New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-11-21
Asphalt Man Subpenaed.

Arthur s. Johnson, sales agent or the
Barber Asphalt Paving Company. who
was named by George II. Mcclure on
Wednesday as the man who gave $3.50 of
his $4,000 contribution to Ex-Governor Sui
ger, lust after the impeachment. has also
been subppnaed for appearance on Mon
day.
C. B. Warner. Of the Warner-Quinlan
Asphalt Company, which. according to Nc
Cures admissions on Wednesday, was
shut out OF the states business on high
way construction by specifications which
favored the Barber company, will be an
other witness next week. Mr.. Warner said
Yesterday ne also had heard Of the Coop
erstown meeting on July 5, 1913, which
Whitman quizzed Mcclure about.
As Warner had heard the story, Gov
ernor Sulzer. Commissioner John n. Car
Isle Of the Highways Department and
both George II. and James X. MCGUIRE
were the conferrees The meeting was at
the Hotel Berkeley-W aiontha, in Coppers-
town. and Stephen Clark. the thread mill
Ionaire, whose country home is In Coop
erstown. was also present for part or
the time II is not believed that Mr..
Clark was "in on" the conference. but
only that he dropped in for a short time
as a friend Of Sulzer.
Warner declared that on the day after
that conference thirty contractors. who
had negotiated with the Warner-Quinlan
company for materials 10 be used on high
way work. were notified that the asphalt
OF that company did not meet the specifi-
cations and could not be used. Warmers
story Of that conference was TO the effect
that the matter discussed was a method
nopoly on state highways work. and that
the method was discovered OF ruling out
the Warner product. because 1t was not
natural solid asphalt"
These words. Warner admitted. were In
the specifications. and his product is not
a natural solid asphalt" but he claimed
that IL had met all the tests OF the High
WAYS Board in 1912. and had been passed
upon and approved by State Engineer
John A. Bensel. He said the word solid"
I'm the specifications had been dead let
ter until after that July 5 conference.
Governor Glynn, who came down from
Albany yesterday to attend the dinner OF
the Chamber OF Commerce last night, said
that James w. Osborne. the newly ap-
pointed special deputy Attorney General.
whom he named to investigate all state
departments. had started in on his work
by checking up the reports on highway
graft made by John A. Hennessy with
the records In the Highways Department.
What Osborne VIII Do.
The Governor said that there would be
no chance Of any friction between Os-
borne's work and that which District At
torney Whitman is now proceeding with
in this county. Osborne's first work will
be to uncover any graft in highway and
canal construction or contracts, not with
relation to any possible political sand
bagging' Of contractors, but solely with
respect to the honesty of the contracts
and construction itself.
While the Governor did not want to dis
cuss the matter In detail. he intimated
that eventually Osborne's work of investi-
CATION would spread out all over the state.
and that he would go wherever the trail
OF graft might lead him.
It is not believed, however. that Mr..
Osborne expects to go into the political
angle of the contract awards, so far as
forced campaign contributions are COZ
cerned, and the only chance of friction
with Whitman lies in the matter of call
ing witnesses in upstate proceedings who
might thereby gain immunity from prose-
cution in this county If the District At
torney subsequently found them involved
in "sandbag graft"
George II. Mcclure. who underwent a
severe grilling at Whitman's hands on
Wednesday. will be the first witness be-