Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1899-09-13
THE RAMAP0 DEAL
WATERED NEW YORK WATER CON-
PANY ATTEMPTS A STEAL.
BIG STOCK J0BBING SCHEME
TRIED TO GET A S5.OOO.OOO A YEAR
MUNICIPAL CONTRACT.
City Made the Deal, but Citizens and
Newspapers Blocked 1t by In
junctiOn-Fivc Hundred Shares
in the Company Once
bought for $4G.

in the Company Once
bought for $40.
NEW YORK, Sept. 12-The MaZet inves-
tgating committee resumed its sessions
| here to-day. Assemblyman Hoffman said
| tlat as Il representative of the Democratic
party, he would ask and insist that the
| full truth of the Ramapo water deal be
made plain, without regard to the politics
| OF witnesses, and that to that end he
| thought it necessary that Senator Thomas
| e. Platt be called
The Ramapo Water Company proposed
| to lease to the city certain water rights
for the sum of s5,OOO,Oco a year for forty
years. The contract came up unexpectedly
in the board of public improvements and
was only defeated on tie vote.
| Frank Moss counsel to the committee
said he had received information nearly
three months ago that some move was to
| be made in the Ramapo water case. An
investigation was made and showed the
CITY water supply to be abundant that
millions OF gallons were going to waste
every year, but that the system of distri-
button was faulty.
| we got plenty of evidence to sustain
| THESE two propositions said Mr. Moss,
and then. just as we were about to ad-
1ourn at our last session, the news came
that the expected was about to happen. 1t
did happen. but, owing to the good citizen
snip or many of our people and the vigil
lance of the newspapers, the Ramapo deal
is now declared to be dead
| 1T was stock jobbing concern with no
ABILITY to do aught toward carrying out
It's contract, but able perhaps to make
money by disposing Of its stock and secur-
| tiles.
When the attention of the officials was
called to these facts, they still persisted
IN Jamming this contract through. If they
could not see the condition of the COM
pany for themselves, they We're guilty of
| gross incompetence and negligence.
If the corporation counsel and the COM
missioner of public improvements thus
proved themselves incompetent and ignor-
ant 1t was incumbent on the mayor to re-
| move them. Failing to do 1t, the respon-
sibhity is on him. and after him on an Of
ficer higher than him.
These commissioners, three of them at
least, owe duty to a certain organization
which admits responsibility for them, and
| whose leader has declared that they will
be punished if any wrong doing be shown"
William Dalton, commissioner of water
supplies, was the first witness called. He
|
with the Ramapo Water Company, and Of
the reasons he offered to the board of pub
lie improvements in urging the contracts
These were put on the record as evidence
Mr.. Moss offered in evidence the state
| ment made by Comptroller Coler against
the contract, the certificate of incorpora-
tion of the Ramapo Water Company, and
several annual reports of the company
Mr.. Moss further put in evidence state
ment from the secretary of state dated Au-
gust 80. 1899, to the effect that none of the
capital stock had been paid in.
David T. Davies took the stand for a mo-
ment, and swore that, in 1894, he bought on
the Real Estate exchange. at auction, 500
shares of the stock of the Ramapo COM
pany. He paid s46 for these and a lot of
| other stocks.
Commissioner Dalton. recalled, said he
did not claim any special knowledge as to
the water supply for this city when he en-
tered upon the duties of his office.
II have a chief engineer in my depart
ment." said Mr.. Dalton, land 1 rely upon
his information. My chief engineer is Mr..
Birdsall."
"Did Mr. Birdsall advise you to go into
the Ramapo contract"
mo, sir, not that
"Well, he did advise you concerning the
| Wdtel supply tdiheu dDOul TIE lNdLudpO
company"
He said that we must get water some
way. and if there was other way we
would lave to get it from the Ramapo
company
Engineer Birdsall was called. Mr.. Moss
asked him whether he had advised Com
missioner Dalton, previous to the meeting
of the board of public improvements, to
go into the Ramapo water contract.
Not into the fdmaDO contract. the
answer. Il did not see the contract, in
fact, before the meeting"
Commissioner Dalton stated that, but
for, the injunction proceedings he would
call up the Ramapo contract again.
of March. 1899, showing that the rainfall
had been abundant. and that 1000. &C., COZ
gallons during the quarter had flowed over
the crOton DAM The report read that all
that was necessary to secure a full supply
in the longest drouth that might occur was
greater storage reservoir capacity. The
witness said two large storage reservoirs
are now in process of construction which
will take up and store up all the water
running s oyer the cr@tPn dam From
: read that the two storage reservoirs will
, be finished in 1908, and that. jointly. they
will hold i5,2S6: 100000 gallons. or a supply
: of 2Oo0Oo,o0o gallons day for $40 days.
|, 'Is this the first Ramapo job you ever
! had hand in?" asked MIR. Moss
what do you mean by 'job'?" demand
ed Mr.. Dalton. zone might speak of the
robbing Of a bank as a sob"
well. that's what l mean. Did you ever
before have hand in job where you
violated the first principles of the party
that elected your appointing power?''
NO SIR
President Bowley, of the borough of
Queens, said that his borough had been
cursed with water supply companies. Long
, Island City had plant of its own. which
cost about s5O0.0OO. The witness said that a
contract had been entered into by Commits
soner Dalton and the board of public i'm
provements with the Citizens Wafer Com
pany. of Newton, to supply water to Long
Island City.
Adjourned until tomorrow.
Hall r q BILLION PAID