The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-11-20
CHARGES MADE
BY HENNESSY
ARE ADMIT TED
George HI. Mcclure, Who
Collapsed on Stand at In
quiry, Acknowledges
Mistakes"
MACK, SULZER AND
DIX MAY BE CALLED
District Attorney Whitman
Relentless in Efforts to OBJ
tain Evidence Against the
New York Grafters.

Mcclure of Syracuse, pale and often
weak of memory, whispered oorrobora-
tion of charges made by John A. Hen
messy against grating politicians in a
relentless three-hour examination this
afternoon by District Attorney Charles
s. Whitman McGuire was the sole wit
ness today in the John Doe inquiry
through which Mr.. Whitman Is seeking
to bare corruption among Democratic
and Republican collectors Of campaign
contributions from 300 or more con-
tractors on state barge canal and high
way work.
Hennessy, investigator Of graft for
Ex-Governor Sulzer, sat in the court
room as Mcclure testified and heard
tho district attorney force the unwill-
ing witness to confirm charges of cor
ruption made by Hennessy during tho
mayoralty campaign in New York City.
Of none Of these charges, however,
could the witness speak Of his own
knowledge They had como to him In
the gossip of contractors and the small
talk of politicians, or, as McGuire's
lawyer said, "by tho one-line wireless
telegraph route
Heard Many Charges.
Mcclure testified that he had heard
forty or more charges Of contractors
being forced to make contributions.
These he mentioned to Hennessy last
October at Utica and Hennessy had
written them down as he talked. The
memorandum was introduced and Nc
Guire scanned it, but failed to recall
some Of its contents Nor would Nc
Guire give the district attorney the
name of a single person who had given
him information
Although Mcclure s memory had ap
parcntly weakened much since he col.
lapsed on the witness stand last week,
when forced TO admit the falsity of
previous testimony, he recalled that he
had "made mistake" when on the
stand before. These he corrected by
reading into the record a twelve-page
typcwritten statement In this he fat
ly contradicted much Of his previous
testimony, especially his denisls Of hav-
ing told Hennessy anything concerning
the alleged "sand- -bagging" of CON
tractors.
Qualities Statement.
What McGuire had heard included
charges that forty.fve contractors had
been forced TO make campaign contri-
bations TO politicians in 1912 and that
Everett Fowler of Kingston, now under
indictment on charge of extortion,
had been appointed at a meeting be-
tween c. Gordon Reel, former superin-
tcndent OF highways; Norman E Mack,
Democratic state chairman, and John
A. Dix, then governor Of New York, to
make some OF these collections The
meeting was held in the executive man
sion at Albany, he said, qualifying the
entire statement with the assertion that
he chad heard it, but had forgotten
who told him.
What McGnirc knew definitely was
that he and his brother, james X. Nc
Guirc, for six years mayor OF Syracuse,
had profited by commissions on the sale
Of asphalt and oil to the state and to
contractors on state work.
Contributions to Sulzer.
The commissions, Mcclure testified
were paid by the Barber Asphalt com,
pany by which his brother had been
long employed and by the United States
Asphalt company. Mr.. Whitman
swi itched to Mcguire S contributions to
Sulzer when he was governor. The
witness corroborated his previous tes-
timony that he had given Sulzer $500.
OF this sum, he said, $2500 was given
''out of sympathy last June. when
the governor sent for him and told him
he needed money.
''After ! had given the s2500,'' Nc
Guire further said. "I got TO thinking
il over and concluded that it was a
larger contribution than I could afford
SO I went TO Arthur Johnson-he was
the Barber Asphalt company's agent. I
told him / wanted him to reimburse me
for some of il if he felt that he could.
As well as / recall Johnson said he
would pay half. In any event / got a
check for $3.50 from him a few DAYS
LATER
Pointed Question.
Z it the truth" demanded Mr.
Whitman, "thst Governor Sulzer sent
for you and told you that the Barber
Asphalt company was making money
out Of the sale of its asphalt to the
state and that you had TO como across
to him with some Of the proftsf"
No, sir" MCGUIRE answered quick
". The governor never told me any.
thing like that"
"Why did you give Mr.. Sulzer
$35007" asked Mr. Whitman.
Mcclure evaded the question several
times At length ne said that it was
partly out OF sympathy and partly be.
cause ae felt that it might be to his