The San Francisco call., 1903-12-28
MACMILLAN
AZ TER COIN
OF ALAMEDA
County Supervisors
Say They Will Fight
Claims.
One Member Of the Board
Hints at Attempted
BlaCkmail.
Investigation Is Ordered and Sen
Sational Disclosures May
Be the Result.
Oakland Office San Francisco Call,

Oakland Office San Francisco Call,
111S Broadway, Dec. %.
The Supervisors and various county
officials of Alameda County are begin
ming to wonder where an apparently in
nocent agreement entered into between
c. S. Macmillan and the Board of Su-
pervisors is going to lead them. The
indications are that it Will lead them
to an enforced payment of something
in the neighborhood Of $35, 900 to Mac
Mullan, though they all say they did
not expect that he would make more
than a few hundred dollars at the most.
But while the Supervisors are trying
to explain how they were trapped into
this agreement the City Council of Oak
land is felicitating itself upon the fact
that it did not fall into MaoMullan's
trap and that they refused to accept his
offer when>he made 1t to them at about
the same time he made it to the Super
visors. Had the City Council done as
did the Supervisors, Macmillan would
have had claims against the city and
county aggregating more than 100000
for few weeks work.
But this is not all of the scandal that
is likely to arise from this matter.
bCAC dl = iilIilS VI dCllOtS lldl dIG QSu-
ally described by the ugly word black
mail" and one member of the Board of
Supervisors has letters in his possession
from the highest officials of the South
ern Pacific Company that go to show
that this information, which was sold
to the county of Alameda upon
a percentage basis, was offered TO
that corpora ton. When it is consid-
cred that the bulk of this alleged 'un-
assessed" property consists of the fran
chises Of the Southern Pacific Company.
Oakland Gas Light and Heat Company.
Contra Costa Water Company and like
corporations and the personal property
of the same corporations, the opportuni-
ties for such actions are manifold
COUNCIL NOT TRAPPED.
That the City Council of Oakland was
not trapped as was the Board of Su-
pervisors is due to Chairman John l..
Howard of the Finance Committee of
that organization and Chairman Dor
min. These two gentlemen thought that
they discovered a "nigger in the wood
pile" and refused MacMullan's offer.
Macmillan wrote some letters to the
Council that Dornin and Howard re-
NN9NA ~ ANNNANC Cll the SIOuuu IHdI
they were scurrilous in their nature,
and at that moment MacMullan's prop
osition went a-glimmering Now the
Councilmen are happier than the Su-
pervisors.
While the story did not leak out from
the Supervisors until yesterday, the
matter has been under investigation by
them for more than a week, and the
members Of that board have been ap-'
palled at the position in which they
found themselves. The bill that broke
the news to them so forcibly was pre-
sented more than a week ago. 1t did
not. take the men who are so we'll ac-
quainted with the affairs of Alameda
County very long to discover that they
would have something more to face
than the mere bill of $1O99 Is then be-
fore them. They sent for District At
torney Allen and County Assessor Dal-
ton to appear before the meeting of the
Finance Committee one week ago yes
terday, but they got very little comfort
from either official.
District Attorney Allen told them that
they would have to pay the bill.
Then they asked County Assessor
Dalton how it was that $1,000, 900 worth
Of property had gone unassessed for
years and whether he had placed this
property upon the rolls as the result of
the labors Of Macmillan. The County
Assessor replied that it was upon the
information furnished by Macmillan
that the property got upon the rolls,
and that the property had been so deft-
ly hidden that with the limited force
and limited time at his command he
had not been able to discover it him
self
REPORTED TO ASSESSOR.
So the Finance Committee passed the
bill more than a week ago, and the
board itself passed it, but it did not es-
cape the vigilance of Auditor Bacon,
who has announced that he will demand
judicial decision before he will pass
it, That act yesterday let the cat out
of the bag, and developments have been
very rapid since then.
The matter will be taken up by the
Board of Supervisors tomorrow, and
Chairman John Mitchell announces that
1t will be gone into thoroughly before
any more bills are passed. This is what
Mr.. Mitchell said to-day:
The Supervisors VIII make a thorough in
vestigation CT this matter and It Will certainly
be taken up tomorrow. AS for this bill.
it is probable that ii is legal one. and ii is
also probable that it was put in alone be-
cause it a legal one in the hopes that its