The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-08
PUT NO PRICES ON PIER BIDS.
CHENOW ETH'S TIP FROM CHIEF
ENGINEER BENSEL.
Dock Board Records Don't SHOW Prices
ReJccted-A Fat Murphy-d:aIIney Priv.
ilese-Partner Provided for McTea que
--COOgaR Has Another Chance.


--CoOgan Has Another Chance.
Alderman James Gaffney and John j
Murphy are to be arraigned to-day in
Special Sessions on the charge that in 1901
when one was an Alderman and one a coun-
Gilman, and both were officers of the New
York Contracting and Trucking Company
they sought and obtained the lease of a
dock privilege from the Murphy Dock
Board. A subpoena has been served on
John j. Murphy to produce the company g
books to-day, but his lawyer has advised
him not to.
The principal witness in the dock in
quiry before Justice Mayer vest erday was
A. G. Chenoweth, a contractor who never
had any trouble getting piers under the
Strong administration but could get none
under Van Wyck
He testified vest erday that he had looked
up the name of the man who had got the
filling-in privilege for the pier at the foot
OF East Twenty-third street He explained
that filling in privileges are very valuable,
and when they are SO near the heart of tn Q
city they are especially valuable, and much
sought. He was astonished, he said. to
learn that the lucky holder of this privilege
paid the city but $3.50 year Then he
learned that 1t was John j. Murphy and that
Murphy turned over the privilege TO the
New York Contracting and Trucking Com
pany.
The company about this time got con-
tract from Holbrook. Cabot q DAILY, subway
contractors for the sections between Great
Jones street and Thirty fourth street, to haul
all the dirt, stone and refuse taken out
by them in the course of their subway
work. The value to the trucking company
of flling-in privilege at 1wenty-ihird
street, making such n short haul. was
according to Mr.. Chenoweth tremendous
Out of this contract Mr.. Chenoweth testi-
fed, he believed the Murphy Gaffney COM
pany made between s87 600 and $40 600.
=. or his own efforts to get a pier from the
ChenOweth said that he wrote to the board
several times telling them he would like
a pier, but never got any results He
finally submitted list of piers. any one
of which would be available for his pur-
poses and all of which were open and could
have been awarded to him, and asked that
the board select one for him, and name
any rental it thought proper,
To this request he got no response.
Meanwhile he heard of piers being rented
to all sorts of people for small sums of
money and he decided to make a high
bid and see if that wouldn't have some
results Shortly afterward lie was told
by an official of the Dock Board that he
had taken the worst kind of course for
man who wanted to stand in right. II
he wanted any consideration at all, this
man said to him, ne must not put any fig
ures i'll his application.
Now that is precisely what We want to
i -.
Clarke to the witness. who WAS it that
told you not to put any figures in your
application o,,,,...
"Yes, said Mr., Clarke, I'VE want to know
who told you this,
We'll, said Mr. Ckenow eth, ii: was Chief
Engineer RenSel"
ibid Bensel tell you who authorized him
to tell you not to put figures in your appli-
cation"
He di! not
Among all the applicat ions for piers and
other waterfront privileges examined by
the Distric. Attorneys office, only one has
been found in which any definite money
offer for pier was made, so that no COM
parison can be made from the records OF
the bids that prevailed and the bids that
failed Thai Mr.. Bensel will soon be wit
ness in the inquiry is regarded as certain.
The only question To be asked of him will
for privileges not to mention money in their
applications.
MIR. ChenOweth's unpopularity with the
old Dock Board is believed to be due 10
the fact that he was suspected of acting
for John ID. Crimmins.
The one other witness examined by Mr.
Clarke yesterday was man named
McTeague, partner of Joseph Egan in a
filling-in privilege on West Side pier.
McTeague applied for filling-in privilege
on the West Side. He didn't get it at once
and he went to Nick Hayes, the Tammany
leader of the district In which he lived,
and said he must have the privilege. Mr..
been down to Pier A about the matter.
that he couldn't get McTeague an entire
fillng-in privilege, but that he would give
him a half, the other half being held by
Joseph Egan, McTeague had never heard
of Egan.
He learned, however, that Egan had been
a clerk in Secretary Burke's coal yard,
and he agreed to take a half of the privi-
lege. For his share he paid $3.50 a year.
All of the money made out of the privilege
by himself and Egan who became partners,
was collected by Egan, he said, but he
paid the rent for the privilege by his per-
sonal check He couldn't explain why.
James j. COogan. who was removed
by the Appellate Division AZ receiver for
the contracting firm OF Brown Fleming,
now in liquidation, applied for permission
to have the case reargued and yesterday
the Appellate Division denied his appli-
cation but allowed him to have the original
motion for his removal. which was made
in the Supreme Court rcopcned He can
then submit any additional affidavits he
desires and an appeal can be taken, II nee
cessary, from the decision.
Coogan presents much new matter which.
says the Court, would, had it been heard.
have put his case in an entirely different
aspect He says he has had no fair oLIor-
tunity of vindicating himself; that he has
been stigmatized as insolvent and incom-
petent, and that he has not been able to
put himself in a proper light before the