The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-05
ALDERMAN WAS SUSTAINED.
CHARGES AGAINST DIR. FARRELL
WITHDRAWN.

Secret Hearing of the Case Brought
by the Columbia Drug Company
Against Alderman FARRELL ms
Chairman of the Committee on
Public HeaIth-Evidence Showed
Absolutely no Collision Between
Alderman FARRELL and LipDman
Brothers snve I'm an Effort to Dis
cover Leak I'm the Dispensary.
Investigation Operated as n
Boomerang.
The charges against Alderman j. G.
FARRELL in connection with the administra-
ton Of the affairs of the city dispensary
resulted rather strangely. They operated
rather like boomerang, Alderman FARRELL
being relieved from any blame in the al
legged Determinations.
The Columbia Drug Company was left
in the position OF being favored in the
award of contracts for the supplies needed
monthly by the city dispensary, although
the company, through Messrs. e. A. and
j. G. Smith, made the charges that
Lippman Bros. were being favored
and that Alderman FARRELL was party
to the discrimination against the Column
bia people.
Keeper E. M Baker of the dispensary
and Assistant Keeper Z. J. Kieffer, Jr,
may have a seance before the Mayor and
be permitted to explain how information
as to bids submitted for supplies had been
getting out. The evidence introduced at
the hearing given Alderman farrell yes
terday showed conclusively that there mas
been a leak, and the Mayor desires to
know what to do to stop it,
The investigation of the charges against
Alderman farrell was held in the office
of the Mayor. 1t began at 1890 o'clock
and lasted an hour. The proceedings
were of the star chamber order and none
but the witnesses and those Immediately
interested in the case were admitted. Al
derman farrell desired public hearing
of the case, so that the people might know
about the matter, but for some reason
this was not granted. The representatives,
of wholesale drug houses also regretted
that the hearing was not public. The
Mayor, however, did not want it,
Besides the Mayor, city attorney, and
Alderman farrell, there were present Mr..
Isaiah Solomons of the Solomons Drug
Company, Messrs. r. A. and j. G.. Smith
of the Columbia Drug Company, Mr.. w.
f. Reid. Messrs. Lippman of Lippman
Bros, Mr. Baker and Mr.. Kieffer. State
ments were heard from all the witnesses,
and the case against Alderman farrell
was left without a leg 40 stand on
1t was alleged that the Columbia Drug
Company had put in the lowest bid for
the supplies for the Dispensary for jan
suary, but that it's bid had been shown
to Lippman Bros, and that they had been
enabled to underbid, being given an uu-
fair advantage. The keeper of the Dis
pensary, it was alleged. was instructed
by Alderman FARRELL chairman of the
Committee on Public Health. to accept
the bid of Lippman Bros. it it
met or beat the figures of the Columbia
Drug Company, this direction having been
written upon the envelope inclosing one
of the bids. This envelope, il developed
during the hearing, had been lost.
1t was shown that Lippman Bros.
had suspected that information as
20 bids was leaking out from the dis
pensary, and Dec. 81 a consultation with
Alderman farrell was held. That night
they sent Alderman farrell a genuine bid
upon the supplies by which they obligated
themselves to stand. The next morning a
piu CONSIDERABLY ABOVE the genuine
bid was sent to the keeper of the Dis
pensary. The bid later received from
the Columbia Drug Company fell below
the fictitious bid of Lippman Brothers,
but was above the genuine bid The con-
tract was awarded 40 the firm bidding
lower.
Mr.. Isaiah Solomons testified that he
had told Mr. Baker last April that the
Solomons Drug Company did not propose
to be made fool and tool of any longer
by having to submit bids with no chance
of their being accepted. Mr. Solomons
said, too, that his firm had not been ac-
customed to receive the full st 8tement of
supplies desired, but was allowed to bid
upon only smell part of them. He
lad submitted no bids since April. Mr.
Reid had also ceased bidding, because of
the advantage the Columbia Drug Com
pany appeared to have.
Upon the conclusion of the evidence
the Mayor asked Alderman farrell what
he had to say about the charges against
him. The alderman desired to know if
Mr.. Smith still maintained that the
charges were true. Mr.. Smith replied that
he would have to submit to the evidence
and withdraw the charges. That ended the
matter in so far as Alderman farrell was
concerned, and he expressed himself as
thoroughly satisfied with the result.
Several who attended the hearing de-
clared that it had been a complete justi-
fication of Alderman FARRELL The evil
dence soon showed that he was not in a
defensive role.
NEW WING ron THE HOME.