New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-10-14
JEROME ON TAMMAM
Attacked Conditions in State
Engineers Department.
SKENE HELPLESS, He SAID
Former District Attorney, a
Democrat, Said Murphys
Men Were Appointed.

Cold, blunt statement of what the peopie
of New York State might expect III ram
many Hall got control Of the State bhsi-
neer's office, with it's vast power over plans
and contract letting, has been naue re-
Gently by a Democrat Ihat behioNi a.
William Travers Jerome. elected t"ioe a'
reform District Attorney, hao eAcep-
tional opportunity to study the hstory'
proclivities and methods in pohticS Vi am
many Hall.
Mr.. Jerome appeared to DEFEND feueii0
Skene. the former state Engineer, who was
under charges of corruption IN oiiiUe' '
defence was that Skene personally was
not 4 thief. but the office force had thieves
among its members. The chief corruptioh-
list. he maintained. was one Charles II.
O'Neil. who appeared against Skene- w
him MIR. Jerome said, according to the
minutes of the stenographer VINO look uo"h
Mr.. Jeromes opening:
We are going to show you and contend
and admit All through this case that . Nell
and Allen were crooks. That q Nell was
put there as the collector of TaInmany nan nan
by Charlie Murphy TO squeeze III mioiIes I'D
of the contractors and that he dlo So anu
how much he squeezed out OF them you
cen Judge when out of his own npS ne saIu
that about 30 per cent OF the blos iiau 40
changed, and he had never pSeH D'ohO' "
YOU will recall.
In other words William Travers Jerome
Democrat. friendly as an individual with
the Folevs and Sullivans who go to make
up a powerful clique in Tammany Hail.
declared that Tammany was able to put us
men into the state service and extract graft
through them from men doing contractors
work for the state Throughout his open
Of he
referred to O'NeiI as the Tammany Hall
collector
Personality Not at Issue.
AR Skene was acquitted of personal
wrongdoing in the case tried in Albany
Mr. Skene never was as much Of Tam
many Hall man as is joan A. Bensel. Re
pubIicans concede that Mr.. Bensel bears an
excellent reputation for personal integrity,
and his official record is good. They dis
tinctly say that they consider it no refiec-
ton on him. necessarily, when they ask
Can the people of New York State, in the
face of this showing under a previous
Democratic State Engineer, afford 10 elect
TO that Office Murphy's old friend and asSo-
ciate in the Dock Department, who was
picked by the Tammany boss as part of his
personal patronage at Rochester,?
Charges were brought against Skene that
contracts had been altered TO give adVan-
tage to certain contractors, who repaid to
him part of their Illegal profits. One in
stance given was the payment of $500 by
the Russell Contracting Company, which
got the advantage of a raised bid. On this
case he was tried and acquitted, with other
indictments pending. Skenes defence was
that O'Neil and John J. Allen, formerly of
his staff, were guilty, If any one was Je-
rome. in presenting the case, didn't mince
his words He said that ONeil was ap-
pointed at the request of Tammany, and
that Skene finally broke with him III 1908
and was about to discharge him. Murphy,
of Tammany, learned of this, he said, and
asked that he be retained until after cleo
ton That request Skene granted.
Mr. Jerome did not deny that there had
been crooked contracts and graft. He put
it all up to this collector for the quasi
criminal conspiracy called a part of the
Democratic party" In his opening of the
Skene defence Mr.. Jerome said:
We make no contest at all that the evil
dence already in doesn't prove what 1t
purports to prove These were the checks
of the state. This contract was raised. 1t
was a crooked contract; these tally sheets
were prepared by DENLY and they were
truly prepared These tally sheets which
O'Neirs -nds. The extensions were made