Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-20

charge of the engineering department of
! this government.
so. saying that much I want to point
out and assign the reasons why we
think it uniting that he should sit in
Judgment upon the charges and counter
| charges which have been made here.
Is Under Investigation.
I'm the first place. the engineer depart
| investigation; to degree and extent. it
| might be said. that that department of
| the government is under fire. It is be-
ing subjected now to the investigating
| probe of the whole board of Commission
ers; and l think. in his mistaken zeal.
| the Engineer Commissioner has assumed.
| as we take 1t, the wrong road here. He
| has assumed to be the defender and
| champion of the department over which
| ne presldes; that is, in motive and In SEN
timent and in pride, always to be COM
| mended and always commendable; but as
| we take it. MesSrs. Commissioners. the
| engineer department did not need and
| should not have. at the hands of one of
| your board while you are sitting a
board Of investigation. champion or a
defender. If they needed defense it
| should come from some other source and
not from one of the judges.
| Throughout this entire investigation.
| Il o1u I'D iuCSpllOu uU"H W Inc pT6Sell
| time-for what reason l do not know. and
| just how it has been bzrought about I
| am unaware-but l do know, and it has
been perfectly obvious from the COM
mencement of the investigation to this
hour, down to and including the state
ment made by the Engineer Commissioner
| this morning. that he is in the attitude
| of defender. He is in the attitude of a
champion of his department.. and over
and over again we have had the spectacle
lr,f Of fl,1 s,,lrr %~fo
| of these proceedings. testifying in piece
| meal here and there, at different points in
the record, in answer to various state
| ments made by various witnesses.
Spectacle Most Unique.
1T is perfectly obvious that this hear
| ing cannot go forward. it seems to us.
with all difference to the board of Com
! missioners, with the completeness and the
thoroughness that the public conscience
demands and expects at the hands of
the Commissioners. without the Engineer
| Commissioner himself going on the stand
| and testifying with reference to the facts
| and circumstances that have been
| brought to his knowledge If that be true,
then the spectacle would be most unique
| and one most unusual-of one of the
| three investigators and judges being him
| self a witness in the case and then in
turn sitting in judgment upon his own
| testimony as we'll the testimony of
| others. 1t is perfectly obvious that
| sharp issues of veracity have already
| been presented here. or at least, l might
| say, very decided and positive differences
| of recollection as to facts between the
| representatives of the Brennan Construc
ton Company on the one side and Capt.
Markham and the Engineer Commissioner
| on the other.
I'VE submit this to the board of Com
missioners: That if you take this record
| from its inception down to the present
| time. and you take the questions asked
| by the Engineer Commissioner. and even
| those asked by Capt. Markham, and
| take the very structure of the questions
| and closed your eyes to the question as to
| who was propounding those questions.
submit, with all Difference to Commission
| er Morrow, you would assume, and nat
| urally assume, they were the questions
| of partisan attorney not only for the
engineer department generally. but for
| the particular man charged here, Mr.
| Fernald.
Says Morrow Is Disqualified.
'1f that be the attitude of the Engineer
| Commissioner, l submit he is disqualified
| from sitting in judgment upon this case
and no verdict rendered by this board of
| Commissioners will meet the demands
| and expectations of the public, and I
| think that is entitled to careful and ser-
| Gus consideration.
Il go further than that, Mr. Commits
stoners. It has been developed here be-
| yond any sort of doubt, it seems to us.
that whether there is favoritism in the
engineer department, discrimination and
unjust discrimination against the Bren-
| nan Construction Company, or not. that
there has been remarkable and marked
| evidence that seems to at least justify
| that charge in part, even by the attitude
| of the Engineer Commissioner himself
| Not that he would be conscious OF doing
so. but 1t has been developed here be-
yond any sort of doubt that the Engineer
| Commissioner has a most intense dislike
| OF the president of the Brennan Construc-
| ton Company. and has not seen proper to
control himself in making those announce
| ments even while we were in the progress
| or carrying through these proceedings
And I submit furthermore that his con-
duct toward the other officers of the Bren-
| nan Construction Company develops that
| TACT beyond any sort of doubt The very
| first witness we put on the stand here
was Mr.. Davis. the engineer of the Bren-
| nan Construction Company and he had
| not been on the stand half an hour be-
| fore the Engineer Commissioner was
| charging him with openly and deliberate
ly clubbing and playing with the Com
| missioners
Trying to Deceive.
| I'VE let that pass by aand said nothing
| by way Of protest, and then when Mr..
johnson. the superintendent, was put
upon the witness stand he charged him
| with deliberately-mark the words-tryine
| to deceive the Commissioners; and then.
as II to reach the climax of the entire
| matter and as evidence overpowering and
| overwhelming, yesterday afternoon we
| had the spectacle presented here that
| when Mr.. Smith was on the stand testify
ing about some conversation that he had
with Mr.. Brennan and in which Brennan
| quoted commissioner Morrow as having
| said that Mr.. Smith was an undesra BILE
| citizen. while he sat in his seat as one of
| the judges here, he denounced Brennan
| as liar and directed it to be recorded in
the minutes of these proceedings We
| that upon that occasion, preferring to
sleep on 1t overnight in order to ascer-
tain along what line our duty would di-
| rect us.
Now. in view Of the fact of this atti-
| tude. in view OF the fact that the engineer
department is under investigation at this
time. and in view of the attitude assumed
by the Engineer Commissioner toward this
department and toward these charges of
| favorftism; in view Of the attitude he has
assumed toward the charges against Fer
maid: In view Of the indisputable evidence
Of the unmistakable hostility on the part
OF Commissioner Morrow toward Mr.
Brennan. the head of the Brennan Con-
| struction Company. making the principal
charges of favoritism here. we submit he
| ls not in the attitude. he is not in the
| position he is not In the mental condition
| or mental poise, that will enable him to
| Sit quietly. deliberately and without bias
and without prejudice and pass upon the
issues presented nv the charges here. And