The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1925-02-14
BLACK FAILS
TO APPEAR AT
PROBE HEARING
!;
Chief Engineer of Highway
Commission Not Present
\ For Testimony
NxPL A N ALTON MADE
A. ID. MckinnOn Called on to
Tell About Bismarck
Paving Project
EX p L A N ALTON MADE

w. G. Black, chief engineer of the
State Highway Commission. failed to !
appear at the hearing of the House |
Highway Commission investigating |
committee today. -
, F. j. Graham, counsel for the COM
'mittee, placed Herman Hardt, acting
as sergeant-at-arms for the commit
tee, on the stand to state that he
had subpoenaed Mr.. Black to appear
at $3.50 a. m. Mr.. Graham said that
J. M. Hanley of Mandan, Blacks
counsel, had called him and asked
that Mr.. Black be peN1itted to come
at III a. m. and this permission had
been granted.
Mr.. Hanley, later interviewed, said
that the committee had promised to
give Mr.. Black copy of testimony
taken in secret session, so that he
would know what charges had been
made, before he took the witness
stand. He said that he had suggest
ed that Mr.. Blacks appearance be
put over until Monday and Mr.. Gra-
ham suggested they could wait un-
til IL a. m. today. Mr.. Hanley said
he assumed the reason Mr.. Black did
not appear was because he had not
been furnished the transcript of evil
dence taken in executive session, and
that if furnished it he would appear
Monday.
Mr.. Black could not be reached
this morning.
A large part of the testimony at
the hearing this morning was from
A.. D. McKinnon, project engineer,
who was called upon to further ex-
plain methods of letting Federal Aid
contracts, which he asserted were let
on recommendation of the county
boards of the commissioners. with
the Highway Commission agreeing
with them in all but one case in two
years.
A letter from Mr.. Black was plac-
ed in evidence. giving an opinion of
the acting attorney-genera of the
Omitted States, to the effect that sur
plus war material in the Highway
Commissions hands, could be sold.
A second letter was, received as
follows:
ITO THE HOUSE INVESTIGATING
COMMITTEE:
Gentlemen: >
~ have received your subpoena
requesting me to appear before your
committee on Saturday morning,
!, February 14th, to testify as wit
y ness in the investigation that is now
pending.
"In response to that subpoena, l
have sent to your committee, through
Mr.. McKinnon, also subpoened by
you, the documents which you asked
me to produce before the committee.
"With reference to me testifying
before you at this time. will say that
for the following reasons, ask your
committee to postpone the taking Of
my testimony until l have had an
opportunity to read the transcript
of the testimony that has been tax
en- before your committee in secret
session. make this request upon
the following grounds: ,... =,
"Your committee has denied my
written request made to you to per-
nit me to be represented by, .coun-
sci. and it denied the right Of my
counsel to cross examine witnesses
produced by the prosecution .}e'n,
Further your committee has held
secret sessions at which testimony
and statements of witnesses were
taken and from which the public and
myself were excluded.
The trend that your investiga-
tion is taking is evidently aimed at
'nte as State Engineer and I am in
formed that number of. alleged
charges against me have been made
before your committee.
'In fairness and justice, am en-
titled to know what the nature of
those charges are so that before
come before your committee, can
have an opportunity to look up my
records and be- prepared to answer
those charges, it being elementary
that person charged with offences
is entitled to know what they are be-
fore he is required to testify as to
them.
Further your committee agreed to
deliver to me a transcript of the tes-
timony that was taken in the secret
sessions so would have chance to
20 over the same before j was called
to witness. This you have failed to
do.
THEREFORE,. ask your Honor
able Committee that you furnish me
with an Abstract of the testimony
that has been taken and as prepared
by the stenographer Of your commit
tee and be given an opportunity to
look over the same and an opportun-
ity to look up my records and be
prepared to answer that testimony
when come before the committee
and for that reason ask that the
calling Of me as witness be post
poned until have had that oppor-
tunity.
W. G. BLACK.
A copy of the evidence was un-
derstood would be in Blacks hands
by this afternoon.
Continual ON liaan thnnAl