into the grand nave, the floor of which is paved with mosaic. In the floor the tiny blocks of stone, furnished by the contractor, form infrequent is- lands in the sea of cement, furnished by the State, in which they are set. The marble wainscoting observed on the stairs stretches away on both sides in polished elegance. Above this are brick walls, spotted and discolored, in place of the Roman pressed brick and tiling called for in the original plans and specifications and paid for by the State. Overhead the translucent glass in the skylights is cracked and broken, faulty construction having already be- gun to make itself apparent.
 Beyond the grand nave and running parallel with it is the waiting room, which extends from end to end of the lengthy building. Here are no marks of elegance. Cheap pine partitions and wainscoting appear in place of the polished oak contracted for and paid for by the State. Pine doors close the openings that were to have been closed with pretentious fireproof, steel shut ters. Above the wainscoting the walls are covered with sheets of galvanized iron, nailed to the studding like shin gles to a roof. The sheets of iron are buckled and billowy, because the con- tractor was allowed to evade the speci- fications of his contract and thereby effect a saving to himself in labor and material of something like $S000. At each end of the waiting room the walls, which are the end walls of the build ing, are built of common red brick of the kind of which chimneys are con- structed. The brick is covered with a coat of plaster, which in turn is cov- cred with a coat of paint. The State