The San Francisco call., 1898-02-17
Light Thrown on the Way Harbor Commissioners Favor Their
 Friends.
CoInon's Strange Admission When Asked Why Justice Was Refused a Con=
 traCtor-Dundons Erasures

"I am so tied up to these other folks that I can't help you just now, but I may help you later en."
 Harbor Commissioner Colnon's explanation to Samuel C. Irving, manager of the Paraffne Paint Company, for giving all the work of preparing piles to his favorites and refusing to give any patron. age to the Paraffine people.
 Samuel c. Irving, manager of the Paraffine Paint Company, whose ac- ton against the Board of State liar bor Commissioners has attracted so much attention among the politicians and taxpayers of late, was the princi- pal witness yesterday before Judge Belcher. He told of many things in connection with the way the Commis- sioners are accustomed to doing busi- ness. P. F. Dundon, of the firm of Darby Laydon & Co.. and A. H. Cole, lllS bOOhhSSpSI AOI lnc Lumber Company, were also examined as to the meanings of a number of en- tries in the books of the companies mentioned. The amount of ignorance displayed as to the reason for many suspicious ensures in matters of inn portance left much for the court and the spectators to guess at.
 Mir. Irving began by stating his po- sition in the paint and preserving firm and the responsibility of the stock holders thereof, and then he got down to the subject under consideration, the peculiar manner of the Commissioners in letting out contracts to their fa- vorites and shutting out competition of those not in favor.
 The witness had hardly made start before the attorney for the Harbor Commissioners began making excep- tions, to preserve the interests Of his clients. MT. Irving testified that the Paraffine Paint Company was amply able in a financial way to carry out the terms of the contract bid on, and that he so stated in the open session of the board. He added:
 On the 18th of December, while the board was considering for the third time the acceptance or rejection of these bids, ] got up and stated to the board that the ParaGne Paint Company was the lowest bidder and that we wanted the contract; that We were amply able to perform the work, and if the contract was awarded to us we would accept il, provide all bonds necessary and start in at once and pursue the work to completion with due diligence
 Had you made any arrangements to se- cure Creosote plant?
 I had made arrangements and so in- formed the board.
 
 formed the contract under any. of the methods or each of the methods described in those specifications?
 looked very carefully into all the I methods provided for in that specified ton and found there was nothing to pre- vent my bidding on each and every method; that Is, there were not, so far as my knowledge went, any legal or patent arrangement that prevented me bidding on those methods as set forth in those specifications.
 The witness said that he had de- manded that the contract be awarded to his company, but the bids were all rejected. He talked with several of the members of the board about the using of CreosOte for preserving piles and added:
 I called at the office of the board Mir COlnOn was there, and l had a number of books and papers giving the result of the use of creOsOte elsewhere. I told MT CGnon my business, and MT. Colnon told me he didn't want to hear anything about it; that his mind was made up, and that was the end of it. That conversation was not very extensive, it only lasted prob ably four or five minutes.
 Mr. Irving also testified that he was present when bids for furnishing piles were opened, and that the board at tempted to overlook a bid put in by Healy, Tibbitts & Co, the latter firm not standing in favor with the Com miSSiOners.
 Coming back to the piIe-preserving contract Mir. Irving said that in the bids rejected a nice little game was exposed to keep the Paraffine Paint Company out of the field. A man named Watson of the Pacific Roofing Com pany had an imitation of the Paraffine Company's process. and Dundon had another similar imitation, and Watson and DundOn combined to cut off the Paraffine Company at both ends.
 Coming back to the virtues of creo- sOte for the purpose named the wit ness said that he had called the atten- tion of the board to 150 creosoted piles under one arm of the ferry slips. He said in this connection:
 They were creosoted by the Pacific Inn provement Company I think during the sUperintendency of MT. Isaacs. These piles were driven in 1891 or 1892 and they were badly eaten out by the lfmnoria. l called that fact to the attention of the board, and asked them to go with me to investigate. These piles were supposed to have been extra well creosoted. But I never could get any member of the board to go with me to look at them. These piles were creosoted about fourteen pounds to the cubic foot.
 Mir Cope-Fourteen pounds of creosote to cubic foot of timber?
 Yes, sir.
 Did you go yourself?
 I went myself on several occasions; and one time I invited-I met down there one of >the employees of the board and invited him to go with me. He was MT. Uhlig
 This matter, too, was brought to the attention of the board, and Mr Colnon simplay said: We will investigate" and there it ended. At this point At torney Cope changed the subject and asked:
 Did you know that the San Francisco Timber Preserving Company had threat ened to enjoin the Paraffine Company if 1t were awarded a contract to creosote piles?
 l so understood, yes.
 At this Attorney Stratton put In a strong objection to this line of testi- mony. MT. Cope defended his course by saying: