New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-01-03
Impossible to Make Favor.
ties Do Work Right,
Say Witnesses.
CALL PAUL SCHULTZ
THE MAN HIGHER Up
Whole Thing q Farce, Asserts
Carlisle and Intimates
Osborne Is Cray"
- ToIerra1l b - rr-bnne /

kF 7 NIfEitNN TO I 10 '."lif
Albany. Jan. Three engineers IN ne
state Highway Department tcstlaed at
this evenings session Of the Osborne ir-
quiry:
That they and other state engineers
were under the domination Of the state
road contractors.
That the Rob Roy Contracting Com
pany. Of Troy. bTilt a stretch Of road just
outside Of Albany last september al
cost Of 50. 300. and that the road contained
roor materials and was badly built
That Paul Schultz Second Deputy Com
missioner Of Highways. allowed the road
to be built with rejected materials.
That the road to-day is bad. the founda-
ton poor and It's surface broken and IN
even.
That william Shield, president Of the
Rob Roy company. threatened one Of the
states division engineers who rejected The
materials in the first instance as poor,
and that = few days later the engineer
was transferred 10 another Job.
That Schultz and Harry Fikins, act
ing chief division engineer, allowed the
Rob Roy company to build other stretches
Of road one costing Sls.sco. despite the
protests OF state division engineers. Who
said the materials were poor and not Up
10 specifications.
When John ~ Carlisle. State Commits
sioner of Highways, was asked by the
Tribune correspondent what he thought
OF the testimony. he said:
The whole testimony IS a farce. II
Osborne says the state lost money he Is
crazy. The whole thing Is a joke. Schultz
is honest. When he returns TO town to-
morrow he will explain everything salts
factorily. That BIT Of road Just outside
OF Albany which was testified about is one
of the finest bits Of road ever built In
this state"
Must Waive Immunity.
Carlisle denied that he had appointed
Schultz on the recommendation OF Joseph
Murphy the Democratic leader Of Troy,
Schultzs home town He said he did not
know Il Schultz had been formerly in
the employ of the Rob Roy company.
James W. Osborne was told what Carlisle
said.
Il won't make any comment" said Mr..
Osborne, but don't want 10 ride on any
Of those roads that we heard about this
afternoon. incidentally, Mr.. Schultz
won't explain anything to me unless he
first signs a waiver OF immunity"
John Consalus. mentioned by John A.
Hennessy in his prediction expose Of the
road graft, is one Of the officers Of the
Rob Roy company.
Daniel A. Young. an engineer in the
Highways Department, was the first wit.
ness. He told Of an asphalt road built
by the Rob Roy company between Am
sterdam and Schenectady that cost the
state $3.50 Part OF the asphalt, he
said was below specification He said
he wrote letter to Ralph Russell. head
Of the Bureau Of Repairs. protesting
against the use Of the asphalt, but that
his protest was ignored and the asphalt
used
He next told Of a brick road near
Amsterdam built by Joseph Walker. In
the Dix regime. The specification called
for screened gravel as a foundation, but
on nearly two miles OF road unscreened,
dirty gravel, containing as high as 40 per
cent of loan. was permitted 10 be used.
This road cost the state $500.
when it rains, the rain washes the
loan away and the road sinks" said the
witness, in answer TO question by Mr..
Osborne.
THAT accounts for some OF the roads
that disappear over night" was Mr.. Os-
borne's comment.
The witness said that one result OF such
experiences 10 state engineers was that
they become afraid TO report unfayorably
against favored contractors.
Engineer Is Transferred.
Elwood Blessing was the state engineer
on the stretch OF road near this city
which the Rob Roy company built last
fall. He said that when he rejected some
of the materials William Shields, the pres
ident Of the Rob Roy. said TO him:
You've shown fight and I'll give you all
Il Ia