The San Francisco call., 1898-02-01

In the hearing yesterday of the case against the Harbor Commissioners brought by the Paraffine Paint Com pany, on allegations of fraud ana col fusion on the part Of the board, Wlth favored firms or non-incorporateo or ganizations of contractors, Judge Bel cher. made a series of rulings that are proper subjects of. comment and com mendation, because of their bearing on the public interests involved With this complicated litigation.
 The Harbor Commission is board of public works, with an executive head. to whom is confided a great trust, in the administration of which g vast expenditure of public funds IS made annually.
 Tn number of legal actions instf- tuted against them during the few months past fraud and collusion have been charged. For reasons and through influences as yet unexplained, these suits have been dismissed without hav- ing been tried as to the merits or yer acity of the serious accusations in volved. --.
 The grievances. of the unsuccessful contractors in each and every case are directly traceable to a: syndicate or successful contractors, whom it is af-. firmed :legaily-and avowed with even greater. scandal in the open-one or more members of the board secretly serve in the matter of purchasing ma teriaIs and making contracts.
 As already pointed out in The Calls. exposure of the controversy; the com: bination as a whole may be designated as the .Dundon- -Slade syndicate. It includes the Slade- Lumber Company, the Dundon Lumber Company, the San Francisco Timber Preserving Company, of which Dundon and Slade are the chief officers, or operators, and the Darby Laydon &. Go. firm. in which the two gentlemen are interested. The combination, which deals in lumber, niles. and a pile-preserving process, has. transacted with the board during the last year alone, about $134,00O worth or business.
 Each successive legal onslaught made. on the board has been supported by the charge that the. combination named were favored after a fraudulent and colIusixe fashion.
 The latest competitor for contract to: suffer from the system alleged to be in vogue is. the Paraf1ne Paint Company, and, unlike their predecessors. in the courts, they seem to have. put up a fight which is intended to bring about a thorough and sweeping investigation of the inner relations between the Dun. don-SIade syndicate and any one or. more members of the board whose rep utation may have been tainted.
 In the preliminary sparring for the opening of their case, latitude was a1- lowed for the conduct of their inquiry until the records of the board had been brought into partial review, back to. November, 1896 They had procured a Judicial order for the appearance in court of MT. E. E. Slade with the books of the 1umper- supplying .tentacle of the contract octopus.
 Mr. Dundon had been subpenaed also, but under a protest that business i'm. peratiVely required his absence from the city, he was permitted by the court to absent himself until Thursday. :. Yesterday, when it was learned that Darby Laydon, whois also wanted on the witness stand, had taken an imperative business trip from the city, in company with MT. Dundon, the attorneys for the Paraffine Paint Company summoned the bookkeeper of the Darby Laydon: & Co tentacle to come into court with the books in his custody.
 Toward the closing hours of the ex- animation for the day, whencounsel for the Paraffine Company attempted to dig into the Darby Laydon books, under the eye of the court, they were met at every turn by the attorney for the commission by objections and the talk ing of exceptions. Throughout this phase of a contest which is evidently intended to take up the time of the court for many days, Judge Belcher ad- hered to line of rulings from which the public may gather the hope that if