Smyrna times., 1908-02-26
DIDN'T FRAME UP"
"QUANTITY BOOK"
snyder Says He Sought to Protect
State in Capitol Contracts.
BOW He TRUSTED HUSTON

harrisburg, Pa, Feb. 22.-FormeI
Auditor General Snyder, a co-defend
ant with SandersOn, Shoemaker and
Mathues in the capitol conspiracy suit
now on trial in the Dauphin county
court, spent the day on the stand un.
der direct examination.
Snyder's attorneys piled him will
questions that affected every transac
Clon with which the farmer auditor
general had to do in connection with
the capitol furnishing contracts. He
refuted in emphatic terms virtually
all the testimony of Stanford B. Lewis,
Architect HustOn's associate as re-
garded any suspicious circumstances
that tended to establish that he had
entered into a conspiracy to cheat and
defraud the state
Snyder declared that he had tested
the correctness of all the capitol fur
niEhing bills and in every possible way
safeguardeG payments made to the con-
tractors He said he not only required
Huston to certify and SandersOn to
make afTidavits that the bills were cor
rect, but that he had made it his busi-
ness to write to the architect and con-
tractor demanding an explanation of
contract features that were not cleaf
t. him.
Mystery still surrounds the prepara-
ton of sample pages from which the
now famous quantity book" was COM
piled.
In the presentation of the common
wealth's case the preparation of the
sample pages was credited to Snyder.
Stanford b. Lewis has testified that the
accused former official had dictated
every detail of the compilation of The
quantity book"
This is book which the state asserts
was framed up" to shield operations
in the alleged conspiracy. The prose.
cutions' contention is that the book was
intended to permit of price Juggling and
other irregularities, and at the same
time protect the perpetrators of such
alleged frauds by throwing all respOn-
sibility upon Joseph NJ Huston, the
capitol architect.
Lewis declared that Snyder had al
tered sample sheets submitted to him
and inserted the item numbers. In a
positive and explicit manner Snyder
denied absolutely the authorship of the
sample sheets and laid new charges of
falsifying against the commonwealth
star witness.
Snyder's denial was made more con-
vincing by his reputation of the hand
writing on the sample sheets. He de-
clared that it was not his, or Mathues'
or that of any one who had been con-
nected with the auditor generals office
during his term.
a feature Of Snyder's defense was
that he had called former Governor
Pennypackers attention to payments
of 50, $4,000 to Sanderson and $3.50, ,00C
to the Pennsylvania Construction COM
pany to relieve him of the impression
made by Huston that the furnishings
would not cost more than $50O,0O0 ol
$500, 900.
Former Governor Pennypacker as ;
witness for the defense, denied tina
there had been any official attempt t,
"whitewash" the capitol scandal il
the inquiry by former Attorney Gen
eral Carson.
Mr.. Pennypacker declared tina
Stanford B. Lewis, assistant to Arch
ftect Joseph NJ. Huston, had stated
falsehood when he testified that tn
architects famous letter to Mr.. CarsOl
had been prepared at a conferenc
between Pennypacker, Snyder an
Lewis and that it was intended t
dove-tail into letters written by othe
persons connected with the capito
contracts
"The word "whitewash" was no
used and the thought was not e1
pressed" said Mr. Pennypacker whe
his attention was directed to this lei
ter by Mr.. Gilbert, of counsel for tn
defense, in his examination of tn
witness. "If Mr.. Lewis said that h
said what was a falsehood, doubles