The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-22
Yesterdays Proceedings at the
Mazet Inquiry.
CROKER's PARTNER WILD
ONE WITNESS ELECTED FROM
COMMITTEE ROOM.
Andrew Freedman Refuses to Answer
Questions and Then Lays Himself
Open TO Contempt Proceedings
Sergeant-at-arms Called Upon to
Take Care of Mr. Hemelwright.

New York, April 21.-Two exciting
sessions of the Mazet investigating
committee We're held today. A feature
was the refusal of the witnesses to
give testimony. Another feature was
the defiant attitude of Andrew Freed
man on the stand and still another
feature, the election from the commit
tee room of Abraham HemmelwriEht of
the Roebling company, when he INSIST
ed upon making a statement after he
had refused to answer a great majority
of the questions put to him by Mr..
Moss, counsel for the committee.
Chief interest centered in Andrew
Freedman, who, within recent years,
has been known as a warm personal
friend of Mr. Croker, and associated
with him in a business way. Freedman
was more than ordinarily forcible in
his answers to some of the questions,
and many of the questions he refused
to answer at all. At other times he
was rebuked by both Mr.. Moss and
Chairman Mazet for what they termed
'impertinence."
After Mr.. Freedman's examination
had progressed to a certain point and
the witness had refused several times
to answer a question which he deemed
a personal matter" Mr.. Moss excused
him for the day.
Freedman Gets Into Trouble.
Mr. Freedman then got down from
the stand, and, turning to the news
paper reporters, he handed them d pa
per- saying:
Gentlemen of the press, here is a
statement of the entire business of the
Plat company and Aliens company
for publication"
Viii q Nnt.r 1a1a inc n
ness done by the United States t'ldel-
ity & Guarantee company, in which Mr..
Freedman and Mr.. Croker are inter-
ested, and contained information which
Mr.. Moss had desired to get at during
the course Of the examination.
Mr. Moss, therefore, was very indig-
nant at Freedman's action, and he de-
nounced the witness VehementlY and
recalled him to the stand. The aues-
lions which he put with regard to the
paper to Freedman were not answered,
the witness refusing absolutely to state
by whom the paper had been prepared.
At this juncture Mr.. Moss took oc
casion to say that those witnesses who
were in contempt would be dealt with
later in a regular and logical way.
When Mr.. Croker was on the stand
a few days ago ne testified that he had
received dividends from the surety
company, while today it developed that
the company had not paid dividends.
Mr.. Freedman explained on the stand,
in reply to a series of questions that
Mr. Croker is a stakeholder in the COM
pany and is interested in the business
success of the Metropolitan company,
and that he (witness) received a salary
of $4,000 a year as manager for this
territory and commissions, and that he
divided the money with Mr. Croker.
How Money Was Paid Croker
Mr.. Freedman. however. refused to
name the sum that he paid to Croker
and said further that he thought Croker
might be under the impression that
the money paid him was in the way of
a dividend. Nearly the entire exami-
nation of the witness conferred about his
and Mr.. Cookers connection with the
surety company, which has dealings
with a large number of city officials.
The witness could not remember eX-
actly how this connection originated,
but that he did remember that there
was no actual contract between Croker
and himself for the payment of money,
Mr.. Croker relying on Mr.. Freedman's
word as he put it.
Mr. Hemmelwright of the Roebling
refused at the very outset of
his examination to answer questions
and entered into a discussion at the
slightest opportunity. After several
long Wrangles. the witness insisted
upon making an explanation. He was
ordered down from the witness stand
by Chairman Mazet, but refused to
leave the stand. Then Mr.. Moss called
for the sergeant-a t-arms and Hemmel-
wright was escorted from the room.
Another session will be held tomor-
row and Mr.. Freedman may be recalled
n "a in