New-York tribune., 1900-05-13
FRAUD AMONG EMPLOYEES.
ROCHESTER, BILL SCANDAL MAY RESULT
IN PROSECUTION
[BY TELEGRAPH TO THE rRIBuSE.I ]

tBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBuNE.1
Albany, May 12.-william ]. Youngs, the Gov
ernors private secretary, made the astonishing
discovery this afternoon that he had in the off,
cial files of the Governors office a fraudulent
copy of the Rochester School law. concerning
which there has been much excitement in
Rochester and among the employees of the Leg
islature this week. Possibly will
term in State prison as result of his
discovery, if the criminal be detected.
The School law passed by the Legislature was
Senate bill No. 1,274. This was not the one
signed by the Governor. Mr. Youngs found in
the package of memoranda which is always
sent to the Governor with the engrossed bill
certified as passed by the Legislature, a Senate
printed bill, No 1924. which appeared to be
correct copy, for it precisely similar to the
engrossed copy. The engrossed copy is printed
nowadays, instead of being written formerly
but it is printed upon somewhat better paper
AS a matter of fact. however. both the engrossed
copy and the alleged Senate bill No. 1874 were
counterfeits. Neither one a copy of the
true Senate bill No 1874 which had passed the
Legislature
Bills when they come from the Legislature
are sent to the Statutory Revision Commission
whose clerks compare the last printed NUMBER
of any bill with the engrossed copy, to learn IL
the engrossed copy is correct. Three clerks Oh
the Statutory Revision Commission in this case
of the Rochester School bill compared the two
bills and naturally did not discover any error.
The bills were precisely alike, and Governor
Roosevelt therefore signed the bill without any
suspicion that 1t was counterfeit
An investigation will De made to learn VINO
printed the fictitious copy of Senate Bill NO.
1874 which was submitted to the Governor
Only one copy of that counterfeit is known TO pe
in existence: at least a search of the files of a
dozen Senators to-day did not disclose any copy
of the counterfeit The genuine bill was on the
files of the Senators and the Assemblymen 30
far as known, therefore, only one counterfeit
was printed, and it was printed especially Ior
the eve of the Governor. The printer or the
Legislatures bills has no copy OF SUCH Dill
If he had been misled by some clerk OF the
Legislature into printing the copy of bill never
introduced there would surely be some copies in
the document room of the Senate or the Assem-
bly, but no such copies have been found There
is therefore suspicion that the counterfeit Dill
was printed at some private printing office and
then sent to the Governor in company with the
engrossed copy, which also counterfeited
Mr.. Youngs will make a most careful lnVesu-
CATION of the affair and seek to punish the crln-
inals for it is obvious that there has been a
most dangerous conspiracy against the security
of the State. If the Rochester School bill could
thus be counterfeted, other measures OF larger
importance could be, their way to the Gov
ernor.
What especially puzales people here is thaf
Mayor Carnahan OF Rochester die not detect the
counterfeit bill when it was presented to him for
his acceptance or rejection. The declaration is
made in Rochester that Mayor Carnahan saw
only the genuine BILL but this can hardly be
true because the counterfeit engrossed bill came
directly from his office in Rochester to Governor
Roosevelt's office, and did not pass through any
intervening hands 1t Is highly probable, there
fore that the Interpolation in the counterfeit
bill was not noticed by Mayor Carnahan, he not
being suspicious Of any such change having
been made in the act.
1t is also going to be difficult task to ex-
punge the fraudulent statute from the laws of
the State. Who is going to swear positively that
it was not ION the desks of the members of the
Legislature for three days as required by the
Education of Rochester loses good many need
full powers and the Board of Education must
wait until 1901 before its members can obtain
the rights which the Legislature of 1900 in
tended to confer upon them. To that extent the
villany attempted has been successful The de-
sign Of those who substituted the counterfeit act
for the genuine one was evidently to keep in
office some persons that the Board of Education
Of Rochester desires either to dismiss at least
not TO re-elect