Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-20
GREENE -GAYNOR CASE
Governments Course Indicat-
ed This Morning
AT THE SAVANNAH TRIAL
Assistant Attorney General Erwin's
Plain Statement.
MUCH DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE
Court and Jury Informed of the AL
legged Conspiracy-Charged
in the Indictments
MUCH DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE

SAVANNAH, Ga, January 2o.-Assistant
Attorney Marion Erwin, upon the conven-
ing of the federal court this morning, indi-
Gated to the jury the course the govern
ment would follow In presenting Its case
against Greene and Gaynor. He said That
it would show In support of the charge of
conspiracy that the defendants knew each
other personally, that they were associated,
that they came together in an agreement to
derfaud the government of the United
States and that the overt act of conspiracy
had actually been committed. Mr.. Erwin
then outlined to the jury what evidence the
prosecution would present.
A very large part, he said. would be docu-
mentary evidence. The government would
seek to show that Lieut.. o. NJ. Carter came
here in 1884 under Gen. Gilmore and was
connected with the river and harbor work
when appropriations for river and harbor
were not so large as now. Carter was ap-
pointed in charge upon the death OF Gen.
Gilmore, and the government would show,
said Mr.. Erwin, that he fell In with Greene
and Gaynor here. in fact, meeting Greene
at Charleston while on the way to SaVan-
nah.
At an early stage, Mr.. Erwin said, the
contractors started to work on Carter, get
ting him into little side contracts with them
and making little money for him, or at
least so pretending: then they commenced
to lend him money. He was young ofhcer,
who had no money to speak of himself. He
would pay the money back and at first the
loans were inconsiderable, but soon the
amounts grew to as much as S2,oUo; gradu-
ally the amounts increased, and he became
involved in contracts and enterprises with
them. Their associations were very close
in the early stages, and they led him to
believe he was a second Eads, man or
great ability. and that he could leave the
army and go in with them in the carrying
o,,t nf Nt N RlSe-
where.
Made Tool of Carter.
Mr. Erwin implied that the defendants
never had any intention of carrying out
these plans, but by entering into them they
made Carter their man indisputably Then
the alleged conspirators interested the peo-
pie Of Savannah in getting a very large
appropriation for Savannah harbor work,
a~great convention being arranged to lend
aid to the enterprise. This overstepped the
Chile scheme even, and offered splendid
opportunity for the alleged conspirators
Congress made this great appropriation,
and in 1891. Mr.. Erwin said. Carter went
over to Greene and Gaynor body and SOUL
Just how he was to be paid the agreement
in this "body-and-soul sell-out' does not
appear, but little later, when the pay
ments began upon the big contracts made
under the large appropriation, divisions OF
the money could be shown TO have been
made at the end of each month as regularly
as clockwork.
From 1892 continued Mr.. Erwin, month
by month the balances from payments,
after defraying the expenses of the work
and payments made to their co-conspira-
tors, the younger Gaynos and others In
volved We're split up by Greene, Gaynor
and Carter in equal amounts.
Description Of the Work.
Mr.. Erwin gave a description of the
work called for under the big contract" to
improve the river from Savannah down to
Tybee Island at the rivers mouth He ex-
planned to the court and the jury the
meaning and purpose of spur dams, train
ing walls, mattresses, facines and other
terms. improvements OF Cumberland
sound the inside waterway from Savan-
nah to Florida and the Savannah river
about Augusta and the Aitamaha river
were included under this contract and un-
der the direction of Carter.
In the advertising of these contracts Mr..
Erwin declared Carter did not follow the
cutting down the time and so managing as
to suppress competition and leave the
work necessarily to fan to the Atlantic
Contracting Company, of which Greene
and Gaynor and Carter were the chief
beneficiarieS.
Various obstacles were thrown in theway
of other prospective bidders. Carter was
said to have kept the specifications under
lock and key guarding them carefully and
knowing every man who got a copy. Car
ter, said Mr.. Erwin, adopted means to stop
the competition, the alleged conspirators
sometimes buying off other bidders and
leaving the work to the Atlantic Contract
ing Company at eXorbftant prices
Could Not Buy One Outsider.
In one instance. said Mr. Erwin, where
they could not buy OFF outsider the gov
ernment was saved over 100000 on one
contract In the course of five or six years.
he said from 1891 to 1897, the contracts
with that single exception went 10 Greene
and Gaynor and Carter and the net profits
were regularly divided among these three
Often 1t was the case. he said as
blind one of the younger Gaynors. fore
man for Greene and Gaynor, or some other
henchman would bid and secure the work.
the contract in reality going to Greene ana
Gaynor.
In the exception. when the contract went
to an outsider. Mr.. Erwin said, they put
the screws upon him and caused him 10
that he never showed IN his demands upon
Greene and Gaynor. thus crushing him and
putting him out of the lists, SO that tnere
was no longer any competition.
Mr. Erwin, with pencils and bundles OF
straw indicated the construction of mat
tresses and facines. He said that Carter
had three designs Of mattresses set forth In
the specifications stating that the engineer
might require the use of any one of the
three specified in the carrying out of the
work One one, OF OF .nese @ sn Designs w was s.. mncn noc
tractors were required to bid upon them
together at one price, Carter selecting
which he might see fit-
An Understanding With Carter.
Then, continued Mr.. Eswin. with bids in,
Greene and Gaynor would be given the
contract, because they had understood with
Carter that he would use the cheapest style
and had figured accordingly. while the
outsiders would have figured upon the
basis OF the possibility of the engineers
choosing the most expensive design,
This plan, Mr.. Erwin declared, was adopt
ed by Carter only after his relations with
Greene and Gaynor had become criminal.
and although Carter kept these three de-
signs in his specifications, never after 1884
did he once require Greene and Gaynor to
put in any save the cheapest style. They
were kept In the speciflca lions, he said.
solely to scare OF competition