Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-28
GREtNE-GAYN0R CASE
Letters to and From Capt. Car
fer Read.
CLEVER SCHEMES SHOWN
How the Defendants Conspired to
Divvy in Mattress Deal.
CONTRACT CHANGED DEMANDS
Relevancy of Evidence Questioned by
Defense-Judge Adjourned Court
for Prosecutors Benefit.
CLEVER SCHEMES SHOWN
CONTRACT CHANGED DEMANDS

SAVANNAH Ca January 27.-The let
ers to and from Capt. Carter, written in
1891, and relating to Jersey Central works
and the building of sewers in Orange and
New York, were read upon the resumption
of the Greene-Gaynor case today, the juror
who was i'll having recovered sufficiently
to continue. At about the time the letters
were written Carter, it is alleged was de-
sirous of embarking in cash register en-
terprise.
Henry A. Curtis, a clerk in the Office of
the War Department auditor, testified as
to the contracts between the government
and Greene and Gaynor. Mr.. Curtis was
rendered a letter bearing the signature of
John + Gaynor. This was not identified by
the witness. He said he did not think the
letter or the signature the handwriting of
John F. Gaynor but that the body of the
letter and the signature were in the hand
writing of Benjamin D. Greene.
Mattresses by the Square Yard.
The objection was made by the defense
to this evidence and then Attorney Erwin
explained that he desired it to prove that
Garter in 1891 began to require that the
contractors, Greene and Gaynor, pay for
the mattresses by the square yard instead
of by the cubic yard, as they had been do
ing. This course enabled the contractors
to make the mattresses only few inches
in thickness. thus effecting a great saving
in expense. This raised the cost of the work
to the government, said MI. Erwin over
geo or 400 per cent and the alleged conspir-
ators were dividing the money among them
selves.
Carter at that time purposely, he said,
and with intent to defraud in connection
Nth the defendants, began to 50 change the
requirements in the contracts as to leave
-t,1 TT, IL
of work should be required, rather than
permit bidders to base their proposal on
the cheapest style.
All these considerations, he asserted,
proved the relevancy of the evidence he
desired to introduce. AS to the defenses
contention that the contracts were mad
m1ssable because not properly proven, he
said they were the department records
Objection by Defense.
One of the contracts submitted was be-
tween the government and w. r Gaynor,
a brother of John F. Gaynor, and was OBJ
Jected to by the defense on the ground
of irrelevancy, to which Mr.. Erwin an
swered that w. T. Gaynor was also under
Indictment with Greene and John F. Cav
nor and that w. 7. Gaynor shared in the
alleged division of spols. The defense
claimed that w. T. Gaynor was not con-
nected with the case and apparently was
indicted only in order to get in certain
evidence and not to be brought to trial.
To this Mr.. Erwin responded that the
government had by no means abandoned
the case against w. T. Gaynor Edward F.
Gaynor and the other defendants, who are
Oberlin NJ. Carter and Michael A Con-
molly, but that there were certain E0intf;
in the case against Benjamin Greene and
j. +. Gaynor that were not applicable to
the other defendants and hence the CONSOLE
dation of the indictments and the exclu-
sion of the other defendants from trial at
the present time
Judge Speer referred to the fact that
the district attorney did not seem armed
with authority upon which to base his ar
gument for the admissibility of the evil
dence.
In this case said the court you have
seemed to assume that authorities are not
necessary and have accepted it as settled
that the court will susta< you when OBJ
1ectons to your evidence are submitted by
the defense. You must show authority,
Mr.. Erwin. AS you do not seem to have
any in readiness the court will adjourn
til Monday morning in order to give you
an opportunity to find it