The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-03-08


He had been elected to common coun-
Gil in 1894, he said, and after serving
four years in that branch had. in 1898,
been elected to select council. in which
branch he had served until his recent
resignation. lie stated In reply to n
question that during his service In
council he had received money on var
ious occasions. He had served three
years in the common council before he
received any money
The first money he got was from r.
w. Gallagher, at that time employed
by the Scranton Railway company.
Gallagher, he said. had given him
money in an envelope on two different
occasions. He was not sure whether
the sums given were $25 or $50. Gal
lagher ha1 told him the money was a
present. Gallagher had given him one
sum of the money at his home and
one sum at the ST. Charles hotel.
KNEW THE OBJECT.
"You understand what Mr Gala
ghcr's motive in giving you this money
was. of course?" asked Mr.. Newcomb.
"Ycs. I understood that I was ex-
pected 60 work for the interests of
the Scranton Railway company when
any measure came up replied Mr..
Thomas.
He stated that the heNt money he
had received was the $500 given him by
Harry liatton to work for the new tel
ephonc company. reference to which
was made at the hearing i'm the per-
jury case against tho latter. Mr.. New
comb next began series of questions
TO bring out some information regard
ing the alleged distribution Of sum
of money among the members of the
joint fire department committee some
few wears ago. when the purchase Of
u new combination wagon and chcmi-
cal engine We're under consideration.
He said that he was the chairman
of the select council committee at the
time this purchase was pending. He
received no money then or at any ether
time from anyone connected with any
Of the companies selling apparatus.
He remembered that Edward Wcn2el.
now deceased. chairman of the COM
mon council committee, had come to
him and offered him S25. which was
understood TO have come from the rep
rescntative of one of the companies
Wenzcl had claimed that he was short
that day and he (Thomas) had told
him TO keep the money. He had never
received it afterwards.
Mr.. Newconnb next made n futile eff
fort to draw out some testimony to the
effect that eX-Select Councilman +. f.
Mccain had either directly offered
money or intimated to witness that
there would be something in II il he
4
telephone company Mr.. McCann,
Thomas said. had talked to him about
voting against the new company. but
he had never mentioned money.
MET MALONEY.
"Did YOU ever meet T.. J. Maloucy,
the former local manager of the Gem
tral Pennsylvania Telephone COM
panyp" was asked.
Eyes. | die was the reply. "IIe
came over to my place OF business, and
after talking for q little while gave
mo an envelope. | did not open it then.
but when he was gone l opened it and
found $50 in IT,"
After that, he said, the new ordi-
nance had come up and he nad stood
by the old company. lie remembered
having got payments from tim" TO
tire from the old company up TO the
time the new franchise was granted.
Three or four payments had been made
at the st. Charles hotel. he said. and
then he proceeded to give n detailed
explanation of the clever system which
the bribers had Contrived for the pay
ing of the bribc money.
Some time after he had been paid
the $50 by Maloncy he received let
ter telling him to come down to the
st. Charles hotel, tho proprietor OF
which. by the way. is T., G. Melvin,
one of the defendants in the case.
This letter informed him that in a
certain room in tho hotel on a certain
table he would find package. He
went to the hotel and into the back
room mentioned in the letter. There
hc found an envelope on the table men,
toned ana upon Opcring it found Il
TO contain $50 in bills.
After that on various occasions he
would receive a postal card asking him
to come down to the ST. Charles. He
would go down and into some back
room and there on the table would al
ways find an envelope. Sometimes
sometimes $I5. There would be no
name on the envelope.
TIE GHOST WALKING.
Sometimes he would go into the bar
room before going back after his en-
velopc and would there meet various
members of the select council.
"Now. what would these gentlemen
"Wouldn't they intimate TO YOU that
your money was awaiting YOU in the
little back room? Wouldn't they say
that the ghost was walking? Wasn't
that the shibbolcth?"
Yes" replied Mr.. Thomas That's
what they'd say, Tho ghost is walk
ing"
Mr.. Newcomb wanted to know who
some of the councilmen We're who had
been present and had told witness that
the ghost was walking, The Witness
mentioned the names of COuncilmen
r. G. Melvin. p. +. McCann, Il. II. Will
liams and John j. McAndrew. lie was
not pressed to give any further names.
"Who wry the ghost?''
II Understood that the ghost was T..
j. Maloncy,"
Mr.. Newcomb wanted to know if the
general understanding was that
the councilmen interested We're to rc-
ceive a regular monthly wage of $75
and whether there was not complain
ing when only $50 was received. Wit
ness wouldn't admit this altogether.
The payments We're not always month
ly, he said. Sometimes five or six
weeks would intervene between each.
He didn't know of complaints about
$50 being too little.
The payments from the old company
ceased, witness said, when the fran