The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-12-23

THESE SCHOOL PIANOS
Committee Made It's Report
To the Board Of Educa-
ton Last Night.
SAYS THAT THERE WAS NO DEAL
Purchase Made In Best Inter-
est Of the City Mr..
Holmes to Act.

ton. to whom were entrusted the uuty
of investigating the charges concerning
the purchase of pianos for the pupilo
schools. presented their findings at last
nights meeting. In effect the report eS-
onerates the Purchasing COMMITTEES, ana
saws that the prices for the instruments
bought were not exorbitant- The report
was as follows
To the Members of the Board OF Educa-
ton of Jersey City
Gentlemen-The committee to wnom, Al
the last meeting, was referred the conI-
munication Of the Mayor to this Board,
dated December 6, 1898, presented Deceln-
Der S, 1925, regarding the recent purchase
of pianos for the new SCHOOLS, feSpsStAHi
" submit the following report:-,
On the evening of their appointment
the committee organized and outlined q
plan of Investigation IL was decluf0
that the work should be as fuii ana as
thorough as possible, and that, Il neces-
sary, matters not referred to IN the letter
of the Mayor, but closely related stnefelo
in common report, be inquired INTO.
The first meeting OF the committee Was
held on the morning. of SATURDAY, Decen-
Der 10, two days after its organization.
One member of the Furniture. committee,
Mr.. Mersheimer, was examined al lengtn
regarding the purchase OF the pianos, sl,s
methods pursued and reasons Therefor.
The committee then adjourned 10 meet
the following Monday
Mr.. Walter q. Holmes, because OF whose
statements the investigation had been IN
dertaken, on Monday morning through
his agent, sharply and discourteously set
his own time for meeting the eommlt,ee,
other member of the Furniture Committee
who was in the city, Mr.. higgins, 2 ma
jority Of this committee attended at the
place of business of Mr.. Holmes, and
there found him and his cOunse and q
stenographer. Mr.. Ho1mes was examined
at length by his counsel and a copy of
his testimony furnished to the commit
tee. That: copy is appended to this ie-
port.
bis testimony in substantiation thereof,
are, briefly, that no means were afforded
him or any one else to compete for me
pianos. and that he could furnish for
$500 the piano for which $3.50 had been
NOR morning Of pl Nose infS : Is. sa he day Of the
conference in the Mayors office, he in
structed his New York statesmen to pro
cure, at the warerooms in New York, a
Bush and Gerts. piano, such as had been
purchased for the schools. Mr.. O,Shea,
the salesman. reported to Mr.. Holmes that
Cd ed him. hun a q Price sdceSi Of SD & cnS Mr. o Gap aS did
not appear before the ommitt to sub
stantiate this. Mr.. Holmes further said
that on December 8. at the warerooms of
the Bush & Gerts Co., in Chicago, H.. he
and a friend named Lester w. Stevens, a
photographer, purchased for $3.50. a style
No. 6. walnut finish piano, similar in all
respects but finish to the pianos p1r-
chased by the Furniture Committee. He
produced a receipted bill and also GORE
spondence between Mr.. Stevens and the
Brush & Gerts CO. to the effect that tile
price was not affected by the finish, that
a piano with mahogany or oak finish
would have been of the same price as one
with walnut finish such as he had pur-
chased. The pianos which were bouga
for the schools were finished in what is
known as double oak veneer
Mr.. Egbert, of the committee, who was
unknown to Mr.. Turtle, from whom the
pianos were bought. visited his salesrooIn.
in New York, and procured from him a
price on a piano which was listed at $3.50.
The price given was $3.50 for cash. with a
further discount OF S-1oN to a professional
The pianos which were bought by the
Furniture Committee are listed at S175,
and applying the discount offered to Mr..
Egbert to this, it is found that the cash
price 10 professionals for these pianos
would be about 1865.
The committee held another session
Friday, December 16, and took the state
ment of Mr.. Louis Dressler, a musician,
associated in the piano business with G.
Fl Ditson & Go, New York. Instructed
by the committee, he examined the pi-
amos in some of the new schools and the
conclusion reached by him, from his ex-
perience as a musician and long ac-
cuafntance with the trade, wa that the
pianos should have been Dough for from
$3.50 to $500. The reason he gave, which
he urgently requested be kept In view, /.
was that because of the great eompeti-
ton in the piano trade, manufacturers
considered it a valuable advertisement to
nave their pianos placed in public insti-
%tutions, and consequently would sell to
public boards for little or no profit; also
In case a number were sold the price
would naturally be reduced.
When the affidavit of Mr.. Stevens, de-
scribing the purchase of the piano in
Chicago, was read to Mr.. Dressler, he
said that it was absolutely inexplicable
to him.
The committee held another and final
session on Monday, December =. at
produced his bookkeeper, Miss Durhurst,
who denies absolutely the statements Of
He produced, further. Mr.. Craig, q
piano tuner and manufacturers, and Mr..
Milton Well, manager of the Music
testified himself. The testimony of these
three is, substantially, that $3.50 is a rea-
sonable price for the pianos purchased;
IN the trade. although not as high as the
houses of C~hickering, Steinway, Weber
and Knabe- Mr.. Craig. could not explain
by stating his belief that the manufac-
turers had been deceived BY their pur-
chaser. Mr. We'll emphatically pro-
nounced the affidavit of Mr.. Stevens to
be false and the maker a perjurer.
Mr.. Turtle, after both these gentlemen
copy of which is annexed hereto. which
confirms Mr.. Craig's opinion and with
the card which was enclosed, copy Of
which is also annexed hereto, convicts
Mr.. Holmes and Mr.. Stevens Of misrep-
resentation. Their statement Is that Mr..
Stevens was a photographer in business
IN Chicago. The card handed by Mr..
Holmes to the salesman stated his bust
ness to be the manufacturing of BICYCLES.
and, as the letter states, he was received
as a brother manufacturer" and pro-
cured the piano at a manufacturers
price.
Mr.. Turtle further testified that he had
never sold a piano of this style and make
for as low a price as $3.50: that his re-
ular price was $500, and thai the piano
purchased by Mr.. Holmes, in Chicago.
was not similar to the one furnished to
the schools. but was in fact a cheaper
ore.
The complaint Of Mr.. Holmes. which
seems to have been the main reason for
ceiling into question the transaction was
that he and others had not been afforded
opportunities to compete with Mr.. Turtle
in the sale Of these pianos. and that adj
vertisernent should have been made be-
fere the purchase. This feature seems to
have been overlooked by the Mayor In his
letter. hut this committee believed that 1t
was closely involved with the subject un-
der consideration. ana in fact Was. as
stated. the foundation Of the inTestiga-
ton. We accordingly felt that we could
not perform our whole duty without maxi
ing irgfiry irto this matter.
Considering this question. we have ex-
amineG Wessys. Miegins and Mersheimer
Of the Furniture Cor mittee, Mr.. Quinn,
the other menfhar of this committee, being
absent frcnz Inc city on business. The
following Is q summary of the testimony
of Mcssrs. Mersheiner and M~iggins
During the summer Of the present year