The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-03-30
THE PITTSBURG GRAFT.
Bank Officers Pay CounciJmcn i'm Or
der TO Have Deposits Made at Their
Institutions.

| the appalling details of Pittsburg's
| civic unrighteOusness, ordering indict
ments against 81 present and past
councilmen and making a demand on
the directors Of the city repositories
| to investigate their own boards and
ascertain the bribe givers in connec-
ton with the ordinance designating
their institutions as city repositories,
| formed the meat of two presentments
made by the grand jury today.
The presentments make a sensa-
tional story of the inside history of
corruption in the municipal bodies in
1908, and the demand made upon the
banks named indicates that even
| more sensational developments than
have been exposed are expected on
Monday when the bank directors,
complying with the demand of the
grand jury, made their report in
| court
| A further recommendation of the
presentment of the jury was the or
der to City Comptroller Morrow today
for the withdrawal of city funds from
the six banks and the practical nulli-
hcation of the ordinance designating
them as custodians of city funds.
| There is about $3,64O,32O in these
banks now, and this would be in
creased many millions during the
next week by taxes that are being
paid.
According to the comptroller, the
withdrawal of funds will be gradual.
however, so that the institutions may
not be embarrassed or any undue
alarm caused depositors. The extract
from the presentments calling upon
the bank directors reads:
! I'VE call upon directors of the six
banks named as city repositories to
| investigate who paid for each of said
| banks the bribes herein set forth and
report the same to the grand jury, not
| later than Monday, March %, 1910.
And we further demand that said re-
| port be in writing and certified to by
directors of said banks, individually.
I'VE strongly recommend and in
sist that the proper officials of the
city of Pittsburg take immediate le-
gal action to nullify the ordinance
| naming the Farmers National Bank
of Pittsburg, the German National
Bank of Pittsburg, the German Ma
tf0nal Park of Allegheny tho Column
| bia National Sank Of P.tteUure and
-Ae Wort'.namap - &a1,r-s lrd Trust
Conrart" of Alltghrnr .s cit. dep9si-
tories, ir order ehat m. trj'e gilers.
may not benefit by reason OF their
| own wrong doing and criminal conduct
The presentments give the full de-
tails of the plot on the part of the
councilmen 10 obtain bribes from the
six banks, Of the means adopted for
paying the bribs, and the story of the
transfer of $4,000 by an unnamed
man to former councilman, Charles
Stewart, in the Hotel Imperial. New
York, is told.
1t is related that Max G.. Leslie,
former chairman of the Republican
county committee, received $4,000
by arrangement from E. H. Jennings
and F. A. Griffin of the Columbia Ma
tional bank, who was then president
| of common council, directly or indi-
rectly, S17,5OO to obtain the city
deposits for the Columbia National
Bank. An unnamed man is said to
be interested and concerned in the
payment of the money by Leslie to
Brand, either as intermediary or prin-
cipal.
1t is declared that Morris Einstein
received $4,000 from the Working
| mans Savings and Trust Company to
have that bank named as a city de-
| pository but the name of the bank
official who paid him the money is
unknown.
1t is further declared in the pre-
| grand jury are of the opinion that the
| books Of the Workingmans bank
| have been mutilated, three pages hay
| ing been cut from the ledger. Elm
stein, it is alleged, also kept $4,000 for
| his services.
| Further details in the presentments
are that two city clerks were given
| $1,000 each and that $1,75O was set
apart for newspaper men and then
Henry Bolger, the saloon keeper al
ready convicted of bribery, was given
$500 for his services in bringing about
the meeting between officials of the
German National Bank of Pittsburg
and the councilmen.