The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-28

Late yesterday afternoon the Grand
Jury made an exhaustive report to-
Presiding Judge Belcher concerning its
Investigations into the alleged frauds
In connection with the construction of
the Union Depot and Ferry House The
report covered some sixty sheets and
was closely typewriter, giving at the
outset a synopsis of the work per-
formed and the conclusions reached
and following with detailed state.
ment of the testimony and. evidence
presented by various experts employ ed.
The report was most damaging one
TO the Harbor Commissioners and to
the supervising architect; stating that
many fragrant departures had been
made from the original specificatI ions
for the structure and in. almost every.
case the changes were tc..the advantage
Of the contractors, cheapening ma
terial and work. The jury scored a
decisive point by having a section. Of
wall constructed according to specif-
cations, which was far superior to: the.
wall of the building as erected by the
contractors with the consent of the
commissioners and the architect
When the jury filed into court about
3:45 p. m. there were few spectators
present, no word having gone abroad
that a report was to be made. The
foreman, NJ. H. Hecht, made a prelimi-
nary statement TO the Judge to the eff
feet that the Grand Jury had reached a
point in It's proceedings where ii felt
that it must pause. An investigation
Of the Union Depot and Ferry House
matter had been carried to considera BILE
length, but the present limit of pro-
cedure had been reached. No indict-
mentS were returned.
Judge Belcher, after listening to the
foreman's remarks, called his attention
TO the courts charge delivered to the
jury on May Il, wherein he expressly
stated that if the public officials con-
cerned were guilty they ought to be
indicted at once. The Judge said that
he had no power to order the Grand
Jury TO indict; that the limit Of his
power was to direct attention to alleged
Wrong-d doing and leave the jury as a
body to deal with it as seemed best:
The report presented by the Grand
Jury was praised by the Judge for its
thOroughness and exhaustive character
He made no criticisms.
Following is the report:
SAN FRANCISCO, Cal, Sept a.
To His Honor Z. a. Belcher, Presiding
Judge: The matter of the alleged frauds
in the construction Of the Union Depot
and Ferry House. situated in the City and
County Of San Francisco, having been re-
ferred to this Grand Jury in your Honor's
charge on May q, 1898, we beg to submit
the following report:
We have been diligently engaged in
this work since the organization of the
jury. We have had the assistance of d
thoroughly competent and DISTINGUISHED
expert in work of this kind. to whose
complete and careful reports attached
hereto we make reference.
The original plans and specifications
prepared by the late A. Page Brown and.
accepted as eminently proper and COM
plete have In many instances been de-
Waited from. In fact, the character of
the work in some important features has
been entirely changed.
Many of these changes are, ID our
Judgment, unnecessary and unwar-
ranted, some of them involved the
use of cheaper materials and less la
Dor than were necessary under orig