New-York tribune., 1903-05-27
DUV.4L REPLIES TO CURTIS
The Latter Denies That HIS Resi- g.
nation Vas asked For.

To the letter in yesterdays Tribune of Aqueouct
Commissioner Curtis. denying the statement that
he was appointed an aqueduct com
missioner by Mayor Low he was requested oy the
Merchants Association to resign from its direc-
torate George L. Duval. chairman of the commit
tee on revision of city records and accounts of
the association. makes the following reply:
While IT is the earnest wish of my committee to
great Importance of the derelicton of the Aqueduct
Commission, would prefer to avoid any personal
We take care. however, to have abundant evil
dence to sustain any statement we make, and can
not allow contradetiSn on to pass unchailenged m
The appointment OF MI curtis & as an aqIeaues Zee @
%hen Was mSde We We're astonshed at his ac
IN his ne etF 10 T The sn pn6shed
having been made. At a conference with the Mayor
on February 1o last at which Mes MessTs Clarence
William F King, PrqfessoE Burr wv william liam sd7e C. lie
Pe he sated IN reply to question Of
mine and repeated in reply to question gu of M NJ:
appointment commissioner of the attitude of the
association.
missioner was made in September last. and 1 have
letter from him dated DIV July nit IN wneR ne ne
influence the action OF the association.
nation as director Of the Merchans Associatien
was not asked for but voluntary, as soon as as
that his resignation be requested and the president
nrstao5 nI Ie be ala bV teephone and have letter
from Mr.. Curtis TO the president, dated september
ton over the telephone Yesterday has placed
an extremely uncomfortable position, and had
supposed there such possibility | would have
persisted in declining the Mayors request"
can very we'll afford to leave unanswered the
imputatior that I declined information which Mr..
Curtis as a aQueduCt commissioner offered to give
me. The fact is. I declined to accept Mr.. Curts's
Interpretation of the aqueduct commissioners reply
and am prepared exhibit correspondence eX-
changed with Curtis If you deem it of sufficient
interest TO publish. Long before Mr.. Curtis became
an aqueduct commissioner we sought information
from the records of the Aqueduct Commission, ana
it largely upon this very information that the
charges of my committee were based
Mr. Curtis when Mr.. Duval's statement was shown
to him last evening his home, No. q West Forty
seventh-st., by a Tribune reporter, said: Il knew
nothing OF any charges when sailed for Europe on
July g. and they not then made. The note Mr..
DUval mentions written to the then president
of the association the request over the telephone
of political acquaintance 1t suggested, as recol-
lect, that they proceed carefully. was
being unfairly treated-an engineer or some other
subordinate in Aqueduct Commission. had no
further reformation to facts. l have no knowl-
edge of Mr. Duvals alleged suggestion, and my
resignation not asked for, and was accepted
when My private letter to Mr.. Dresser, from
which he quotes. expressing my annoyance at
learning then for the first time after accepting the
Office. of the 'unWritten rule Mr.. Duval put
it. tacit understanding This letter by the way,
written before I knew of the charges having
been filed. and corroborates my statement that
not then aware of the 'unwrtten rule "