New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-09-16

10 Cole. H. A. Robinson. IT seemed. also
/ had something to say about these funds
Judge Bruce let it I've known that his
men had been hunting for Robinson for
| q couple of weeks to subpoena him as
witness. but could not find where he
was.
/ Cole succeeded Robinson as treasurer
/ Of the association in 1868 but wasn't
/ formally elected by the association until
/ late in the year. Judge Bruce wanted to
/ know whether he instituted the custom
| Of destroying records. Cole said he
/ didn't: he was in favor of keeping COM
! pIete records although while he was IN
Office the policy of destroying old ones
TO prevent an accumulation" had been
decided on. He never had carried it
out. Beardsley. his successor, did
Paid Money to Fox.
Cole admitted the payment Of money
annually to the information bureau
maintained by Colonel "Reub' Fox at
Albany for news about legislation. He
said ne personally never paid money 10
4, legislator OF employee Of the Legis- !
lature. II was brought out that once
! 5000 had been paid to Miles R. Frisbee
of Schenectady, for legislative services
of some kind Frisbee at one time rep
resented his county IN the Assembly.
So far as he knew. no money was paid
/ to legislators to accelerate or retard leg
/ isIatiOn. Cole said. Before he became an
+ officer he knew there were funds raised
! from the members Of the association by
assessment-large sums. He understood
! from MI Rogers these funds We're used
/ for political purposes. He presumed
/ they related to bills, TO help the rail
roads along in the ordinary way
/ In some cases if these bills had passed
/ the railroads would have suffered. and
! the public too, he said. He really did
not know much about the assessment
/ fund. though. for while he was treasurer
/ Mr.. Rogers. Al Mr.. Robinson's sUgges-
/ ton. had retained charg- Of it. He told
/ Cole when TO send money to EIlingwood
| & Cunningham. Cole admitted quite
! frankly that he didn't want TO have any
/ thing TO do with that assessment fund.
! Evidently he was rather Of the notion
! that some of the transactions weren't
/ quite all they should be.
Cole Felt Disqualified
4 have never been in politics" he ex-
planned. and I felt that I didn't know
| how to administer the fund"
! Wasn't it because you felt the fund
wasn't being used for legitimate pur-
| poses?"
II felt it was work I wasn't qualified
to attend to-"
Did YOU have moral computations?
pressed Judge Bruce.
Il have moral computations about IN
dertaking any work when l don't know
the details Cole parried-
Cole admitted that the collection Of
some $4,000 in 1908 stirred his curiosity /
a bit. as it was an off year politically. |
Still he didn't inquire about it all, and
when some Of the members of the asso- |
citation kicked at the high assessments, |
he merely referred them to Tracy -Rog-
ers and Mr.. Robinson. Ee believed that |
Rogers and Robinson might have col |
Iected more money than that amount !
| that summer
J Along in October, 1903, Cole got rather /
tired Of being an officer of the associa- |
ton. It seemed, from correspondence
which Judge Bruce brought in. There
was change pending. both in the per
/ sonnet and the policy of those active
/ in managing the associations affairs
! Along in November Of that year Cole
wrote to Rogers about contributions to
deficits, saying that this wasn't in
accordance with the bylaws of the asso-
citation. and evidently was 'clandestine.'
"Candidy. weren't you serving notice
on Rogers that the old order had passed
away. and that there We're to be no more
! assessment accounts" asked the coun-
| sci.
! After some sparring about the word
| .c,andestine," Cole said he was No
new assessments Were levied after that,
he said, though money was paid in on
oId ones. Some money still was owed.
! ono Of the debtor companies was the
Conev Island & Brooklyn Street Rail
way Company.