The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-10
REPLIES TO SULZER
TAYLaR ANSWERS CHARGES OF
 THE CONGRESSMAN.
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury DetaiIa StepN fin the Sale of the
 old New York Custom

House Property.
 Washington, Feb. 9.--A hearing was held today before the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds on the resolution introduced by Representa- tive Sulzer (N. ID on the sale of the old New York custom house property.
 The resolution called for information as to when the deed was executed, where it was deposited and why it has not been recorded In New York County, and for other information in c0nnec- tion with the sale of the property.
 Mir. Culzer stated to the committee that the authorities of New York have never been able to find when the deed was executed or.where 1t was deposited or any fpf9rmation concreninl it He also assaifs the Treasury Depar tment for the transaction, calling It an un- speakable outrage of the Government against the city of New York.
 He stated that the property was worth S6,000. .000 when it was sold and is worth $10,000,000 now. He stated that the custom house covered two large blocks about 800 by 400 feet He stated that more than $1,000,000 had already been paid to the National City Bank for rent. He further stated that not a dollar had been paid for the property by the National City Bank 1 that the transaction was simply a mat | ter of book keeping, transferring the
 purchase price of $3,265,00O from one account to another. He declared that | there ought to be an investigation by | Congress of the whole affair.
 Assistant Secretary Taylor of the Treasury. who had been invited to be present at the hearing, replied in de- | tail to these charges.
 Tn the first place he said mo deed had over been executed. therefore it could not be deposited anywhere and co1ld not be recorded. The reason the deed had not been executed was be- cause the property was not fully paid for and under the contract the Ma tional City Bank was not compelled ! to make final payment and get the deed | until the new custom house was com | pleted"
 MT Taylor said the records that the property sold under act of Congress was offered at one time for S4,OOO, 900 that S2,QO0, was spent in advertising 1t in efforts to secure bidders and not bid could be, secured. He produced | letters from a former assistant secre- tary of the treasury under MT Harri- son and from an acting secretary of the | treasury under Cleveland, stating that 1 it was doubtful whether the property could be sold for as much as $S.000,00O, and suggesting that it would be un- wise to place this limit in the bill be- cause If no bidders could be secured | the sale could not be made.
 He also said that under second act of Congress fixing the minimum price at $3,000.000 the property was adver- tised in all leading New York papers and efforts were made for months to secure bidders and the highest btd | of the three submitted was S5,2oo OOO l or $265, 900 above the amount liked by Congress. He further shows that l the government instead Of having paid S1 100000 in rentals had paid less | than one-half that amount. He snow ed that the size of the lot instead Of being two large blocks was less than one-half of one.
 In reply to the charge that the Ma tional City Bank had not paid a dollar l for the property but simply transfer red the account in its books he said the full amount had been actually trans ferred to the credit Of the government at the sub-treasury in New York, max ing a payment as complete as though the actual currency had been paid l over.
 Mir. Taylor stated that the transac- tion connected with the sale of the | Custom House property was as clean and intelligent a transaction as ever made by public officer. That more | than one-quarter of a million dollars above the amount fixed by Congress was secured and the money was turn ed over to the credit Of the govern ment barring the $500O0 still un- paid. The property was leased just as l Congress directed it should be. for four per cent on the amount of the | DurChase.