The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-04-02
ILLINOIS TAX SCANDAL
TESTIMONY IN THE HEARING ON AS
sESSMENT OF CORPORATIONS.
Corporations Prefer to Buy Country
Members of the Board Because
They VIII Stay Bought.

SPRINGFIELD. H., April 1.-The hear
ing cf evidence secured by the Chicago
school teachers against the State Board of
Equalization was resumed in the Circuit
Court OF Sangamon county to-day The
feature OF to-days proceedings was the
iIs44lL4ting and sensational questions by
Mr.. Greenacre, attorney for the teachers.
in his examination of T.. r. Bliss, attor-
ney for the Chicago City Railway Com
pany, relating to money alleged to have
been paid to Major E. A. Bodgett for dis
tribution among members of the Board OF
Equalization. Mr.. Greenacre promised the
court that he would attempt to prove the
facts alleged, but admitted this evening
that he did not know whether or not he
would be able to furnish the proof.
Mr.. Bliss was the first witness. He was
subjected to a scorching examination by
Attorney Greenacre. counsel for the teach
ers. The testimony brought out the fact
that Major +. A. Blodgett had been pur-
chasing agent for one of the Chicago
street-railway companies. Mr.. Bliss was
then asked whether, just previous to the
fixing of the assessment by the Board Of
Equalization. he had conferred with Blod-
gett at the Union League Club in Chicago
and whether he had there given to BlodgetS
a sum of money. Mr.. Bliss admitted that
possibly he had met Blodgett at the club.
but he denied positively and unequivocally
that he had ever given to Blodgett any
sum of money at the club or at any other
place Mr.. Bliss as positively denied that
his company had ever paid out sum of
$4,000 or any other sum to Blodgett or any
other person in connection with the as
sessment of its property. Questioned as to
his failure to bring certain books and pa
pers before the court, Mr.. Bliss insisted
that ne had made diligent search for them,
but that they could not be found. AS to
certain individual expenses reported to
have been entered upon the company's
books, Mr.. Bliss testified that he had had
the books carefully examined and that
there were no such entries.
Miss Margaret Haley. of the Teachers
Association. told of her experience before
the State Board of Equalization while she
was making the fight against its methods
of taxing corporations. Miss Haley said
Major Blodgett attended all sessions of
the State Board; that he had desk on the
floor and that he had a key to desk in
which he kept a number of papers. Miss
Haley detailed conversation she had with
John Mckenna, a member of the board
who called at her office to discuss the as
sessrnents made by the board. McKenna.
she said. told me he wanted TO set himself
right with the teachers and convince them
that they had mistaken impression. The
school teachers he said. were making a
mistake I'm attacking the State Board
George Schil1ing had been in her office NJ
the time. she said, and Schiling had asked
McKenna how membership in the Board
of Equalization paid. McKennas reply
was that there was not much in il for A
Chicago man. ''He said" continued Miss
Haley. that the corporations could buy
two or three members for the price a Chi
cago man asked and they preferred TO do
business with country members because
they would stay bought. They were al
ways sure OF landing them. he said
There was another thing Mr.. McKenna
said" continued Miss Haley. He said we
had done a good thing for the board In
showing what the property of the corpora
tions was worth He said the members
would now realize that the corporations
had not been treating them right. He said
they would now have TO come down"
Miss Haley was crOss-examined by At
torney John S. Miller. The purpose OF
the cross-examination was to show that
;he teachers had not included I'm their pro-
ceedlng several hundred corporations which
were assessed in the same manner as those
named IN the petition. Miss Haley ad-
mitted this and said they had undertaken
to deal with only a certain class OF cor
porations at this time. She said they had
Intended 10 include only public service cor
pcrations enjoying public franchises and
the value OF whose stock could be obtained
by market quotations. This closed the
hearing.