The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-22
WITNESSES ARE RUNNING 1T.
MAZET COMMITTEE HAS A HARD
TINE GETTING FACTS.

Freedman ana HimmeIwright Re-
fused to Answer Questions Put TO
Them-The Former Refused to
Give the Committee Statement
He Had for Newspapers-The Fam
GUS Surety COmpany-HimmeI-
wright Had to BE Elected.
New York. April 21.-Two exciting ses-
sions of the Mazet investigating commit
tee were held to-day.
A feature was the refusal of witnesses 10
give testimony. Another feature was the
defiant attitude of Andrew Freedman on
the stand and still another feature, the
election from the committee room of Abra-
ham Himmeiwright, of the Roebling Com
pany when he insisted upon making a
statement after ne had refused TO answer
a great majority of questions put to him
by Mr.. Moss, counsel for the committee.
The chief interest centered in Andrew
Freedman, who within recent years has
been known as a warm personal friend of
Mr.. Crokers, and has been associated with
him in a business way. Mr.. Freedman was
more than ordinarily forcible in his an
swers to some of the questions, and many
of the questions he refused to answer at
all. Al other times he was rebuked by both
Mr.. Moss and Chairman Mazet for what
they termed "impertinence."
Freedman's Queer Actions.
After Mr.. Freedmans examination had
progressed to certain point, and the W.T.
ness had refused several times TO answer
ques lions which he deemed personal mat
ters," Mr.. Moss excused him for the day.
Mr.. Freedman then got down from the
stand, and, turning to the newspaper rep
resentatives, he handed them a paper. say
ing:
Gentlemen of the press, here Is a state
ment of the entire business of the Plat
companies and of all the companies for
publication"
This was a paper relating to the business
done by The United States Fidelity and
Guarantee Company in which Mr.. Freed
man and Croker are interested and con-
tained information which Mr.. Moss de-
sired to get AT during the course of the
examination. Mr.. Moss was therefore
very indignant at Freedman's action, and
denounced the witness vehemently and re-
called him to the stand. The questions
which he put with regard to the paper to
Freedman were not answered, the witness
refusing absolutely to state by whom the
| paper had beeu prepared. .----a ------
VIII Punish for Contempt.
At this juncture Mr. Moss took occasion
to say that those witnesses who were in
contempt would be dealt with later in a
regular, logical and legal way.
When Mr.. Croker was on the stand a
faxU 4 90 % % ra-
ceived dividends from the surety company
while to-day it developed that the COM
pany had not paid dividends. Mr. Freed
man explained on the stand in reply to a
series Of questions that Mr. Croker is a
stockholder in the company, and is in
terested in the business success of the
Metropolitan district, that he the Witness
received salary of Sl5,UoO a year as man.
ager for this territory, and commissions,
and that he divided this money with Mr.
Croker. Mr.. Freedman. however, refused
10 name the sum that he paid 10 Croker
and said further that he thought Mr.. Gro
keE might be under the impression that
the money paid him was in the way of a
dividend.
Nearly the entire examination of the
witness centered about his and Mr.. Gro
kers connection with this surety company
which has dealings with large number
remember exactly how this connection
originated but he did remember that there
was no actual contract between Mr. Gro
ker and himself for the payment of
money. MIR. Croker relying on Freedmans
word as he himself put it,
HimmeIwright Was Elected.
Abraham Himmelwrlght of the Roebling
Construction Company refused at the very
outset of his examination TO answer ques-
tions. and engaged in discussion at the
slightest opportunity. After several long
wrangles the witness insisted in makins
an explanation. He was ordered down
from the witness stand by Chairman Ma
yet but refused to leave the stand. Then
Mr. Moss called for the sergeant-at-arms
and Himmelwright was escorted from the
room.
Another session will be held tomorrow
and Mr. Freedman may be called again
NASHVILLE'S INLAND TRIP.