The San Francisco call., 1898-11-14
REYNOLDS BOMBSHELL
 STARTLES THE BOARD
Statements of School Directors Confirm Portions of His Affidavit An Effort to Depre-
 ciate Its Source.

of Education declares that he never re- ceived any intfmation that the Real ks- tate Investment Company acquired US lease on the. Lincoln School property py
 "UntiI 1 read Reynolds story in The Call" said Mir. Burlington, T had no idea that any one would charge the Board of Education or any of its members with crookedness in connection with the lease. remember all the circumstances at tending the transaction between the board and the lessees, and as far as know everything was done openly and above board. l voted in favor of leasing the property to the investment company for the simple reason that 1t made the best offer. ] am only slightly acquainted with the stockholders in the company, and had no personal or friendly interest in their success or failure in getting what they were after.
 .'As has already been stated, the present the Board of Education. The city is re- ceiving approximately S15, 900 year more from the property than ever before In addition to this increased revenue the board is relieved of all vexatious ques- tionS arising over repairs, insurance and delinquent tenants.
 "I knew Reynolds when he was a re- porter about the City Hall. He frequently reported the proceedings of the Board of Education. know nothing of his charac- ter or reputation. Some of his statements, however, strike me as being somewhat pe- culidr. He alleges that MT. Welch, the secretary of the Board of Education was in the deal with himself and partners, and that Welch was to put the figures In the investment company's bid after 1t when the other bids were opened. Reynolds fur ther charges that Welch opened the bids.
 T think the latter statement is untrue. l do not remember of one occasion when the secretary opened bids. The Superin- tendent always breaks the seals on pro- posals and reads them aloud to the board. In his absence the deputy superintendent acts. The certified checks which must ac- company bids are also read aloud. The papers are then delivered to the secretary to be filed; the check is retained by the Superintendent I am quit sure this rou- tine was not departed from in the Lincoln lease case"
 ''rhe only incident in connection with the transaction, which has been men toned and which recall, is the ambigu- ity of the advertisement. The Jumbled' advertisement as 1t is called. Attorney Vogelsang called my attention to this matter. I was very busy at the time with the multifarious duties of my office, and as the question was wholly in the hands of the Finance Committee of the beard I gave no further attention to 1t. The Finance Committee reported in favor of the investment company and their Sug- gestion was adopted by the board.
 My honest belief is that the arrange ment now in force is the best that could possibly have been made. The invest ment company gave a satisfactory bond for the payment of the rent and they contract to expend $5000 yearly for repairs on the property. Regarding the $500 worth tioned by Reynolds, 1 am not aware that 1t was paid by the Board of Education."
 Charles ". Welch. secretary of the Board of Education, denies Reynolds
 "The assertion that I was to fill in the amount of the bid of the San Francisco Real Estate Investment Company when 1t was handed in is absurd on the face of