The sun., 1898-10-07
ROOSEVELT TAX CASE PLOT.
r,MM4NF ENGINEER SAYS; "NO
I'' POLITICS IN IT"

r,,.d the Note of Issue Himself Instead OF
Hs.dIne n Clerk--Vory Anxious to Get
az. case on tho october Calendar-Hnd
,,UPreferred' =, without Notice or Motion.
,.o. VI Ward Assistant Corporation Coun-
y, New York. who amended the Code OF
,,.,, procedure and mado AN extraordinary use
,Lt. mower as Thmmany oflcial In an In
,..,oua effort TO damage Col. Theodore Roose-
~, candidacy for Governor through the New
W. supreme Court. came back from Albany
s.,ordoy morning. He declared that he
,,nud give up his office and his pro-
,..sIon rather than be party to such an
r,.,h.nd game Of political trickery as using
hs courts to manufacture fraudulent cam
We me- S document. He admits that his interest
.he Roosevelt certiorari proceedings after
u po,ublican state Convention at Saratoga
We great that he hurried of to the County
c',,, House to get the case on the October cal
S,r,sa preferred cause and that. he gave
cl, pooseyot's attorneys no notice Of trial. as
u.,ou reoulres Mr.. Ward denies that he in
i0d Wv. m nsk the court for an order in tho ABB
n.o NJ the opposing attorneys. making Col.
D.n.ovc,t ont to be n resident OF the District
Of Columbia.
"Could YOU not have got such an order2"
~. ward was asked yesterday.
"Tbot was one OF the possibilities. / admit
,,.,if Col. Roosevelt's attorneys had not ap-
.a.rsd could have asked for an order setting
psds his assessment. on the very good ground
,h.t he furnished satisfactory evidence that he
rss not resident Of New York"
"pd YOU plan to ask for such an order 2"
"yot ot all - answered Mr.. Ward. but what
uIhadg What could the relator have said II
tho Court granted him the relief he prayed2"
pnt you say YOU didn't intend to have his
petition granted"
THAT'S right didn't. and all this story OF
iurgling with court records and violating the
laws is bosh Had Col. Roosevelt's attorneys
mt appeared in court on Monday morning.
would have asked for an order OF reference.
want this matter OF Col Roosevelt's citizenship
cleared M. Politics have nothinglto do with;
lam not mixing politics with my official busi-
nth The Assistant Corporation Counsel does not
Sed SSHd "hh by his clerk, and that when It came to
filing the note OF issue in the Roosevelt certio-
I ocSsdGgS he made "a PPS visit tS
issue and the return to, the writ Of certiorari:
Nor does he deny that he sought, the aid Of
Ssttn9 the case put on the calendar as a pre-
terred cause But Mr.: Ward declares that this
was all regular" and that his unusual anxiety
cause he felt that II was his duty as public
official to find out where Col. Roosevelt had
nS How HsIHed did the clerks records get so mud
dledp Mr. Ward was asked.
IN tell you how that was. We gave them
such explicit directions 30 that there could be
no mistake about it that suppose they laid the
paper aside and forgot to enter It. But that en-
try book is only the clerks private record, 1t
unfortunate that the record was mixed up In
Just this particular case, but It was Just as |
tell you; can see how this story Of 'Iuggled
was only series Of condolences While the
story in THE Sun this morning is misleading,
don't know that can find any fault, for the
facts are all there, only they don't signify any
How did you get the case put on the calen-
dAr as a preferred cause :" Mr.. Ward was asked.
Doesn't the code provide. that before a
cause can be preferred notice Of the inten-
ton to move for preference must be given to
THAT doesn't apply in tax cases. which are
But It isn't your usual course to have q case
out a motion for preference
No, we didn't have time to 60 through the
pretation OF the law is at variance with that Of
Nlhu Root, Col Roosevet's attorney. and It is
the tbs 0Ss has
OWL Procedure In preferred causes. The code
expressly provides that In New York county
entitled to or mot pc
preceded BY a notice to the opposing attorneys
that motion, for preference is 10 be made.
Wards Va % disregard Of the law Of civil procedure %
no more charitably than that the Assistant
Corporation Counsel. In the excess OF his zeal
Roosevelt's candidacy, took means to further
his ends that he would not have taken had he
taken time to think the matter over.