New-York tribune., 1921-09-05
Meyer Upholds
Graft Board i'm
O'Malley Case
Replies to Complaint of
Hirshfield That an Effort
Was Made to Criminally
En,anglc the Witness
Cites Committees Duty
Nixon Defender Gives Lie
to Charges Of Control
by Traction Officials

10y Il Il - Ill VAIIElAIS
Schuyler M. Meyer, chairman of the
Legislative investigating committee,
when shown last night statement by
David Hirshfield, Commissioner of Ac
counts, in which the latter declared at
tempts had been made by the Meyer
committee to "criminally cntanglc'
Commissioner of Markets O'Malley, de-
clared emphatically that it was the
duty of the Meyer committee to put the
O'Malley case before the criminal
courts if evidence justified that course.
"This does not refer to O'Malley
alone" said Chairman Meyer. at re-
by the investigation to have becn
criminally involved. There will be no
discrimination in such matters, the
public may be assured If we find
there is guilt we will prosecute the
guilty in the criminal courts. That
is what the criminal courts are for"
Hirshfield's Complaint
Commissioner Hirshfield's statement
said that when O'Malley was a witness
before the Meyer committee and left
papers reported that O'Malley had
bolted the witness chair. The state
ment added:
The fact IS that every person called
before the committee up to the time
that O'Malley was called had been
granted immunity, while O'Malley, a
man of standing, was required to waive
that privilege. Speaking as lawyer
of many years experience, it seems to
me drive was made at O'Malley with
the object of deliberately entanglng
him with the criminal courts, and by
taking from him his immunity, deprive
him also of any possible answer or de-
fense he might wish to set up.'
Emil w. Voute, of 1870 West Seventy
sixth Street, in a letter to Commits
sioner Hirshfeld yesterday gave the lie
to persons who assert that Lewis Nixon
former Public Service Commissioners
had sought to favor the Interborough
Rapid Transit Company at the expense
of the people of New York City. The
letter declares any one who says Nixon
was "tied up with the Interborough is a
liar"
Denounces Four HIS
Mr.. Voute, who refers in his letter to
"tkat suiphurous quadripartite COM
blnation, Hylan, Hearst, Hirshfield and
HELL" proceeds to excoriate the assail-
ants of Nixon. The letter, in part, fol-
lows:
Sir: A few days ago you took &C.
caslon to include in statement to
tie press anent the Interborough re-
celverchlp matter a charge that Etr .
Lewis Nixon, former Public Service
Commissioner, was 'boomed for the
Democratic nomination for President
OF the United States by officials of the
lnterborough Rapid Transit Company
as a reward for his arbitration Of
the difficulties between the Inter-
borough Rapid Transit Company and
its employees.
"lt is quite true that a mass meeting
was held by the Interborough en-
ployees in a hall hired by or on be-
half of President Connolly of the In
tcrborough Brotherhood, at which reso-
lutions were adopted urging the nomi-
nation of Lewis Nixon for the highest
office in the gift of the American
people. 1t is equally true that the
lnterborough employees did not pay
for the hire of chat hall. 1t is abb
solutely untrue that the cost of hir
ing the hall was betrayed. in even the
remotest sense, by rapid transit
officials or that they even knew Of the
hiring of the hall until long after 1T
had been arranged for.
Nixon's Work in Strikes
$50 far as the strikes on the Inter
borough are concerned. two great
strikes took place shortly after Mr..
Nixon took Office as Public Serv.ce
Commissioner, involving terrific losses
to the poorer people, had the strikes
continued. Mr. Nixon stood aside and
allowed others to try and end them and,
after their abject failure (Mr. Hylan's
includcd), stepped in and settled them,
fairly and in good faith-as Mr.. Nixon
does everything that he undertakes to
do--and it was then that he was hailed
as the best damn man in New York;
by the enthusiastic head of the en-
ployees' brotherhood, Mr.. Connolly un-
doubtedly voicing, although somewhat
strenuously, the sentiments of those
people of New York City who are not
bamboozled by the Misrepresentation
OF the Hylan-Hearst administration.
Yet do we find the wonderful dis
covery - made by Hirshfeld' - that
these strikes were to be arbitrated on
an advance promise by the INTERIOR
ough officials to Mr.. Nixon and that
Mr.. NiXon's price was their (the In
tcrborough officials) support of him
for the Presidency.
"As matter of fact, the majority
of the 1nterborough employees were
very much for Mr.. Nixon because Of
his fairness in settling their difficulties
and because of his long record with
labor throughout his career, Mr.. Nixon
being, among other things, the 1irs+
large employer who voluntarily reduced
the period of daily toll from the old