Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1898-10-20
Gf which you are a member, should
never have been brought, as am now

The $3.50 bill of court expenses, IN
Guiding. the names of witnesses who
We're never subpoenaed, should not have
been incurred, or at least should not
have been placed on me.
1.-THE bill of expenses, over and
above $500, and which 7 was compelled
TO incur in my defense including my
witnesses my time, my lawyers fees
and incidental expenses, amounting in
all to S1,250, is a burden l should not
and win not be compelled to bear un-
aided.
In view of all the circumstances,
the commission should, and can well
afford to. pay both Of these bills ag-
gregating $3.50. or less than SITS for
each of the IL commissioners. This
should be attended to by or before Dec.
!, 1897.
"'Yours truly,
IS. c. SWALLOW
Iii. The same candidate has charged
repeatedly on the stump and in the
newspapers that the sum of $S,3300l
was paid for carpenter work on the rose
propagating house, which the state au-
thorities admitted was worth, includ-
ing material and labor, not more than
$500
THE rose propagating house referred
tc was built under an act of the leg
islature of the session of 1885, in which
in the general appropriation bill the
sum of S1.S00 was appropriated. The
language used in the act Is as follows:
For the payment of the erection. con-
struction. completion and furnishing of
rose propagating house, the sum of
one thousand eight hundred dollars, or
so much thereof as may be necessary.
Under this act a house was built, to-
gether with all the excavation, mason
ry, carpenter work, glass, iron, paint
ing and material of every kind, finished
complete for use, for the sum of $1,S00,
the amount appropriated. built by
Charles II. Miller, who took the bid
Il have these figures taken from the
record of the auditor general of the
state. The statement, therefore, that
this building cost over $4,000 is utterly
and unqualifiedly false, and l challenge
any practical builder, who understands
the value of material and labor, to
construct a duplicate of this building
for any smaller sum than was paid for
this rose propagatng house by the
board of public buildings and grounds
of the commonwealth. and ] also chal-
lenge any man to show that the build
ing in question cost more than Sl,S00
'IN, At the trial in the Dauphin couu-
~ court. above referred to, the candi
date, in his defense, brought out of
course, everything he could to justify
his charges in regard to the fitting out
of Grace church. and inasmuCh as he
was found guilty Of criminal libel. after
producing all the testimony within his
reach it is hardly worth the time of
this audience to make any further ref
crence to it. AS a matter of fact, the
church was fitted up for the occupancy
of the Legislature in four days and
four nights | took personal charge of
the work myself, and if the Dauphin
county jury had brought in a verdict of
acquittal there might be some ground
on which the defendant might rest his
allegations 1t was necessary to fit up
rooms for the senate and house OF rep
resentatives. The cellar was utilized
for committee rooms. There We're re-
ouired new boilers, partitions, windows.
electric light, steam heat. plumbing,
retiring rooms. desks, chairs. tables,
carpets and whatever else was neces-
sary to make the church habitable by
the legislature, its officers and en-
ployes. Every bidder who had obtain
y
Iy contract for furnishing the supplies
to the state government. was summon
ed and directed to do his part of the
work by the following Monday night.
''The fire occurred on Tuesday. The
contractors went to work on Wednes-
day, and although the church was not
completed, the church was habitable
for the legislature. and the two houses
met on Monday evening, according to
my promise To them There was dis
position among the members of the gen.
eral assembly to take a recess of 30
days.
Il was opposed to the recess. and it
was only when gave them my person.
al word that the btilding would be
ready for their occr ncy on the fol-
lowing Monday night, that they 'acced-
ed to my wishes. A delay of 30 days
would have cost the state, at a conserv-
ative estimate. between $4,000 and $780,
coo, perhaps more than the latter fig
ure. The old Capitol building was COM
pletely destroyed by fire. Nothing but
a. small amount of furniture was saved.
Mark you. every contractor was re-
quired to furnish his material and do
the work, under his contract price for
the year, after the competitive bidding
and letting on the previous first of
June. Two sets and sometimes three
sets of workmen worked alternately
through "a hours of each day. The
desks, chairs. tables. bookcases and pa
per files comprised large part of the
expense, amounting to s16531.6S. The
lumber used was measured after 1t was
put in place, and paid for on that
measurement. I am informed the de-
fendant himself had II measured, ut
least he had the opportunity to have it
measured for use I'm his trial and still
the jury found him guilty. Since his
conviction he has been as assiduous in
repeating his charges as he was before
This must convince the people of the
state the kind of regard he has for
laws and courtS-as after his conviction
he continues to repeat the crime for
which he was convicted.
1T may be proper for me to say
that the present law providing for the
purchase of supplies for the state gov
ernment is modelled after that in force
by the Federal government at Wash