The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-02
DEAR COLONEL WAS A MURPHY
AND so WAS CHARLEY IN y. 8.
GRANTS DOCK LETTER.
MIR. Grams ENplanatlOD---BrOwn & Flen'-
ins's Remarkable success In Picking
Hfiree Piers I'm a Bunch. All ON a sum-
mer Day--kidney and Another Murphy.

D. Sergeant Grams explanation OF the Dear
Colonel letter, which was printed in THE
sun yesterday. the principal interest in
District Attorney Jerome's investigation
into the old MurphyM eyer-Cram Dock
Board, yesterday, was in further disclosures
OF the remarkable favor enjoyed by the firm
of Brown K Fleming. The principal dis
covery yesterday was that on july |, 1900,
Mr.. Fleming got three fine piers for dump
ing boards within very few minutes after
making application for them, and at
worry small rental, although the evidence.
in Mr.. Jennings own handwriting, that
the piers would increase in kalue within
very short time was before the board.
Mr.. Cram didn't have time to swallow
his first mouthful of breakfast yesterday
morning before reporters were after him
to explain the following letter of April ID,
1900:
MY DEAR ,CoLoNET.-When taiat price is
agreed upon the Counsel TO the Corporation
draws the agreement l will make Charley
call upon you in a day or two to agree upon
the price. j, SERGEANT CRAM.
Mr. Cram was quite willing to make an
explanation. He said:
The Colonel to whom the letter was adj
dressed was the late Col. Michael {. Murphy.
and the Charley mentioned III the letter is
Charles f. Murphy. at that time treasurer
ofthe Dock Board and now loader of Iammany
Hall. The letter was written in reference
to a pier mt the foot of East Fifty-fourth
street. in which the city had but IA half A,erest
at the time. The Commissioners believed
It would be good thing for the city to ac-
aure it all.
The other ha If OF the pier was n the name
OF Maurice D Barry. but we nderstood it
was owned by Michael ilalpn. then mem-
b,r of the Assembly from the First district.
Col. Murphy was leader OF the district at the
through him. That is why Charles F. Muir
ply went to see Col Michael e Murphy.
Ihe reason it vas al HCss,GssaE Ey for Charles
as treasurer OF the board MIR Murphy had
70 come to some kind OF trims with the owner
OF the property or his representative. or
acquire the property through condemna-
tion proceedings. which are long and costly.
The COMMISSIONER, found, after they began
negotiations, that Halpin really had hypothe-
gentlemen. whom | will not NAME but who
was prominent in the Fusion forces last year
This reference is supposed to be to John D.
Commissioner Murphy and / thought
$4,000 a fair price to pay for the pier. but
that much. The Corporation Counsel thought
our figures were all right. but the Sinking
Fund turned them down Comptroller Coler
said Il we could get the pier for s2j,o 900 he
would interpose no objections to the pur-
chase Col Murphy arranged the sale on
those terms and the money went to the prom
inent refOrmer l have referred to. llalpin
really had not dollars worth of interest in
tbs. pier at the time the sale was made.
1t seems to me that things have come to
n pretty pass when a Dock Commissioner OF
this city cannot send a note to an old personal
friend abou. Legitimate transaction with
out being made the sub ject OF star chamber
IJftrr
ney The fact that referred 10 Leader
Murphy ns Charley NAY pc crime If i, is
Tomorrow should be apt to refer to him as
Charley
District Attorney jerome declined TO dis
cuss Mr.. Grams explanation of the letter.
He said it was to hot to talk OF even such
an interesting subject as docks A search
OF the Dock Department records yesterday
afternoon. for the purpose of looking up
the Halpin transaction referred to by Mr.
Cram. showed that the onlv offer bv Mr..
Halpin on file to sell the half of the pier
in question that stood in his name was on
Nov. 2, 1900, several months after the Dear
Colonel" letter was written by Mr.. Cram.
The episode of July /, 1900, in which
Mr.. Fleming of Brown & Fleming figures
as humble applicant for three of the
choicest piers in the city, is one of the most
interesting that has yet been unearthed.
According TO the records Mr.. Fleming
went to Pier A on July 1, 1900. and dictated
to Charles j. Farley, secretary of the Dock
Board. an application for the pier at the
foot of Canal street, the pier at the foot Of
West Flfty-fifth street and the pier at the
foot of East Fortieth street In this appli
cation Mr.. Fleming declared that the piers.
were increasing in value because OF the
excavating going on in the subway work,
which made new dumping boards necessary.
That same day he got all three of the piers
The story is that application, granting and
acknowledgements of the leases were all
made within an hour. MI Jerome has
the acknowledgements. signed by Mr..
Fleming and dated the same day IA the
application, July /, 1900, Mr.. Jerome
made public but one of the rentals paid
by Mr.. Fleming. That was for the Canal
street pier, of which Mr.. Fleming secured
control at the old entail of s., 800 year.
Mr.. Clarke, who has been making some
personal Investigations into the Dock De-
partment records came out flat-footed
yesterday with a declaration that he is
being hampered in his work by a lot of
Tammany clerks in the Dock Department
An instance OF this is the case of Joseph
Egtn. Mr.. Clarke was informed at the
Dock Department by the clerks that Mr..
Egan personally paid rent for the bulkhead
on the North River between Twenty-eighth
and Twenty-ninth streets When Mr.. Flem-
ing was on the witness stand on Tuesday
ne sdlu tndt ne nhu Deem paying tne rent
for Egan's bulkhead himself for a year
Investigation shows this to be absolutely
true, and furthermore that IL was known to
all Of the clerks
Mr. Clarke has not succeeded vet in
getting William /. Kidney. All the letters
Written by William |. kidney are on the
business paper of Gorge Kidney, paper
box maker. Of Walker street. George
Kidney was subpGnaed to appear before
Mr.. Clarke yesterday. but failed 10 come
William l. Kidney is supposed 10 be pres-
dent of the Steel Clad Reversible Broom
Company of 1l8 Walker street. A glance
at the corporation directory reveals the
fact that John J. Murphy Leader Murphy's
brother, is treasurer Of this company Mr..
Clarke learned Yesterday that on Dec 27,
1901 the same day that Mr. Kidney gave
over his right in the Seventy ninth street
pier to Alderman Gafrney's and John H.
Murphy's contracting and trucking com
pany, the Dock Board granted Kidney a
lease of the pier AZ the foot Of West l33d
street.
Another interesting discovery made yes
terday was that Leader Murphy really did
sign the lease given by the Dock Board
to Alderman Ga1fney. Ever since the
question whether Gaffney and John j.
Murphy, who was Councilman at the
time, did violate The law by leasing pier
Of the city while they were in the Municipal
Assembly came up, II has been maintained
that Charles F. Murphy did not sign the
lease which gave his brother this valuable
dumping board.
The bath privilege at the foot of West
l49th street is held by John Monahan, who
got ten years tense with renewal priv