The Topeka state journal., 1903-12-01
A TALE OF GRAFT.


CONTINUED from First Page)
He also implicated in the water deals
Dudley E. Waters, ex-president of the
board of public works; DR.. Mike de
Vries, eX-city physician; George Ellis
a local broker: Samuel NJ Lemon, col
lector Of internal revenue, and William
n. Anderson, president of the Fourth
National bank.
Six separate water conspfracv deal
were on in Grand Rapids at one time.
according to Salisbury's sworn testi-
mony, each gigantic in its size and all
calling for the use of a Doodle fund.
In addition to the Henry Taylor 800. 900
Lake Michigan water deal, he testified
that there were five other strings out
from each one of which thousands of
dollars We're hanging. Every one of
these six sets of men who put up or
offered to advance a corruption fund
We're dupes, so Salisbury says of him
self Perry, McGarry and Sproat.
rat flynn, OF New York, he names as
one OF those at the head of one scheme.
Ihe men interested in the Hydraulic
water company are named as the back
ers of another deal in Chicago
Then there was a Milwaukee deal in
winch he said Contractor Loss of Chi
cago was interested, the Omaha deal in
which the Barton millionaires are said
to have put up $4,000. and the Gillespie
deal On top of all these Salisbury i'm
phcateS Revenue Collector Samuel NJ
Lemon with a deal charging Lemon
with coming to him with a proposition
TO buy the council after having bought
the mayor for 10000 D. N. Grow of
Grand Rapids and Moses Crow of New
York are also mentioned in connection
with one fthe deals.
Salisbury said the reason that he did
not get out of the deal after getting the
first Doodle was that he had to keep ur
an appearance of good faith with the
promoters and because of the drains up
on him in interesting other persons he
was unable to get enough out of it for
himself to pay up his $4,000 shortages.
After paying McGarry $500, so he tes-
tilted, he went down to ex-Mayor Per-
rvs Office and gave him SO 1888
Perry's theory" so Salisbury testified,
was for him and the Democrat, a local
paper, to support the Bailey springs
water project, rival of the Lake Mich
igan deal. He located Bailey springs
deal with the sole purpose of getting
the other papers to oppose the project
before it was known that the other pa
pers would accept money. Mr. Burch
of the Evening Press, at first wanted
$4,000, but finally took the $4,000. 1
insisted that nothing be done by the
council until the additional $4,000 for
which we had bargained with the pro-
motors Attorney McGarry first got hold
of this money but I insisted that it be
turned over to Stilson V. Mcleod an
employe of the old National bank with
whom had been interested in stock
speculation. Mcleod took $15,30O to
make up his shortage. and got S12, 900
and paid up my debts. The rest was
kept by Mcleod at the old National
bank. My idea yet was to call the
whole water deal off and let those fell
lows go back to New York thinking
lthat they had done something"
Salisbury also implicated Samuel
Lemon, collector of internal revenue and
William r. Anderson, president of the
Fourth National bank, who, he said,
wanted $1,000 each. Lemon was inter-
ested in several water deals that were
on at one time. so Salisbury said and
came to his Office saying that he had
paid the mayor $4,000 and wanted to
know how much it would take to get the
council.
''I told him that it would take $780,
OoO,' said Salisbury. He wanted me
to come down, but I told him that he
and Anderson wanted $4,000 without
doing q thing"
Salisbury also implicated Dudley E.
Waters, a member of the board of pub
lie works; Eugene D. COnger, mana ger
of the Grand Rapids Herald; and J. r.
Thompson, municipal reporter of the
Evening Press. He said that he sound
ed Waters and that Waters told him he
nad enough money, but would not
stand in the way of the water deal
either voting favorably or staying
away.
Later I learned" Salisbury testified,
that he had negotiated with the New
council meeting Thompson came to
me and accused me of knowing about
the deal. I took him in and offered him
$1,000 cash, and $1,000 in bonds After
Mcleod and myself took what money
we needed out of the $4,000 Doodle fund
there was $4S,500 left. I carried that
until after election. The day of cleo
tion I awakened suspicion among some
of the city officials that I had the boo
die by betting heavily on election re-
suits. They asked me then for their
Sl3,15O. I gave some to Corey P. Bis
sell, of the board of public works and
some to ]. r. Thompson and to E D.
Conger $4,000. 1 paid $3.50 each to AL
dermen Ellen, Depegeter, Kinney,
Schriver, Mol, Stonehouse and Mack
laichlan; $500 each to Bissel, Thomp-
son and Aldermen MeCool McNuir,
Donovan, Ghysels, Lozier and Slocum.
Isaac LamOreaux I paid 81 500
Lamoreaux was city clerk and is sup
posed to have confessed to the prose-
cutting attorney, although he has not
been arrested.
The connection of z. D. Conger. with
the deal Salisbury explained by telling
of the discovery that bogus checks were
being put in with the bids that went
in for the contracts with the city for a
water supply. CongeT made the discov-
cry, SO he stated LAS soon as Perry
heard of the bogus checks, he told me. .
Salisbury testified. I'VE decided that
If there was anything bad, we had bet
ter be the ones to expose it rather than
any one else. I did not suppose that
McGarry would put up bogus 800 900
checks. Perrys message making the
exposure was prepared by Frank w