The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-01-17
JEROME PROBES INTO
 DOODLE ALDERMEN CASE
NINE NEW FORK CITY FATHERS EXAMINED BY DISTRICT
 ATTORNEY.

All the Suspected Men Elected on the
 Municipal Ownership Ticket-Declare
 Leading to the Arrest of Alderman
 Clifford and Stone Yard Foreman
 Mann-NO Attempt Whatever Made
 to Bribe Them They Say.
 New York, Jan 16.-Nine members of the board of aldermen were examined by the grand jury to-day in an investi- gation of the alleged plot to buy votes in the election for a recorder, to suc- ceed John W. Golf, which, the district attorney charges, was unearthed in the arrest yesterday of Alderman William S. Clifford and David Mann, a stone yard foreman, the alleged go-between.
 The aldermen who appeared before the grand jury to-day were all elected on the Municipal Ownership league 1 ticket, and they were subpoenaed for the purpose of explaining their action of yesterday in changing their votes at the board of aldermen meeting from ex-Judge Palmleri, whom they had sup ported in body during the balloting at previous meetings, to ex-Judge Ru- | fus B. Cowing. The district attorney charges that the shift in the vote oe- cured after the alleged $6,000 poodle fund" was in the hands of represent ative of Alderman Clifford, who is ac- cused of having pledged, in considera- l ,e ff it1 Mimic | ipal Ownership league vote to Cowing.
 The aldermen examined were Henry Clay Peters, Joseph Fall, John B. Gro min, William Rowcroft, o. B. Norman, Thomas J. Mulligan, William Torpey, Charles Buntze and F. J. O'Neil
 All of the aldermen stated before en- tering the grand jury that they knew nothing of the events leading to the arrest of Clifford and Mann, and that no attempt whatever had been made tc bribe them.
 I Alderman Peters, the leader of the Municipal Ownership league men, said that he alone was authorized to nego- tiate for the members of the Municipal Ownership league, that negotiations lldQ DtGu ultQCL way lOL bNO NSNFho but were incomplete and that money was never considered in his talks witt other members. He said his colleagues were sincerely supporting Judge Pal mieri and voted for Judge Cowing yes
 terday merely to test the sincerity ol the republicans and in the hope ol breaking their ranks
 rr,.a,,d i,,,.x did 7,ot on,7at11dn +, investigations Aldermen Peters ant Torpey were re-subpoenaed to appeai for further examination tomorrow
 Earl Harding, the newspaper reporter
 who, under the name of Haskell" Ii alleged to have given marked money tC
 Mann, will be examined tomorrow.
 Clifford, who was arrested on { charge of accepting $6,O0O with whicl to try to influence his colleagues to vott as directed, was arraigned in the polic' court to-day and held in $1O, ,O00 for fur
 ther examination on January 23. Bal was furnished.
 Mann is still in custody of the dis !, trict attorneys office and has not ye been locked up. An affidavit settint
 lOftn Hlb part III liS hAlcsSu lldilSdetAoi , between Clifford and Haskell" ha been submitted to the district attorney District Attorney Jerome to-nigh said q am satisfied with the inquir, : as 1t has proceeded. I am convince
 that at least two of the aldermen, am perhaps more of them, knew all abou the deal, and that they were holdin out on the others who knew nothing a all of what was going on in the 'boodlt line"
 Asked if any had confessed, Distric Attorney Jerome said that he woul not answer the question, but adde ; that their statements did not agree.