The Washington herald., 1907-10-18
SEEK MONEY SPENT
$4,000 More Squandered by
Metropolitan Found.
MYSTERY IN $25O,OOO CHECK
Expenditure of Fortune Authorized
by Traction COmpany's President,
Lawyers Services Rewarded to the
Extent of Over a Million Dollars.

New York, Oct. 1.-THE public-service
commission. upon the resumption to-day
of its investigation into traction affairs,
disclosed two new payments. amounting
to $4,000. on account Of the purchase Of
the Wall and COurtlandt Street Ferries
Railway Company. These payments bring
the total cost to the Metropolitan Securi-
ties Company Of Anthony n. Bradys
$250,0oO paper railroad up 10 100000
Part Of this money was drawn from the
( treasury of the company upon the au-
thortzation of President II II. Vreeland
who got the cash and accounted for it by
saying that 1t was to be used in taking
up certain claims of the Wall and Cort-
/ landt Street Company. Mr.. Vreeland got
/ the money in October, 1902, which was
about six months after Anthony n. Brady
had divided the larger part Of his ss56, 600
check among the Metropolitan people
/ The commission was unable to find out to
whom President Vreeland paid the
money.
No Trace of $3.50, 900.
! Lawyer William NJ. WINS was appar-
emily under the impression that he had
uncovered a sensational payment of $780,
600 to somebody from the treasury Of the
/ Metropolitan Street Railway Company in
/ October. 1900. Mr.. WINS was particular
to call the committees attention to the
1 fact that the check was drawn in a cam
paign year.
The check was drawn on the Morton
( Trust Company, payable to the order of
the Metropolitan Street Railway Com
pany, and was signed by Mr. Vreeland as
president and Charles R. Warren as sec
retary. The check was indorsed by both
Mr.. Vreeland and Mr.. Warren. II had
not been taken from the Metropolitan's
regular perforated check book, but from
ii private book.
we find no reference TO the trans
action in any Of the documents that are
still extant." said Mr. WINS
e. ". Sayre. the company's secretary.
could throw no light on the payment by
the company to itself of the $4,000. Paul
d. Cravath, the Metropolitan's attorney,
! called Mr. WINS attention 10 the fact
that the company's pass book shows
deposit 10 the company's credit OF 5000
on the same day. Mr.. Cravath was Of
the opinion that the money had gone out
and come back into the bank on the
same day.
Mr.. WINS said he wanted more light on
/ this transaction. There is no stub entry
/ in the cOmpany's books of this check
and nothing 10 show when or how the
sum was used, or into whose hands it
went.
Lawyers Reap Fortune.
Marvin Scudder, the committees expert
| accountant, testified that the MetroDoH-
tan system had expended on lawyers
fees from February Il, 1892, to September
/ 80, Of the presnet year. $l,l54,656.O4. Of
this amount, $9l6,43S66 was paid by the
/ Metropolitan Securities Company. The
firm Of Guthrie, Henderson and Cravath
received 546.54S6S, from which $SS,44SCS
is 70 be deducted for expenditures by
them. They received a fee OF $1,000 for
drawing the lease under which the New
York City Railway controls the Metro
politan. and S50,000 Tor services in con-
nection with the AmOry case. For their
general services the firm received be-
tween $4,000 and $4,000 d year from the
Metropolitan system. Following are other
disbursements made by the Metropolitan
system to lawyers since 1902: