The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-22
Very Much Perturbed

beans, The chief is all worked up about
it
Il said, What have done?' He said
You sent a telegram yesterday and it
has angered the chief. | am afraid it's
all off between you. Now he wants to
see YOU
i said, Why. John, that is the sim
piest thing in the world and showed
nm this telegram from Mcclure. | told
him that | did not see why Murphy
should get mad at a thing like that"
Sulzer said that at Delaney's request
he called up Murphy and the latter asked
him to come to see him. He said he saw
Murphy at Delmonicos that afternoon
Mr.. Murphy took me into a smaller
room," said Sulzer. '"He looked at me-
| could see he was perturbed. He said,
why did you send that telegram to the
canal board?'
Il said. That is very simple, and I
showed him that telegram from Nc
Guire
'He said, You have made great mis-
| take; you do not want to butt into things
that do not concern you. | will attend
to this
| HE looked at me quizzically and want
ed to know if Senator O'Gorman had
not asked me to send this telegram.
No Way to Begin
Il said. No, l had never seen O'Gor-
| man. Then he said, Keep your hands
off. This is none of your business This
is no way to begin as governor
| He went on in that strain and | lis
| tened to him because it was the first |
had seen of the workings of the invisible
| government. told him I was going to
| be governor and that he had better un-
derstand it, He said, Like hell you are.'
| Sulzer said that Senator O'Gorman had
| told him later that James e. Gaffney
was Murphy's "chief bagman" and that
| Gaffney had held up Stewart for 100000.
OGorman told him this, he said, when
he Informed the senator that Murphy
wanted Sulzer to appoint Gaffney state
| highway commissioner.
| "O'Gorman told me tMat it would be
| disgrace to the state of New York to
| appoint Gaffney," Sulzer declared
This interview. the witness said, oc-
! Cured in Washington, the day of Pres
ident Wilson's Inauguration. when the
senator invited him to luncheon.
Be Disgrace to State
| Il told Senator OGorman," said Sui
zer, that Murphy was putting the screws
on me and bringing to bear all his in
| huence to have me appoint Gaffney COM
missioner of highways The senator leaned
| over the table, and, in his grim way,
/ looked me in the face and said, IF you
| appoint Jim Gaffney 1t will be a disgrace
| to the state of New York, and 1t will
| ruin your administration. Don't you
know that he's Murphy's chief bagman
and goes around holding up contractors
and that he held up my friend Stewart
| for $l00,000? He told me that he had
gone to Murphy and told him that he
would not have his client black-jacked,
that Murphy tried to sidestep and dis
| claim all connection with what Gaffney
| had done. but that he knew that wasn't
| SO.
II said to the senator, I'm glad to hear
you say that. / agree With you that it
would be a disgrace to the state of New
York to appoint Gaffney.'
| Sulzer said that he saw Murphy the
next day at Senator OGorman's house
| in Washington
"There were several other democrats
there he. said, "and listened to what
| they had to say. When / went out of the
! room Murphy followed me into the cor
ridor, and said he wanted me to stay
over until the next day. / told him /
! had to get back to New York Then again
| he importuned me TO appoint Gaffney
He said If I would do that could have
my own wish. / said tiiat Gaffney knew
what to do and that II was an organiza-
| ton. / told him that 7 would refuse to
appoint him. Then he said. It's Gafrney
| or war
'If anybody should ask you' smiled the
|
! did you say to Mr.. Murphy asked
Mr.. Whitman, that Gaffney was graft
er, a collector, a bagman or black
mailer?"
| Trying to Get Along
| No" replied the witness. II didn't
| say these things. I.was trying to get alon
| with him as best / could. | wanted to
be diplomatic | knew his power. Then
| he said If you don't do what I tell you
to do, I'll throw you out of office and
wreck your administration / told him
| l was not going to be proxy governor,
a rubber stamp governor"
Sulzer described another meeting with
Murphy in New York, on March Is, of
| that year. when the Tammany leader at
| tempted to induce him, he said. to make
other appointments.
Mr. Murphy was the boss" continued
SulZer. IT was the governor. did every
thing In my power to get along with him.
was willing to do anything within rea-
| son, but I was not willing to violate my
oath of office nor to- shut my eyes to
graft. When / told him this, Murphy
always laughed at me-
| Sulzer declared that when he began his
| Investigations into various state depart
ments after he became governor, he was
staggered at the overwhelming corrup-
| ton in the state of New York"
| 1T was graft graft, everywhere he
| said. nor any man to stop it,
Demanded Hennessy's Dismissal
He declared that Murphy sent
| John H. Delaney as a messenger to
| him, demanding the dismissal of John A.
| Hennessy as graft investigator. He said
| that Murphy wanted to arrange for tele-
phone connections between Delmonicos
and the executive mansion.
| 'T asked Murphy to write said the
witness, but he said he never wrote"
Referring to the reported secret con-
| ference between Murphy and his lieu
| tenants at Delmonicos. where Sulzer has
previously charged it was decided to i'm
| peach him. he said, Jay w. Forrest of
Albany had a letter in his possession
which would prove such a conference
had been held
up to the very last minute he said,
| eff / had been willing to compromise
| I would not have been removed. Mr..
| Murphy sent word time and again that
If I'd quit, he'd quit and that Sepat
Frawley, Wagner. Sanner and Rar
ger would quit"
Asked why he had removed c. G lon
Reel as highway commissioner, he 81
Reel was incompetent and a foe
came to me and said he would give =
great story of corruptions but he
told II to me-" 4t
Sulzer will be called to the stand
Friday.