The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-01-04


auet at the st. Cloud after the select
council meeting, Immediately preced-
ing the meeting ut which the Lacka-
wanna telephone ordinance was amend
ed to death, was for the purpose of
forming company to assure the old
telephone company of anything II
wanted and to receive In return S75 a
month for each member of the COM
bine, as long as he was o. member Of
councils. Mr.. Ross, however, could not
say that such was the purpose OF the
gathering.
Some five, six or seven months ago,
Mr.. Ross went on to testify in answer
to questions by Mr.. Torrey, he heard
talk around city hall that there was a
combine to control legislation and that
II would be greatly to the advantage
Of a councilman to belong to It.
Someone, he believed it was Simon
Thomas, asked him on the night above
alluded to, to go down to the st. Cloud
after the meeting, as the boys were
going to have a spread.
On the way down town he caught up
to Mr.. Roche and they talked about
the spread. Mr.. Roche said he had
heard about It, and that Il was also
rumored that the spread meant "some-
thing good for the boys" that he
understood there was SIS q month in
1t. Mr.. Roche said he wouldn't even
go to the spread, and left Mr.. Ross TO
so to his business place.
Mr.. Ross went down to the st. Cloud,
looked in for a minute. concluded that
he had better not stay, and went on
CO W oil mn tn t1,a
barroom and saw tables set in the
dining room just to the rear of the
barroom. He did not remember hav-
ing seen Simon Thomas there. and
could not recall any one whom he did
sec there.
SOMETHING MIGHT OCCUR.
When questioned particularly as TO
why he concluded not to stay for the
spread, Mr.. Ross was at loss for an
answer, but finally admitted that he
had anticipated that there was some-
thing going to occur which he didn't
want to know anything about.
Haven't YOU told me within an
hour" asked Mr.. Sturges, "that a
councilman told you it would be worth
$75 q month to you If you Joined the
comb!nation?"
well, that's about what Mr.. Roche
said to me-" replied Mr.. Ross.
On cross-examination by Mr.. O'Brien,
the witness stated that Mr.. Roche did
not ask him, or even suggest to him,
to so to the spread" and that all that
Mr.. Roche said was that he heard they
were going to have some kind of a
NO Of a nd ha
had heard there was S7j a month in 1t
for the boys.
Simon Thomas was the second wit
ness. He said he voted for the tele-
phone ordinance right along. He voted
for it in May, 1898, when it had at
tached to il the amendment that made
1t useless, and also in February last
when the acceptable ordinance passed
| finally.
He would not admit that he knew
| the amendment Of May, 1898. was hos
tile to the ordinance, though he was
| approached by Superintendent Ma
| loney, of the old company, with a re-
! quest that he vote in it's favor. He did
| not know the new company opposed
| the amendment. The reason he voted
| for the final passage of the acceptable
ordinance was because he was solicited
| to do so by his personal friends. David
| Evans and William Penn Morgan. He
was also prompted in favorlng IL by
reason of his belief that competition
! in the telephone business should be en-
| couraged.
There was no intimation made tc
/ him, the witness said, of any pecuniary
| advantage that might be derived from
| voting for or against the ordinance
| and he never heard of any money be-
| ing used by the old telephone company
to have the new telephone company's
! ordinance amended. He had heard tall
OF such a thing, but knew nothing OF
| it, personally. He denied emphatcally
! that he had ever received any none,
for anything he ever did in councils.
WAS AT ST. CLOUD.
He admitted he was at the st. CLOUD
meeting week or two before the pass
age of the acceptable telephone ordi.
nance, but could not remember any
one who was there except Mr.. Coyne.
THAT was before you got YOU
money, wasn't it?" queried Mr.. New
comb, in matter-of-fact tones
..,o,,a,. .o ~, . i s'T
I Suu va. |" 'a"se' o.ns a t.N
10y %so ,'I.
~. ~, u ioons .,i''ons
t'a' ioii pioohS eaSc .ou iiipiies, "ii'
uiuh . YOU poin' 70 YOU, leiI manu- any
say inat .,ie ha,o ioiii b.Oohs pu
'he hiohes III Is tha' correct :.
never iiiehtioheu suvh nnihe IL
uhy such conversation MI Ihoma