The New York herald., 1921-09-07
GRAFT CASES WORRY
QUEENS POLITICIANS
O'Leary Demands Meyer Rush
Exposure, but Chairman Is
Adamant to Influence.
EDUCATION PROBE NEXT
Hirshfield Busy OH Food In
quiry-Police and Firemen
Deny Buying Jobs.
EDUCATION PROBE NEXT

| Evidence showing that contracts for
kpuvlic works have been sold in Queens
Is in possession of the Meyer COM
mittee and is being suppressed until
after the primary elections. Denis
o'Leary, Democratic candidate for
! Borough President In Queens. charged
yesterday in a letter to Senator Schuy-
Ter M. Meyer. All this evidence is
| detrimental to the Connolly borough
administration, Mr.. OLeary said, add
ing that the committees policy was
being determined by political expe-
diency.
Senator Meyer answered that it was
true the committee had gathered much
evidence indicating municipal affairs
in Queens are bad, but that the COM
mittee would not permit the wishes
of candidates in the primaries or the
general election to determine the order
| in which facts developed In the pre-
liminary hearings are to be presented
! in open sessions.
1--WE are now going to show up every
thing In Queens in due course OF time.
Senator Meyer said.
| Maurice Connolly. Borough President
of Quaens. said he was as dissatisfied
| with the Meyer committee as Mr.
| OLeary. The investigators should take
the public into their confidence. he said
and added that II all the evidence OBJ
tain I'd by subcommittee was made
public It would be shown there was
nothing wrong with Queens. The at
tacks made against his administration
were all inspired by political opponents,
Mr.. Connolly said.
Sorting Ont the Evidence.
Counsel and subcommittee were at
work yesterday sorting the svidence to
| be offered on Thursday when the hear
ings are resumed. The Board Of Edu-
cation comes next in the investigation.
That department is TO have a general
overha uling. What has been done and
not done by the Hylan administration
in our years to improve educational
| facilities; charges OF favc-itism in MAX
| ing contracts and waste in purchasing
sites and the general administration of
the educational department are all to
be the subjects of inquiry.
Through subcommittee and investiga-
tors. the committee has beer fnquirinS
into Queens Borough affairs for four
| months. Mr.. OLsary stated In his let
| ter, and witnesses who appeared on
| August q were told the investigation
In that branch of the Government was
"all off, until September 20. The pub
| lie ought to know the facts before
voting in the primaries. he stated, In
asmuch as officials who must be held
responsible are candidates for renoml-
nation.
"The testimony you have before yoi
shows that favorltism has been given
certain contractors or interests that
money has been paid for contracts for
public work: that the contra ctors af-
fectcd admit paying large sums FOR such
contracts. amounting In one instance to
$4,000 and another to 5000. and you can
not deny you have documentary evil
dence OF the truth of these admissions.
even including checks that have
passed." O'Leary stated.
Mr.. O'Leary gave the names of sew
eral persons who, he stated. had testi-
fed regarding the payments he alleged
had been made.
Food Expert Again n Witness.
David Hirshfeld. Commissioner of
Accounts. kept up his counter attack on
the Meyer committee yesterday by again
calling his star witness. Raymond Smith.
formerly Federal food investigate
who has been testifying In this single
handed inquiry for two weeks. Smith
| testified yesterday that Samuel Berger
associate counsel for the Meyer COM
mittee. helped frame" food rules IN
this State which were favorable to Chi
cago packers and which permitted the
meat barons'' to gouge the public.
When Berger was on leave OF abserce
as Deputy Attorney General In 1917,
Smith testified. he participated In draw
ing up the regulations for the reorgan-
ICED Council OF Farms and Markets, pre-
venting inspection Of privately owned
warehouses and relieving the owners Of
such storehouses Of the duty OF report
Ing on their products.
Under these rules. Smith stated. the
packers were able to hoard $50, 100000
pounds OF poultry to maintain prices
during the war