The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-07-18
said He PAID MONEY
TO5SECURE CONTRACTS

lUSECURE COh[RAClS
Continued from First Page.l
papers were admitted and were given
access to the official minutes, in part
taken stenogTaphically Of the meetings.
The work Of the newspaper men on the
case was as highly interesting as any
recent similar experience in Richmond.
They were excluded from the meetings;
the committee had bound itself over to
secrecy. and lit was not known what the
committee would give out after the night
meeting. BY o'clock they knew, how
ever, on the bst authority, that tn mat
ter under consideration was "a serious
reflection on former member Of the
committee not now q member Of the
Council" The fact that only one man
was under suspicion was corroborated
by the remark of a member Of the COM
mittee that some one was accused of
something.
About supper time, a member of the
committee thought that this was q
mighty serious thing He wished that
s the new men could pull out and leave
It to the old men to settle. 1t was none
of their business The matter had been
told directly to Coll. Cutshaw Oy one
OF the three who will be summoned to-
night You can tell pretty well what
it is from the three men summoned.
AT the time of the meeting of the com
nittee at night. one ofaits members let
out the fact that "a man until recently
in the Council was charged with getting
percentage on contracts.
1t was known that Captain Gasser was
Colonel Cutshaw's informant. That
Mr.. King was the one Of possible two
or three to whom the above statements
might apply, was not known author1ta-
lively, however until the committee open
ed its doors and showed its inmates.
VISIT TO MR.. KINGS.
Mr.. King is not in the city.
Times writer went to his residence, No.
2o5 North Nineteenth Street, a o'clock
this morning to give him an opportunity
to make any statement in his own be-
half. that he might desire. A member
of his family was awakened and gotten
to the door, This lady said that Mr..
King went to Norfolk yesterday morn
ing to spend the day.
He was expected back last night, she
said, but as he had to go out in the
country some distance she supposed he
had missed his train. He would Ger
tainly return to-day. Nothing was said
to the lady concerning the matter before
lie committee. or why Mr.. King was
being sought by the newspaper man.
COL. CUTSHAW'S STATEMENT.
The following are from the minutes
of the first meeting held yesterday after
noon:
''The city engineer made statement
that a party had made a statement In
regard to certain matters about a party
which he had reported to the chairman
of the committee: that he had sent for
the party and had a talk with him In the
presence of the city attorney and had re-
quested him to put in writing the state
ments he made. This he said he would
do, but afterwards declined to do it: that
he thought that the committee should
meet and that the statement should then
be made to them for such action as they
deemed advisable.
1.-THE City Attorney then made his
statement. which was substantially the
same as the City Engineer.
Mr.. Burton moved that the City
Engineer give the committee the name
of the party and to whom he referred.
MONEY TO KING.
THE City Engineer stated that Mr..
Charles Gasser had made the statement
that he had paid money to council
man to secure contracts, and that Messrs.
j. A. GUIDE and J. C. Weinbrunn had
done the same; = that the party to whom
he alluded was Mr.. John NJ. King: that
afterwards Mr.. Gasser had declined to
put his statement in writing, saying that
he had been advised to let the matter
drop. The City Engineer told him that
no one could advise him to let the mat
ter drop, but that he should bring the
matter to the Committee on Streets for
their action. Therefore he asked the
chairman to call this meeting of the COM
mittee.''
CUTSHAW AGAIN.
The following are the official minutes OF
the meeting last night:
THE chairman called upon the City
Engineer to make a statement.
The City Engineer stated that Mr..
Gasser came to him and asked what he
thought of the condition of things, stat
contracts and that he paid councilman
a bonus He asked the City Engineer
what hef thought about it. The City
Engineer told him that 1t was wrong to
the city and also told him that he wished
he would put this statement down in
writing.
81 saw the chairman Of the Streets
Committee the same day. He thought
that we might be pursuing a phantom,
but II it was a fact it was a serious mat
ter and should be investigated I saw
the City Attorney and he said that i
had better see Mr.. Gasser and get him
to put it down in writing. I saw Mr..
Gasser and he stated that it was a fact
that he had paid for the getting OF con-
tracts. but that he had seen a lawyer and
he had advised him to drop the matter.
I said that he could not advise me to drop
the matter. Gasser said that he had
been black-mailed and that other con-
tractors had been treated in the same
way These statements were made in
the presence of Travers Daniel, young
man in my office and Of City Attorney
H R. Pollard
BRIBE GIvER LIABLE.
"Mr. Whitsett said that it was possible
that it would be best for the City Attor-
ney to state to the three gentlemen pres
ent that they were liable to criminal
prosecution, mat the bride giver was la
BILE as the bride taker.
:. Mr.. Pollard stated that this was true
and that the Constitution allowed them
the right not to make any statement
which would incrininate them. He
thought it but right that they should
he fully Informed 49,