Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-01-30
HOOD AGREES TO
/. PROBE CHARGES
ON WOOD BLOCK
County Prosecutor Willing to
Accept Any Evidence Re-
garding Pavement Work.
WORKS BOARD "DEFr'
IS NOT ACCEPTED
Newark News Dodges Challenge
to Produce Evidence to
Back lnsinuation.

III Prosecutor Louis Hood today ex-
pressed his willingness to proceed in
the matter of alleged irregularities in
connection with the recent award of
the Broad street wood block contract
The allegations yesterday led to a
formal challenge by members of the
Board of Works to Mayor Haussling
and to the Newark Evening News to
RI bring any evidence of wrong doing
,Athey may have in the case before the
grand july.
M Although dsclaiming any idea of
taking the initiative in bringing the
IA affair to the attention of the grand
6 jury, Prosecutor Hood said as pub
ff lie servant it would be his duty to
begin action in the case should any
( one bring to him anything of sus-
picious nature in connection with the
Il .~arding of the contract. He said:
q II know nothing of the matter, ex-
E cept what | have read in the public
L print. If anyone has any knowledge,
or suspicion of anything criminal in
s7fthe matter. if they will call 1T to my
attention | will see that the matter is
Immediately placed before he grand
iury Th' is what | am here for"
Mayor daussling today declined to
comment on the challenge of the
board until aft er he receives replies
10 the following letter, which he sent
to Commissioners Kraemer and Gill
alen
"I hand you herewith clippings from
= the local newspapers purporting to
6 contain report of the meeting of
+ the Board of Street and Water Com
e missioners, held yesterday, in which
you are quoted. You will do me the
4 favor to advise me, at your earliest
convenience, as to whether the state
ments thus attributed to you in the
press are correct or incorrect in sub
stance and essence and if correct, in
what particular and to what degree
they deviate from what you actually
said''
The publishers of the Newark Eve
ming News, who were criticized by
Commissioned Gillen yesterday for a
"cowardly attack" as he termed 1t,
today denied they had made any
charges against Mr.. Gillen or indicat-
ed they had any evidence of wrong :
doing to offer
Wallace NJ. Scudder. president of
the Evening News Publishing Com
pany, said to a Star reporter:
Il was greatly surprised by Com
missioner Gillen's attack on our news
paper In the editorial on which -lie
based the assertions he made against
us we did not say we had proofs to
offer of anything out of the way in
the BrOdQ street pdNlIlS IildltCA. e
merely criticized the board for its
haste"
Mr.. Scudder then referred the Star
reporter to Edward w. Scudder, the
son of the publisher and his repre-
sentative.
The younger Mr.. Scudder was asked
by the Star reporter about a refer
, ence that Mr.. Gillen made to the
; News in the course of the officials
speech at the meeting yesterday after
noon. The reference was in regard to
a visit Mr.. Gillen paid to the News
office earlier in the week. Mr.. Gillen
said that he had met young Mr.. Scud-
der and John Maynard, an editor. The
latter, Mr.. Gillen said, remarked dur
ing the interview in the News office,
3 that the News editorial, with which
< Mr. Gillen had found fault "had dealt
leniently with the commissioners"
. WAS that statement made to Mr..
Gillen," Mr.. Scudder was asked.
''Mr. Gillen says 1t was was the
reply.
You won't deny or affirm it?'
mo. Any answer we make to the
attack of Mr. Gillen we shall make
in our own editorial columns"
will the News accept the chal-
lenge of the Board of Works to take
the case to the grand jury?"
why, we've never considered that
phase of the question at all"
In the News editorial. which was
Continued on Page 3. Column A.