The times., 1899-08-03

The conference between the District
Commissioners, their Superintendent of
Street Cleaning, and Daggett & Dugan,
relative to the charges which We're pre-
ferred against the latter by the Superin-
| tendent, and which was begun Tuesday,
was resumed at IL O'Clock yesterday The
\ conference is the outcome, as has been
| stated previously, of charges that the con-
| tractors failed to do their work properly,
| that they violated their contract, that
| their workmen are compelled to sweep
| larger street territory than they are able
20 go over properly, and that they are
compelled to deal at a store conducted by
| the contractors.
AT the hearing Tuesday most of the time
was devoted to statements by Mr.. Daggett
and Messrs. Wilson and Hoehing. the at
torneys for the contractors. Reports fur
nished by the Police Department regard
ing the work of the contractors were pre-
sented and when the hearing was reopened
this morning Judge Jere NJ. Wilson stated
that he did not place much confidence in
these statements, because he said the
police appeared to have noticed things
which the inspectors themselves did lot
see
The head inspector of the District Street
Cleaning Department, Mr.. Doyle, was pre-
sented TO the board by Mr.. Stutler, and
he made a statement alleging that the
work which had been done by the inspec-
tors was, in his opinion, generally of poor
order; that the streets were not swept
by noon and that the sprinkling was i'm
properly done. He stated that the con-
tractors required their men to do more
work than should be expected of them,
and tat this was one cause of the al
legged inferior work. He stated that one
man had. ceased to work for the con-
tractors because he was asked to sweep
14,000 square yards OF surface in a day
The statement was also made by Mr.
Doyle that the work done by the con-
tractors was lot as good as that per-
formed by District laborers last year, who
cleaned an average of 1900 square yards
Mr.. Doyle also explained how the Street
Cleaning Department made reductions for
work improperly done.
The next to make a statement was Will
liam Coleman, coored man. who said
that he left the firm of Daggett & Dugan
because they required him to sweep a
larger area than he could do during day.
He was introduced. by Superintendent
Stuter for the purpose of explaining to
the Commissioners that he had been in
structed by Luther McKenney. one. of the
contractors inspectors, to skip over his
work. Coleman said he was threatened
with discharge if he did not do as he was
instructed. Another colored man who had
been employed by the contractors testified.
He is Frank A. Jones, and said he had been
given orders on the store of the firm and
that the amount of the orders was deduct
ed from his pay. He said that he had to
pay more for goods at the store than at
other places.
George Hawkins, another colored man,
who worked for the street cleaning con-
tractors, said he had been instructed TO
skip over his work He made one state
ment TO the effect that he was told to
sweep well while the District inspectors
were in sight, but TO skip space when they
disappeared. The contractors introduced
number of witnesses, some of them fore
men and inspectors, who denied most en-
phatically that they had made any of the
statements attributed to them by the
discharged colored men.
Philip Kraft. a District inspector. stated
that he heard the foreman of the firm So
licit orders from the workmen for gro
ceries at the store. Superintendent Stutler
then offered a statement signed by twenty
one men employed by the contractors to the
effect that they had been instructed to
shirk their work Judge Wilson objected
TO the statement being filed and suggested
that 1t would be better to call the men.
John W. Ladd, one OF the contractors IN
spectors, denied that they had ever ,n-
structed any workmen 10 slight the work
William A. Davidson, another inspector,
made a similar statement, as did also Lu-
ther McKenney.
A recess was taken at l o'clock, and the
hearing was resumed at 2:30 o'clock con-
tinuing until after o'clock. Commissioner
Ross Will embody his views of the con-
troversy In written statement today.
This statement viii be considered by the
other two Commissioners before final ac-
tion is taken.