The San Francisco call., 1898-02-02


 though nearly all of them nore the unmistakable effects or the something -like-vertigo tragedy IIoEt which be suffers. While they were not interrogated as to their memory ot principles 9 they frankly, in fact enthu- sfastically, avowed failure of memory. as to thames, dates, sequence or events. r@eauses, realities, combinations, or any old thing of which the Court IS anxious to. gain knowledge They sud-. denly manifested. indeed, to an alarm. ing degree, all the paretic symptoms eI: MT Colnon's affiiction, without making: any showing as to primary influence. or proyocation. Hence the conclusion that MT Colnon's Iamentable condition is. a contagious one likely to spread even to greater magnitude before the pres ent trial comes to close
 Granville M. Stewart, manager for the. Pacific Pine Company, did not develop as bad a case as other witnesses, TOT: after a long period of forgetfulness he was persuaded that he did remember something about an agreement where. by the suits of his company against the Harbor Commission were dlsmlssed' and that as a. consequence the Pacific Pine Humber Company is now selling lumber to the s. E. Slade Company which ifsposes of it to the commission at fancy prices; and the Darby Lay don &z Go. part of the Dundon-Slade. combination buy of the aforesaid Pa: cifie: Co., the piles they sell to the com-1 mission at the highest figures ever paid. =.
 As a further effect of the under standing reached before or about the time the. suits were dismissed Darby Laydon & Co. went out of the pile importing business. .
 s. E: Slade, the man of many unin-# corporated- company interests and ex-4 Supervisor. P. F. Dundon's confidential partner and factotum, threatens toa present a-rnore complicated instance of collapse : of memory than Chairman Coln0n. Though on the witness stand ] only a few minutes, before the after noon adjournment, he gave the most. t.i remarkable exhibition of. a clever per son bepeft of memory and knowledge; i that has marked the progress of, the ] trial In fact, MT. Slade did not; re member what had been done with oer- l tain important account books of . the; ;1
 
 peared. <
 In another particular intended to puzzle the cerebral Specialists who are| certain to review the characters of the investigation after the evidence is all in, he had a distinct and profound rec election This was the fact that during the years in which the San Francisco# Timber. Preserving Company had car-H ried on a. lucrative contract business with the Harbor Commission he never had cash book nor kept on .papar in any form a cash account. :@@]
 Reed, the present bo0kkeeper f0r=3 Darby Laydon &= Co. forgot to be for-=1 getful at one stage of his examination, another eccentric development in theI contagion, and admitted that he doc i tored" the firm accounts under the di- 1 rection of MT. Dundon. The remain ! der. of his appearance on the stand was distinguished fora mental opacity that seemed in danger, at times, of taking 1 on a hysterical tendency. n. .*= .@'
 One witness seems to have been inoc- i uiated against the contagion: This was. TownTey, the former bookkeeperI for Darby Laydon & Co., He exhibit- ed all the indications of a. normal memory. but the attorney for the for getful side of the litigation MT. Strat- :. ton, manifested a categorical distrust : of the accuracy of the. young mans memory. s== |. + :.
 Attorney .Strattolls is entftled"toa dis tinct celebrity after yesterdays pro- ceedings as an objector. During. :Hol-s mans palmiest days in Congress the treasury watchdog rof Indiana never. deserved so: much fame as a constant, persistent and reiterative objector. =Inz fact MT. Stratton was one long. ex- clamation point of objection all day. "The record is the best evidence, ,' sec : ondary testimony: Incompetent, ir- relevant and imrnaterial, :" were mere elocutionary ornaments: to. a. beautiful ly rounded out oration on the subject: of ''objections' Mi. Stratton, who is a striking personality. so much so, in short that he might be taken for an expounder of the gospel instead of master at law, is zto be admired for the conscientious and eloquent manner in which he contributed to the record. of failing memories aceumulating :. in Judge BeIcher's court. ::
 One Of those distressing revelations that will mar .the placid course of in-: vestigations when questions of brib-e cry, corruption and fraud are involved came to the surface. Nots only had seV-. erai books essential to a proper in-. quiry into the contract transactions of the Dundon-Slade combination with the Harbor Commission disappeared from view and memory; principal Wit. nesses had slipped away into invfsi-t bility, among them the confidential record keeper of Dundon and Slade, and the much wanted MT. Darby Lay. don. NIT. Dundon himself had thought. fully obtained permission from the court to go out of town until Thurs: day. Finney the bookkeeper was re ported to have been taken seriously i'll three weeks ago, and is supposed to be at Modesto. or somewhere. Reed, the. bad-memory bookkeeper admitted that despite of his state of mind, he was attending to all the complicated business affairs of the complicated partnerships.
 It was the purpose of counsel for the Paraffine Company yesterday to prove that certain moneys were paid by Darby Laydon & Go. to MT. Patterson, the former superintendent of the liar Dor Commission; that the money re- ceived from the commission for piles never delivered was divided; that the books of Darby Laydon & Co. had been 'doctored," and that the suits of the Pacific Pine Company against the board were dismissed in keeping with an agreement whereby the Slade Lum- Der Company and the Darby Laydon & Go. bureau of the Dundon-Slade pool hn ,iolc r1ax- ,;.-l,,o I