The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-10-05
TlNNANY PLOT LAID BARE.
o1EnK,s RECORD DooTORED
IN ROOSEVELT TAX CASE

,,riIned on the RECORD 30 Ahet VSSss'
,....rsd After Only sTB Fees for Cases
...,,n.Iy Entered Had Been Footed
} ia. Paid to the Comptroller and Re-
-.,.,sd for By Him-violations OF the Code
49,, Are Not TO BE Passed Lightly ny.
~. T,mman oflcials. whose plot TO manu-
-. .prreptltiously q Supreme Court order
S.,,,rIne Col. Theodore Roosevelt, Hepuo-
w. candidate for Governor OF New York. q
.D.id.nt OF the District OF Columbia. was OK
U.,.d on Monday in the Supreme Court by
rwhu Root, were In q sorry plight yesterday.
r,.h had q different explanation that didn't
.1rlaIn why It was that Col. Roosevelt's attor-
n,vs did not know. until they read the Lao
r,,rnal on Saturday morning. that on
a. special Term calendar for Monday
IA been put the certiorart proceeding.
Ssorrbt BY Col. Roosevelt's attorneys.
.his be was fEhting In Cuba, to review the
,...s.mepto OF his personal estate for taxation
= ,his city. Assistant Corporation Counsel
I,hn \. Ward, who managed the plot for Tam
".rv lett town after the argument before Jus
,o DAILY on Monday. and will stay away until
A. s,orn, blows over. The news that the Tam
AN, Receiver OF Taxes in the Stewart build
Inc had actually given Col. Roosevelt q receipt
~ Saa5 % for taxes. 1885," quite stunned
W.
hin.
urther open attempt on their part to prove
Cd, Roosevelt anything else than q citizen OF
Nav York would be futile. decided to use the
T,mmany oficeholders In the Court House In
nrrying on an underhanded scheme. The
Man was to put the Roosevelt tax case on the
Supreme Court calendar and actually take the
case into court without a word to Col. Roose-
vens lawyers. Not only this, but 1t was
their purpose. so Col. Roosevelt's friends have
rood reason to believe. to withdraw opposition
TO the c~ertiorari proceedings and try and get
an order declaring that Col. Roosevelt was q
4 resident Of the District Of Columbia, and there
7 fore could not be taxed in New York. At once
tho Van Wyck campaign managers would have
raised q great hue and cry. spreading broad
, cast tho statement The Supreme Court OF
New York finds that Col. Roosevelt is not a
citizen OF New York" Before the wrong could
have been righted the Republican candidate
might have suffered great injury. That this
fraud was not perpetrated. Col. Roosevelt has
10 thank his watchful attorneys, who were
looking out for Tammany tricks to defeat him..
Elhu Root, however. is not through with the
matter. and when the case comes up again on
Monday before Justice Smyth the Tammany
Schemers may be made to sQuirm.
The "doctorinR" OF the record in the Special
Term clerks office in the County Court House
istoo plain to be mistaken. and cannot be OK
planned. as some Of the Tammany schemors try
to explain it. as "a trifing irreGularity."
One man says that the miIed-up con.
dfton Of the record Is the fault OF IAN
inexperienced clerk" Another man says
that the inexperienced clerk" had moth
ing to do with it. and that the record is all
right anyway. Mr.. Root, In court on Monday.
declared that tho Roosevelt case was put on
the calendar without any record being mado in
The court to show a fling Of the note OF issue.
Assistant Corporation Counsel Ward offered to
Goto the record to provo that Mr.. Root was
wrong. The record is now there. and how it
zane there Is an interesting story.
In the Special Term clerks record Of the
fling OF notices Of issue the Roosevelt case
had not been recorded on Saturday, Oct /.
nor could Col. Roosevelt's friends fnd
any record Of any kind In the oflce that the
notice had been filed. No one In the oflce knew
anything about 1t. Now everybody knows all
about it.
Why. OF course. you can see the notice Of
issue" said the clerk yesterday. Here It is.
You see that 1t is stamped Sept. 81. 1893. and
is numbered in red ink '215.' 1 remember
very well when Mr.. Ward brought 1t In and
paid the fee OF So"
This has been here since Sept. 217"
"Ueourse. Where should 1t have been 2"
And is there no other record OF the ding Of
the notice 2"
None at all. Isn't this record enough7 2"
But there is another record. although the
clerk declares that the other record is his own
private record OF the filing of notices OF issue.
Kept BY him as memorandum Of fees received.
IN Saturday. Dot. l. the Roosevelt ease was not
on this record. Now 1t iA. In this record. in
me hrst column is the number of the case. in
'ue Second the title Of the case. In the third the
Plaintiffs attorneys. In the fourth the defend
ants attorneys and in the fifth the fec.
Case 2l3 10 that Of Tho People against T. L
lsitner THE President Of the Department. Of
Taxes and Assessments); Hawke q p. ].
hhAlen So" On Saturday. Oct. l. cases 21A
sna 40 we're the same as 215. the lines being
lHed out with ditto marks. But now the rec
ORC Is different. In the line following the
Iumoer "2l5" has been inserted. after
we nrst ditto marks. Theodore Roose-
,sM' while the ditto marks under Hawke
!, - have been erased and Roosevelt d
HoVoe has been written In. In addition
Inns s between the line following the number
$40. and the line following the number
E1" have been placed a line of ditto marks.
ANU ~" has been interlined in the fee
%Vmn. This interlined case. which was No.
sO' lhe last OF the Hawke and r." caseS be-
"e me number215 was given to the Roosevelt
1Se'has now no number.
on'he page on which this "doctorinR' was
.Oaea are torty-seven recorded cases. although
numbering accounts for but forty-six. Tho
|vsng oil the fee column is recorded as $l38.
SS.nough the correct footing Is Sal and at
wv END OF the record the recorded footing for
%s 40 numbered cases Is $S25. and this is the
.uUunt Of the attached receipt from the Comp
sOHof' But the amount OF the Comptroller's
"Ve'pt should DO 1923. II the clerk turned
We the u fee received from Assistant Cor
Nfs'on Counsel Ward ION sept. 81" when
a. ao''ce oil Issue In the Roosevelt case was
oL hooseVelt's attorneys ask why 1t was
~ q ms doetoring OF the Official court rec
aus mad TO be made II the notice OF issue was
~, y oh eept, II. Without wishing to doubt
"ofd Of the clerk. who suddenly remem-
= ~ all about the filing Of the notice. Col.
SoseNeIts attorneys are led to believe. from
Sn" a 'hey have learned in the County Court
M = 'hat the notice OF issue was fled after
"N lahl CAV sat nv Ia NJ Gapt ~