Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1907-04-11
Who Shared State Capitol Loot
Being Trailed by Invesh-
cation Commission.
pENNYPACKER WILL TESTIFY
Former Governor, 1t Is Believed,
Could Point Out Those Who De-
ceived Him and Used Him as Their
Tool in Robbing State.

commission investigating the capitol
building is after the men higher up
Recently the commission has come
into possession of information which
leads the members to believe that the
architect and one or two contractors
are not the only ones who profited by
the outrageous oyercharges for fur
nishing and finishing the new state
building.
1t would not be wise to suggest who
these higher up" men are but it
is not probable that two or three
men who have never been known to
control anything politically would be
allowed to walk away with several
millions of dollars worth of loot with
out at least 4 protest from those who
do things politically. There is a
gang OF Philadelphia politicians who
will certainly suffer some of the con-
sequences of the inquiry.
Those who are Immediately respon-
sible for "the monument of graft"
are already beginning to peach" on
one another. They are charging one
another with the blame, and soon the
people will know the whole truth. No
one has ever intimated that former
Governor Samuel w. Pennypacker
was guilty of wrong doing, but it is
believed that people who professed to
be his friends took advantage of his
confidence in their honesty to feather
their nests. Now the former governor
would like to go on the stand and tell
what he knows about the capitol
building He has written the com
mission that he would like to testify
and is ready to do so when the COM
mission asks him. He will be called
to the witness stand soon.
Somebody Used the Governor.
Mr.. Pennypacker's resolution, or
the one to which his name is attached
and which provided for the letting of
the contract for furnishing the cap
itol as whole, is the measure which
permitted the wild waste of money
and allowed the John II. Sanderson
Co of Philadelphia to get away with
the contract for furnishing the capitol
building without competition in the
bidding. Mr. Pennypacker would like
to tell how it happened that that
resolution was presented.
Heretofore the former governor al
ways has declared that the capitol is
worth the money, that it was honest
ly built. and that the people would
not complain at any extravaganza If
they would see the building for them
selves 1t is believed that he has
since changed his mind
When former Governor Pennypack-
er discovers that there was a deep
laid conspiracy, that plans were made
for stealing millions of dollars from
the state months before bids were
even advertised for; when he learns
that he was made the goat and that
his own alleged friends used him to
corruptly further their own financial
ends, then he will wake up, and it is
expected that he will tell lot of
things to the edifcation of the peo.
pie of this great state.
One Good Case Established.
The lawyers for the commission
have started out to uncover the con
spiracy and they have laid a most ex-
cellent foundation. Just what will
happen to "a man who sells the state
species of black slate for marble at
the rate of S4.74 a foot when it would
be dear at so cents foot, you can
determine pretty well yourself. And
then this black slate was not even
polished as required by the specifica-
tions, but was lacquered.
,,tp u
figure ''baccarat" cut glass, or rather
charge you "baccarat" cut glass prices
for an article made in Pennsylvania,
and at the same time insist that it
was the imported article, you would
have pretty good ground for having
him arrested for receiving money I'M
der false pretense and recovering the
amount Of the oVercharge, would you
not?
And then if it could be shown that
the filing cases for which the state
paid S2,000,000 were sold by the per
foot" measurement and that a lot of
air space was measured in with the
cases, don't you think you could re-
cover the price you paid for the air
at least? Well, that is what the in
vestigating commission is setting out
to do. The commission has found
other things since it began operations,
and the work is becoming so vast that
the commission has notified the legis-
lature that 1t is impossible to tell at
present when it's work will be finished.
The capitol overcharges by Sanderson
alone gave Architect Joseph M. Hus-
ton an unearned fee of $3.50 He
may have to reimburse the state to
this amount. He also has a claim for
100000 against the state, but it is
needless to say this never will be
paid.
The wrangle that ensued in the
house over the resolution to adjourn
finally on May 16 is not yet at an
end although the resolution was
adopted The senate has passed a