The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-11-27

Secretary of the Treasury At
tended Meeting of Pittsburg
Chamber of Commerce.
SOME CHARGES OF GRAFT"
CABINET OFFICER MADE INDiG-
NANT DENIAL.

Pittsburg Nov. 26.-Secretary of the
Treasury Shaw, who came TO Pittsburg
TO inspect sites for a postoffice building.
left for Washington tonight after most
strenuous day, in which he Travelled over
a great deal of the center of the city and
held meetings with the representatives of
the various business mems organizations,
which were characterized by heated argu-
ments in which the presidents cabinet
officer did not hesitate to express him
self. At one of the meetings the Secre-
tary snapped his finger in the face of II.
D. w. English, president of the local
Chamber of Commerce, who left the
hearing, declaring it was farce.
After viewing the various sites oftefeu
Secretary Shaw announced that he would
make a statement on the matter after he
had reached Washington.
Result of Protests.
The secretary's visit today was the re-
suit of vigorous protests made against
his selection of a site for the new post
office building, and against which the
government had begun condemnation pro-
ceedings. These latter proceedings were
stopped when the protests reached the
secretary, endorsed by a local congress
man, and it was announced the site Sc
lected by the secretary was offered 10 the
government at double the amount for
which it was assessed. When the con-
demnatlon proceedings were stopped the
secretary announced MS intention per-
sonally to inspect the sites offered, and
he arrived this morning
The meeting of the various committees
of business mems organizations was called
shortly after the secretary arrived at me
federal building. and it was here that
numerous displays of anger were made.
Graft Was Charged.
Since the secretary had made a selec-
ton of a site there had been declarations
hqfnTn business
hand was taken up Mr.. Shaw turned to
newspaper men present and said:
II would give $1,000 to know the name
of the man who gave the information that
there was graft In the hearings al Wash
ington when the real estate men were
there"
Secretary Shaw said to the real estate
"Those of you who did not get square
deal before me at Washington in the pre-
Vious hearings will please rise
No one rose.
Only an Annex.
The controversy between Secretary
Shaw and the business interests grows
out of a misunderstanding as to the uses
of the appropriation of the last congress
made for the Pittsburg pOstoffice. WheI
the appropriation was made ii was un
derstOod by the business interests OF
Pittsburg that new pOstoffice was to b'
built. but when Secretary Shaw made hi:
decision on a site that precipitated the
present controversy he announced thai
ST was for an annex to the present build
ing and, therefore, the new building mus
necessarily be in the neighborhOod of tht
present union station.
Shaw Was Sarcastic.
The tiff with President English of tn,
Chamber of Commerce came during a pc
Rod of the hearing when angry recrim
.inations were being INDUCED in and rep
-utatiOnS for VeracitS were being chal
lenged. During this controversy Mr.. Shaw
is alleged to have said that the chambel
amounted TO no more than anybody else
and that any person could come in anC
be heard. He tOld the president of tn,
Chamber of Commerce that his organiza
-tion had no weight, and there was an
other flare-up. President English de
snOunced it as the greatest farce he haC
ever witnessed, and said that the com
sbined business and financial interests o
!Jhe city would probably get together anC
appeal to the president.