Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1899-04-21
CONTEMPT.
Charge on Which Croker and
Carroll May Be Arraigned,
ASTORIA GAS FRANCHISE.
Hoffman Wants TO
Probe Its AfTdirs-CrOker's Idea Cf
Proposed Tracy board
InvestigatiOn-"Lon Committee
Sits the Worse for the Community"

Proposed Tracy y-BOardman-Platt
Investi stigatiOn-''Longer Committee
Sits the Worse for the Community"
New York. April IS.-ln the session Of
the Mazct legislative investigating COM
mittee yesterday. Richard Croker was
again the principal object of Mr. Moss
examination. and the NEST important
development was the probability that the
Tammany hieftain and John f. Carroll
will be the subject Of contempt proceed
ings before the state legislature shall ad-
journ.
An during the evidence yesterday Mr..
Croker parried the questioning of the
counsel of the committee and refused to
satisfy the ms mbers with the amount Of
information he was willing to give re-
-Ir4mg certain matters which he classi-
Itad as personal affairs"
An adjournment of the committee was
taken Yesterday afternoon until next
Erday and Mr.. Croker was subpoanaed
To reapprar before the session next Mon
day. Bytha initiative of Mr.. Moss, many
OK whose questions Nh Croker repeat
cd,y refused to answer, and with whom
h had several s1.lies that came very
near being personal. the chairman of the
, committee took such action as would
leave Mr. Croker in technical contempt.
IT is stated that when Mr.. FalloWs of the
committee left yesterday afternoon for
Albany he had instructions to prepare
papers adiudging Mr.. Croker and John
f. Carroll in contempt
Nhar7 thu gt1rlr1ittla lguaO 9 ippuirv
yesterday about the first thing brought
lGu was a resort known as the broadway
garden, which had hourished in the up
per Broadway district for some time. In
this place the alleged robbery of former
/ mayor of Trenton. Frank Mcgowan, took
/ place. and Simon Buttner. the former
proprietor Of the garden, and several of
/ his walters Wcr" examined. Buttner
made some rather startling charges
! against Police Captain Price, and his
/ walters corrohorated, in part, his testi-
! mony.
Assemhlyman Hoffman offered 4 reso-
/ luton to have certain prominent men
| summoned before the committee because
/ Of a rumOr that a certain law firm, by
/ ana with the assistance OF other persons,
| by corrupt methods secured the passage
| through the assembly" of the Astoria
| gas franchise. whose real purport was
/ to enable the "Cunsoidated Gas COM
| pany to force consolidation of all the
| Eds interests in the city. to the end that
! the supply of gas might be controlled
! ana the price regulated by the So-called
| consolidation" Alr. Hoffman wanted to
subpoena the law firm Of Tracy Board
man a Platt: EIihu Root, the incorpora-
tors Of the Astoria Heat Light and
| Power company. Thomas c. Plat Ben
| jamin Is. OdeI, Lemuel Ely Qugg and
/ John d. Crimmns. The resolution was
defeated. however, five Republicans op-
posing it and TWO Democrats standing
| by it.
Richard Croker was called to the
! stand soon after noon. and he occupied
the attention of the committee the rest
Of the session. He testified that the po-
| lice did not contribute a cent to the
! Tammany campaign last year but that
the oficpholders did. He could not tell
the amount Of money raised last year.
nor did he know in what bank the funds
were kept. He said he had never re-
ceivcd a cent from Bourke Cochran. He
also sWore he was never caught short
with Manhattan Il" stock, and did .ot
lose $4,000.
Mr.. Crokc q was seen at the Democratic
club last night, and asked if he had any
comment to make upon the refusal of the
Mazet committee to subpoena Tracy.
Boardman and Plat, and others, alleged
to have been interested in the Astoria
gas franchise.
Il am not at all surprised by that
action said Mr. Croker. why should
the committee call Tracy, Boardman and
Platt? What would it amount to? Why
simply that Tracy Boardman and Platt
had summoned Tracy, Boardman and
Platt to be investigated. What puz-
2les me, is why this committee should
be down here in New York wasting its
time. 1t might just as well be up il
Albany attending to its Legislative duties
and leave Tracy, Boardman and Plat tC
do this Investigating. The committee
has received a lot of anonymous COM
munications and information from a
lot of notorious and self-confessed
thieves and criminals and upon this they
are attempting to base their investiga-
ton"
When asked if he expected to make a
trip to Europe now that he had been de-
layed, he said:
well, | don't know. They have
subpoenaed me for next Monday, and
may drag me along for year or more
l tell you what this committee is doing,
said he, with emphasis. 1T is spread
ing the impression throughout, not only
the United States, but the whole world
that neither life nor property is safe il
New York. The longer this committee
sits, the worse for this community