The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-10
s. PC. 4. Is CLEANING HOUSE.
.gPECIALS COM MITTEE DIGS INTO
CH.NRG ES OF GRAFT.
Investigation ten e Carried on Thoroughly
Until March LEPlanned TO End Auto
cratic POwerSAf the President Thurs
days MeetIng'I stormy New Bylaws.

- NDNuIlnR Ltlb ItNlklAAh ~ - 'N'' '
a. president of the society, the reform
clement began at oLp , to investigate the
tbarees OF mismanagCn tent that were made
III Thursdays meetil N of the board OF
managers against the .Haines administra-
tlon. The special con mittee, consisting
81 Richard Yelling, John H. lselin and
Henry Bereh. began onthtN Charges'of graft.
Among the complaints and charges
rreAnted TO the board W ere'certain accusa-
tionsihvolving formerand pr esent employees
"a the society. These Gin lrJes. like all the
complaints presented at Gle meeting, were
Ia the form OF afidavits. One of them
concerned the alleged payment OF bride
money to an S.,P. C. A. AGENT by certain
oaicials OF the New York Mail Company
for freedom from prosecution The books
Of the company show at least N~pne'pHyment
OF that kind amounting to IS.
The meufheEs of the investigatinGN com
mittee visited the Mail compaoys 'ofhce
yesterday to etNparticulars,
Tho committee will spend a Roodepart ef
avery day looking into the charges unit
March IA. when they will report to the fthl
board. Their report will be in'the nature dt
an indictment and will declare who hasVoeen
"a blame. In addition the committee VIII
probably recommend steps to be taken that
will restore public oonfdence'in the society,
One of the recommendations will probably
be that the board of managers shall realy".
manage the society and that all autocraticS
mowers he taken from tho president.
Nothing will be left unt5one," said a
member of the DO ard yesterday, ito prove
that hereafter the society will be run Tor
the sole purpose for which it wasAchartered.
Another reform will be made in the by
laws. "A committee has begun work 30 TO-
change them that annual elections OF the
oresident shall be held and that ~thetpublio
ahall have a larger share OF knowledge as
70 what is going on in the society. Gen.
Charles +. Roe said yesterday that the
work OF the committee would be THOR
ough. Gan. Roe also said that assurances
had been received that President Darlington
OF the Health Board would not press MS oill
70 have the fees from dog licenses taken
3 from the society.
Despite the assertion of Mr.. Haines that
the meeting of the board of managers on
Thursday wa peaceful IL was learned YES
ferday that there were several clashes, one
a. which was personal. All the votes, how-
ever, were unanimous.
The first clash came over the presentation
Of the charges that the reform members
had collected. The primary purpose OF
handing in the charges was to force MIR;
Haines's resignation. When it was learned
that he intended to resign those who were
preparing the charges went ahead with the
work. and the understanding was that II
there was a string attached to the reslg-
nation the charges were to be handed IN:
The members all had copies OF them. Ii
Haines resigned, it was understood among
the reformers that, the object OF the com
pilation having been accomplished 1ney
were not to be presented.
Some of the reformers got mixed on the
programme. When the subject OF the
charges came up some of the reform eie-
ment said the complaints were not to be
presented. Others said they We're.
Several sharp passages occurred and the
result was that the charges were pumped
upon the table with a demand that they Dc
Investigated. Haines Joined in the request,
and a house cleaning committee was ap-
pointed at once.
The second clash came over the report
of the accountants, Haskins and Sells. A
member of the society wrote a letter ohering
ito pay for the printing Of all the schedules.
Some of those present protested against
such a plan, and after a slight war OF words
1t was decided that the society itself should
have the schedules printed.
A third clash arose over a plan 10 INFORM
the newspapers as to what bad occurred in
the meeting. A motion to admit the re-
porters was voted down. Then some one
suggested that John Mason Knox, the score
information. One of the reform members
objected strenuously to that. He declared
that Mr.. Knox had given out information OF
a previous meeting and that he, the OBJ
jector, had had to spend all OF the following
day denying what had been published.
This made Mr.. Knox angry. Bitter words
followed. and the result was that Mr.. Knox
was instructed 20 give out the text of the
resolutions adopted and that no one else was
to say anything Of the proceedings.
Messrs. Haskins and Sells do not like the
reflection that Mr.. Haines made on their
business methods when he said there was
an error of $1O,000Ain their work and that
they forced a balanes. 4 An member OF the
an inquiry into the matter; lie said their
figures were borrect and that they would
demand a public statement to that effect
II the facts upon inquiry bore them out.
sohedules by Haskins and Sells. 1t APP
p~areptly showed that three items which had
been footed up to over $i2 600 should really
have been S33 900. He asserted that to
make a balance the Fogg relief fund had
been included on the other side of the sheet
10 offset tho error of $4,000 1t was learned
Yesterday, however, that the Fogg relief
fund had not been included among certain
items of the ssoeieaty.'s assets and The ao-
countants had put X IN.
THE members OF the society were r~eticent
Yesterday as TO the kind of pressure that
was put on Haines TO force his resignation.
II was declared that when Haines saw his
case was hopeless he ca led a special meeting
Of the board so as to have his resignation
acted upon before it could be demanded.
q Mr.. Haines said yesterday:
al had intended TO resign anyway. My
health has not been good and ! thought |
should like to have the coming summer to
myself. l simply chose my own way of
r~esigning."
MI. Haines was quoted yesterday as
blaming the women Of the society for
having brought on all the trouble. He
charged them with being cruel to dogs and
said they wore birds feathers in their
4 hats and were DESTROYS of bounding poor
men. He safd he made no distinction be-
tween rich and poor. He also intimated
that a beguest Of 1900 had been cancelled
4 because he had resigned and that the
society would suffer in consequence. On
the other hand some Of the reformers said
they knew Of requests that had been can
celled because Haines had not resigned.
Davis Belais, president Of the Henry
Bergh Humane Society, said yesterday
That until it had been shown that all auto
cratic methods had been taken from the
new president Of the s. P. c. A. and that
genuine reform had set in his society would
not be likely to accept any invitation to