The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-24
SCANDALS ARE FAR REACHING Pittsburg Men Are on
 Trial BANK EXAMINER TESTIFIES Mr. Nesbit Tells of Corrupt Meth
 0ds Two Bankers Tried To Evade His oues. tions, But He Made Them Con-
 fess to the

Pittsburg, Dec. 23--With . sudden ! ness that startled Pittsburg from end | to end. this city today moved into l first place in the role of corruption and municipal graft.
 Late tonight. many hours after thun- derbolts in the shape of sensational testimony were exploded, the people of Pittsburg are dumbfounded. It is stated the shocking develop ments here today are mere prelimi- | naries and subsequent steps against additional councIlmen and business men will not only startle Pittsburg but the whole country.
 It was intimated strongly in the tes- timony in court today that over three score Councilmen are "easy to reach" | and the reaching" necessitated only small sums ranging from S100 to $5. In the passage of one ordinance alone 1t was testified that sixty Coun- cilmen had divided S45.600. Sensations followed one another in rapid success sion during the hearing of the seven Counciimen and two former bank off, cers arrested on charges of bribery. corrupt solicitation and conspiracy last Monday night.
 More Arrests Expected.
 Other arrests are likely to be made shortly, said district attorney Biakely tonight. Mfr. Blakely took charge of the cases against the accused council men and bankers immediately after the close of the preliminary hearing before Police Magistrate Brady.
 Every efforts will be made by this office contiued Mir. Blakely "to con- tinue the work started bY the Voters League. The Voters League will prob ably make informations followed by other arrests sndanan1nak oS action the district attorneys ofice will cause any arrests which the evidence we secured tustiaes."
 A graniury will be empaneled Janu- ary {. and 1t Is stated that the causes against the cpuncilnien and the former bankers will be the aFst considered
 Since the hearings 1t has been saigs Rested by those back of the inauiries that h has been necessary to pay to secure the passage of very nearly every ordiance recently before councils and that the system even reached pro- specttve members of councils, candt- dates being obliged to pledge them selves to "go along with the crowd" or suffer defeat. It Is also stated that very small number got the bulk of the corruption funds, the votes of others be- ing secured for comparatively small sums. although the would be briber was frequently furnished a long list of members who had to be fixed"
 The next arrests to be made 1t is said will probably be in the ranks of those charged with corrupting the of- ficials.
 t'Where there are so many bribe takers. there must also be a number of bribe givers who are equally guilty" was the significant remark of the pro- secutors.
 John F. Casey. of westwater and Casey. who have contracts for ten of the filter beds of the city's new water system. tonight issued a sworn state ment denying all of the accusations made against himself. his partner or his firm in the hearing.
 Many Politicians in Court.
 When the seven Councilmen, the two former bankers. ar- rested here Monday night in a sensa- tionaI but quiet manner Jas result of alleged corruption in the city's legis- police court before Police Magistrate F. J. Brady today for a preliminary hearing. a crowd of big and little poll iticians was gathered in the vicinity of the Central Police Station.
 Owing to the size of the court room, but a few of the politicians were al- lowed to enter. Anxiety was preva- lent
 From all indications 1t was the in- tention of the authorities to probe deep into the irregularities for the evidence warranting the arrest of other persons. A reiteratIon of the in- timations made yesterday that the ar rests to follow would cause one of the greatest sensations in the history of municipal graft in PittsburE served to make the scandal the one matter occupying public attention.
 The first case taken up was that of W. W. Ramsey and A A. Vilsack, former president and cashier of the German National Bank. But one wit ness. National Bank Examiner Nesbitt was called and by his testimony 1t was shown that Captain John Klein. a Councilman, had approached the bank CTS about making the bank city de- positary and that $17500 had later dis appeared from the bank in a sensa- tionaI and interesting manner.
 Both defendants were held for court trial on charges of alleged conspiracy and bribery. Their bond of $l4,00O each was renewed.
 sitting with Magistrate Brady when the case was called were Mayor Guth. rife and Director of Public Safety Lang The court room was filled almost to with prominent men of PlttsburE.
 Bank Examiner TestiheA.
 Bank Examiner Nesbitt said he vis- lted the German National Bank last to make an examination
 He completed his work Saturday. In the meantime he found note for SI7.- 800, features of which. he said. aroused his suspicious. He asked Cashier Vil- sack about the matter Al first Vil- sack denied It was business of the bank sa ying it was purely a personal mat ter between his brother and himself
 Examiner Nesbitt told him he did not believe 1t and asked him again for an explanation. threatening to use his au- .hority if an explanation was not forth coming. Finally Vilsack. he said, ad- mitted the money was used to secure ,ity deposits and that the $17.500 had been paid to a Councilman
 Then the bank examiner told a re- narkable story as to the manner in which the $17.5O0 disappeared from the l ,ank. According to Examiner Nesbitt l Klein approached Cashier Vilsuck and | iaid the German National would be 1 made city depositary if the hank uyas