Evening star., 1932-08-18
BY WALTER TRUMBULL.

BY WALTER TRUMBULL.
ALBANY. N. Y, August 18 (NA.
AD-For the third time during the
hearing on the removal charges against
Mayor Walker Gov. Roosevelt ham,
mered away at the mayor yesterday.
| Forming his questions from the stand
point of ethics and good government
in the charge of fee splitting, the Gov
ernor tried to get the mayor to ADMIT
his brother had been guilty Of highly
! improper practices. This the mayor re-
fused to do. Steadily, the Governor
tried to pin him down to whether he
considered Dr. Walkers actions proper
and legal and questioned him as to
what he had done to investigate the
acts of his brother and the other doc
tors involved.
1T was testified to. at this hearing.
said the Governor, that DR.. OMara
received a number of fees from the
| city. for city compensation cases, that
the sum of the fees amounted TO SUCH
aEd-such, an amount running down to
not only dollars. but cents, and that
within two or three days thereafter,
DI. O'Mara gave check for exactly
! half, down to the cent, OF the sum OF
| these fees. Now. DR.. Walker, who re-
ceived this check for half the sum OF
| the city fees, testified that he had at
J no time performed any Services-that
| is, any medical services for city COM
pensation cases. Do you consider that.
off hand. a proper ethical medical
p:actice?"
Defends Fee Splitting.
We'll" answered the mayor slowly,
| IF there was something wrong with
| tiff the city was defrauded out OF
one penny, 1t would be q matter OF
serious interest. If, on the other hand.
the city was not defrauded. service
was rendered, the bill was paid, and the
doctors, because of some other arrange
ment that they had among them, were
paid off by splitting this check, or as
many checks as there Were-1 don't
see anything unethical about that"
The Governor continued to question
the mayor sharply as to whether. in the
prevalence of such practice, he didn't
think the bills rendered the city would
be higher than if no fees were split:
whether the mayor thought he had done
everything he should have done, after
discovering such practice had been 60
| ing on. and finally forced the mayor to
say that he did.
"All right" said the Governor en-
| phatically.
The mayor had pointed out he had
asked his brother what there was to
| it,: that he had not demanded "an
| explanation" He added his brother was
| not in the position with the mayor that
the mayor for the moment was with the
Governor. He declared he had asked
DR.. Walker the open question and his
| brother had told him the thing was due
! TO business arrangement with the
| doctors mentioned-OMara, Fernberg,
CaSsasa. and Brennan-on workmen S
! compensation work for the self-inSurers.
| Inquired as to Facts.
The mayor also testified ne had in
quired from the corporation counsel
whether his brother was OIL the pay roll
and was told he was not. He asked
whether the corporation counsel knew
If DR.. Walker ever had received a dollar
| from the city and was told he did not
know. Walker said he never had asked
| the corporation counsel to employ Dr..
Walker, or any other doctor. on work.
mems compensation activities. He said
he knew nothing of the splitting OF
fees; but he himself had split fees in
! his law practice. He stated the Com
pensation Bureau was better and more
| efficiently run than any other similar
bureau in the country.
Martin Conboy OF the Governors S
counsel asked whether the mayor had
read copy OF his brothers testimony.
j The mayor answered he had not; that
he never had read his own testimony
before the Hofstadter Committee.
The Governor asked the mayor a
! hypothetical question as to his opinion
of the ethics Of his brothers conduct
in splitting fees.
THE pressure at this time" said the
mayor, 'the persiStency of your excel
| Iency'S examination of me concerning
| these matters, which I have already
! testified I am not familiar with. should
| be taken in connection with the fact
| that the regents of the State Of New
York are investigating this matter. So
will the attorney general, and l think
there. without hypothetical questions
or without the conclusions OF the Leg
| islative Committee, the truth will be
aScertained."
Inquiries Into Conduct.
The Governor said the fifteenth con-
clusion. having to do with Walkers
unbecoming conduct as mayor. was
general one He. therefore. asked Judge
Seabury. counsel for the Legislative
Committee; William j. Schiefeln OF
| the ClllZEnS OIlIOli aliQ OOiAh u.
tin. counsel for the mayor whether
they had any questions to ask. Each
said he had not at this time.
Il think" said the Governor. that
concludes the direct examination OF
the mayor by me- , ,
IF that was direct examination
said the mayor. Il never want 10 pe
cross-examined by your eXcellency'
The Governor proposed to defer con-
sideration of the charges brought by
James E Ffnegan and others untii
; the Seabury matter Is completed Cur.
tin objected strenuously on the gfouno
the prosecution should present HS en-
! tire case and the mayor should know
everything of which he is accused and
the evidence to support 1t.
Curtin and the Governor have been
at odds many times during the pro-
ceedines. He apparently thinks the
Governor is not only holding an m
vestieation but bent on an adverse de-
cision.
Accused of Sailing.
During Curtin's examination Of Jacob
Gould Schurman, Jr, SON or the former
Ambassador to Germany and former
associate counsel of the Hofstadter
Committee, the Governor took the
ground that the defense was st ling. as
he had intimated many times before.
Now, Mr.. Curtin" the Governor
said. Il just want to say one word here
There has been great objection made
bv many persons and great objections
on nv part to the long drawing out OF
this thing. through what l frankly con-
slider legal technicalities. Now, l am
not bound by the kind of rules of court
procedure that Supreme Court judge
is bound by. I am trying to get at the
kernel and meat Of this thing"
II am getting little bit fed up,
Il am fed up myself" interrupted
Curtin. =,
II will take charge Of this proceeding
pretty soon myself" threatened the
Governor, "and shut it off"
| or0nsa5