The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-12-17

he put the cost of the material with a
profit OF about . per cent added in a sort
of combination book.
When questioned by Mr.. Martin as to
how they figured out thnt the camp job
Melted the firm only % per cent. he said
hat sit was between 25 and 30 per cent"
VIII you swear that the profit on this
job was not more than 40 per cent. ?" con-
tinued Alderman Martin.
The witness declared that 30 per cent.
was the highest.
Mr.. Martin looked over the book in
question and then told the witness TO fig
ure II up and to remember that he was
Committee Counsel Boggs then took up a
line of testimony given by Mr.. Hope and
asked LIGHT if he ever received money for
commissions on jobs, and was answered In
the negative.
Then the witness was asked again what
his duties as an estimate for the firm
! consisted of.
"Oh, looking up new work, figuring on
jobs and buying the materials"
The last statement was a contradiction
of a statement by Hope, that he, himself
Fought the material and paid cash for IL
ON all occasions.
After Holzner had testified to his side of
the case, Hope was called aud sworn. He
was ollowed by LIGHT and then Alderman
Ryan was called upon to tell OF Holzner's
statement TO him. LIGHT was the next
man on the stand, with Meyer himself the
last. When 1t was suggested that Meyer
be called, explanation was ~mads--that he
could testify or not as he saw nt. lie in
sisted on making a statement.
IT want to be sworn" remarked the
Thirteenth Warder, reaching out for the
Bible which the city Clebk held. Mr..
Connolly administered the oath. AT its
conclusion Meyer repeated after him in
promising to tell the truth, $50 help me
Cod" sa a
The history Of the Avon case has been
published on more than one occasion. The
committee ON public buildings at a meet
ing on June Il named Alderman Frey, j.
Al. Meyer and Charles Kunze a sub
committee TO investigate a proposition
made by Meyer to have an electric light
plant installed at the city camp, where the
poor children of the city were sent by
the Council for a vacation.
Meyer went ahead with the investig alton,
decided that It would be unwise TO install
n plant, secured a price of Is cents per
kilowatt hour for current from a company
operating on the coast, and had the Cen
eral Electric Equippers wire the place
and install eighty lamps.
"At a meeting held on November %,
Holzner testified. Meyer wanted to kno
about the fixtures for the fire houses. I
told him that they had been selected, bat
he made a motion that a committee be. SCI
lected to pick them out. I named him a
committee of one to go ahead with 1t II he
wanted to-"
There was never any Ill feeling between
US" said Holzner, until the night be-
fore / met LIGHT, when l chastised Meyer
for holding secret meetings on the hill
fAf san n hnts} r. 1rUnaiufY1x rAvf troaV'G
Common Council. I did give 1t to him
then good and hot. and I have witnesses
to prove it. That was on Thursday night,
and the conversation with LIGHT was on
Friday night, two weeks ago."
On the occasion mentioned by Holzner
he and Meyer mixed matters up so badly
that Assistant City Clerk Martin g.
Bross, jr., who was standing near, was
forced to separate them.
Hope, on being sworn and reviewing his
business history, was asked to produce
the check drawn July 20. He said hat it
had been drawn ony the balance of the
General Electric Equippers by his brother
in-law, on the Merchants National Bank.
"Can you tell me what It was drawn
for?" Boggs asked.
II can't. 1t would be pretty hard for
me to do that. Here's one of the same
kind for $25 and another drawn on June
Il for $50. / can tell you what the June
IA check was drawn for"
Hope says he did a cash business with
out books. and depended largely on his
checks to keep a line on Tire finances of
the concern. He said later tiat the stubs
or the check book were prese yed to show
what funds were used for. The stub for
1405 was looked up. 1t showed that the
check had been drawn to Hopes order, but
did not indicate for what purpose.
HOPE said that he had secured the Avon
job from Meyer by accident. They had
met on a trolley car at 5:15 one after
noon. They rode together for about mr.
teen or twenty minutes and Meyer. who
had not seen him for a long time, told
him to go ahead and do the work at Camp
Newark. No estimate of cost had been
given. Meyer had told him he wanted
the work done quickly and wanted a
cheap, but perfect. job.
The witness said that he had seen Meyer
once, about a month ago, and then had met
him just after the publication of the graft
%runiors. Asked what he had said about the
rumors. he averred that he had told TIE
alderman they were a lot Of ID fools
meaning the men who stated that there
had been any graft. He had met ,Ieyer
several times OF late in connection with
the work of wiring a Runyon street saloon
which the Alderman has secured a license
lOf. I1t dtWdy6 dSheQ LOT the nItY, Ito
witness said, laughing. The saloon work
had just been completed. 1t was to be
paid for by Trefz brewery, the electrical
man added,
LIGHT, on the stand, testified to having
known Meyer eight or nine years. He
had worked with the Alderman In the
westinghouse plant.
Meyer told of meeting with Hope and
LIGHT and of the Avon work. His testi-
mony agreed with that Of the others in
| most points. 1t wasn't made clear by the
minutes thst he or the subcommittee of
which he was a member had any authority
from the parent body to have the work
done.
Alderman Martin insisted that a COPY of
the testimony of LIGHT be sent to the
| Grand Jury. City Counse Nueent SIM
ported his contention that under the law
any citizen was bound to file such infor-
nation. He made the proper motion and
then offered the motion that the com
mittee finds no evidence to supnort
charges against Alderman Meyer" and in
structing the City Counsel and chairman
to report.
Following adjournment, Meyer shook
hands with the members Of the committee.
thanking each Of them. He was profuse
in his thanks to Martin.
MANI REAttn al aan,A