The San Francisco call., 1899-10-15

49, ~-N
his resignation two meetings ago both
sides of the board having tumbled to his
game, his resignation was refused and ne
was then whipped into line by Crimmlns
and forsook Holbrook for Conlon ana
Gedge.
Upon the resumption of the investiga-
tion other facts not bearing directly upon
the point at issue but tending to contlrm
the general suspicion We're discovered;
The committee could not quite Qnaerstanu
how Payot, Upham & Co. could AFFORD to
pay Gedge $1,000 to secure an $4,000 paper
and ink contract, as charged In The Can,
but little investigation led to the as
coVery that the Payot-Upham people were
also the actual owners Of the Prang sys-
tenn Of drawing, which Gedge worked as
siduously to have accepted, and also that
when that firm desired to accomplish any
thing in the line of a general contract "
usually pooled issues with the agent OF
Gum & Co., the American Book company
Coupling these facts with the discovery
that Gum 8S Co. had succeeded through
Gedge in keeping in use in the schools the
greater number OF their books. the com, com
mittee quit wondering at small thlnS
like $1,000 commission and got BACK 10
the main point.
They were interrupted again by the, in,
formation from Freeman Lewis, VINO had
been getting from Armstrong all con-
tracts for repairing school buildings, was
acting as agent for Conlon. who, with ms
profitable paint business at 1852 Golden
Gate avenue. 1t was further learned that
Shipman was the assistant storekeeper
of the School Department, and as such
exercised supervision over the supplies
bought by his partner and cousin, Con-
Ion.
Weber & Co played the next hand
when they discovered that Conlon had
surreptitiously withdrawn their bills from
the files in order to impede the commit,
tees investigation. In doing so he had
$4,000 worth of goods. They promptly pre-
pared duplicates of his requisiuons and
their agent handed them to Secretary
Simpson with the request that he file
them regularly.
The Finance Committee heard of the
Webers' action and called meeting Tor
last Tuesday afternoon for the purpose
of comparing the figures gathered by Hol-
brook and Walker with the bills as pre-
sented. Information had been coming IN
that, although the bills footed up $4,000
and odd goods to that amount had not
been delivered and that, with the con-
nivance of Conlon, the Webers were at
tempting to get even on the $4,000 they
lost by the old Board of Education, and
the committee was determined that the
comparison should be made in order to
substantiate that belief. Conlon was
equally determined that they should not,
and when the Finance Committee met on
Tuesday and called for them Simpson had
forgotten to file them and himself was
nowhere to be found. He turned up a day
later and claimed to have lost them, but
Holbrook found them somewhere in the
secretary's office.
L
Finance Committee was nothing If not
stormy. There was already a plan on
foot to force Conlon's resignation from
the chairmanship of the Supplies Com
mittee, and ten votes had been secured
to back it up. Only Gedge and ConOn
himself were not on the list and they had
not been consulted.
Armstrong had been forced to stand
with some difficulty, but the fact that ne
was suspected Of letting printing con
tracts to his own firm, under an assumed
had refused to audit the printing bills,
was used on him for all it was worth, and
he finally came to time.
During the afternoon Gedge was called
in and some pointed questions put to
him. He was asked fatty for a history
of his connection with Conlons financial
manipulations and why he had plunged
into Conlon's defense every time the probe
of the committee came close to the mat
ter 1t was after. He was asked to eX-
plain why he had called in the principals
of the school and forced them to back
up Conlons acquisitions whether they
had ever signed them or not. He was
asked also as to his $1,000 connection with
the Gums, Payot; Upham and the
Prang drawing books and other things.
He could not answer with any satisfac-
uon to himself-or Conlon.
His reply was startling and convincing
AS a member of the committee said after
ward: He Immediately went into hys-
terics and opened a senseless attack on
poor Holbrook."
Turning on Holbrook his voice choked
with tears, Gedge yelled dramatically:
Il have discovered you at lasti You have
deceived me. For a year past you have
been taking me out to champagne sup
pers but cnly to get me drunk and make
me tell what I knew"
Quite So, coolly retorted Mr.. Hol-
brook, and then Gedge was permitted to
shed his tears and his Mysteries in the
outer corridor.
1t was not over an hour before Conlan
was informed Of the boards intention to
rncsfrrr to-,
Phil Crimmins with the news. Crimmins
pulled President Bergerot down and
forced him to promise that he would not
csed vote to Cola take and G9n5Gn ] SCALP He also
Ion himself took the contract to quiet
Armstrong and Ed Head.
He approached the former and asked
him If 1t were true that he was standing
in to give him dose. Armstrong replied
that he had to do it, whereupon Conlon
wanted to fight and blazed out, 'If you
do, Armstrong, III tell everything L
know and we will all go UP for it. I've
got no family connections | care d.
for and would just as soon go across the
bay for while as not" Armstrong was
looking for no exposures and he followed
Bergerot and the rest over to Conlon's
end of the argument.
Conlon did not see Head until the next
evening before the regular meeting. The
lantern session in Superintendent Web
ster's office, and called Conlon in to de-
mand his resignation. Conlon came all
right enough, and upon seeing Head got
fighting mad and called him several to
say the least, uncomplimentary names
He informed him that if he voted to de-
throne him he would prove him thief of
the first water. Head got as mad as Con-
lon and handed over few warm packages
of his own. Conlon was then asked Tor
his resignation, and, knowing that not
enough votes We're left to force him. he
promptly refused to write it. Bergerot
helped him to the extent of getting Head
out OF the way by complaining of illness
and asking him to take the chair for the
night, and then the committee went down.
stairs into open meeting. Head, as per
Bergerots suggestion was in the chair
and all danger to Conlon was at an end.
The Finance Committee, however, In
sisted that he, Gedge and Armstrong be
put in position to do no more grating
and to that end adopted a resolution
which provided that all committees
should thereafter have their acquisitions
indorsed by the president of the board
and chairman of the Finance Committee
On motion of Holbrook all of the bills
except $1,000, which Conlon had contracted
with Weber q Co., were repudiated
Gedge and Conlon claim they are being
prosecuted by the "Club Five" While
loudly shouting their innocence Of all the
charges proved against them they claim
the reason for it all is that the five are
attempting to force them to stand in on
deal to consolidate the Polytechnic
High School with the Mission High
School, in order to throw Joseph O'Con-
nor, the principal, out of his Job. They
q hn