OMAHA DAILY BEE.
n YEA R. OMAHA , SATURDAY MORNING , MARCH 11 , 1893. NUMBER 26' * .
STOLE ALL IN SIGHT
How Bill Dorgan Built tha New Oell House
at the Lincoln Penitentiary.
STATE BOLDLY R03BED ON EVERY HAND
Ho Limit Placed on the Opportunities of the
Contractor to Plunder.
STATE OFFICIALS LET IT GO ANY WAY
Dorgan and His Successor Given Pull Swing
at the $40,000 Appropriation.
| | J NO CHECK KEPT OF THE EXPENDITURES
; fl
Contriitnr Drew the VIoiu-j In Ailvimco mill
Mprnt It II * Hu ClioHO Itnport of the
Invoitlf ; itlni ; Committee to
thu I.i-Bli
LINCOLN , Neb. , March 10 [ Special Tele-
pram to Tin : HBE ] The committee appoint
ed to Investigate ) the crookedness in connec
tion with thu penitentiary cell house con
struction made Its report this rfternoon It
contains some \eri scnsitlonil Undines , arid
Insolves the mcmbcis of the State Boaid of
Public Lands and Buildings
Thu icpoit made is substantially ns fol-
losss :
To Tin : IlovoiiAiiMC Ilotsi' OF Kri'iiusr.NTv-
TISPSOF nir.brAri. OK NHWASKI Yourcom-
inlttco appointed lo Inscstigato the state
p'Miltcnti.u v submits the fnllovsing icjiort
The last legislature made an appiopriation
of MO.HK ( ) for building a ness cell house by
d iy'H ssoik. The eslileneo taken has been al-
irost en tit cli in lefcrenco to the expcmlltuic
of this monov This cell house abuts on the"
main building and Is about 218 feet long by
41 feet ssldc , its svest ssall is the cast ssallof
the ma n building , Its north and cast ss alls
the north and cast walls that surround the
penitentiary grounds , and its soutlivall a
ncsv ono cnthelv This ssoik , under the
lass's of the state , was under the diicc-
tlon and supervision of the Bo.nd
of Public Linds and Buildings , consist
ing of the land commissioner , scciutao of
stile , ticasurer and attoinoy gcncial On
or about thu 1st day of May , Ib'.H , the board
appointed II Dorgan its supeiintcmUnt
svilh full jKisser to employ all labor and pur-
thasunll matcrlil ami to oscrseo pcncialls
the election of this cell house at a salarv of
WO per month , At this tlmo and up to Feb
ruary 1 , IB'fJ , ono C W Mosher was the
piison contiactor , and Dorgan ss.is his man
ager , and hid full chat go of all his Intel est
nt the pciiltcntl.it v , Including subletting of
conslcts to tl'lrd p irtles On the 7th day of
May , Ib'JI , Dorgan enteicd into a bond in the
sum of $10.000 for the faithful peifoiminco
of his duties as the representative of the
board.
Dorgnii'H Itukn-Oir on Ccmilct T.uliiir.
The method adopted in expending and ac
counting for the money svas this. Thu board
would nllosv nn cstlm ito In favor of Dorgan
pilor to any outlay on his part for a certain
sum , as StfjOOO , and Dorgan would make re
ports to the board of his cxpcmlltuies. In
conformity to this plan Doigan dresv f.t.3,100
ot this nionoy and made llvu rcpoits , which
aio nosv on tllo in thOoftlcu of thu scciutaty
of stato. The amounts charged for labor
and stone constitute by far thu l.ugcst Items ,
nndconslct labor had the piofeicnco o\er
ficu labor , Of $ llliy'l.l7 chanted to labor bv
Doigan , &U.004 ho ssas for conslcts and
only W.tk'H 07 for fieo labor. This convict
labor is charged at the rate of $1 per day ,
while the a\eiago pi ice piid by othcis ssho
subcontr.u ted for cons lets is only at the
rate of 10 cents per day. But Dorgan , as
the repiesentatlvo of the Boaid of Publlu
ILands and Buildings , contiactcd sslth
Dorgan , as thcrcpicscntatiso of Mosher , the
prison contractor , ssith the nboso icstilts
Again , thcio weiodajs sshcntho convicts
"could not ssork on account of the sscuthcr
or lack of matciial , .set a chat go is made the
eamo as if they had. The must glaiing
instance of tills kind Is fiom January to
January.'II , Ib'Jj.
Mco T.lttln Drill on Stono.
Dorgan purchased all stone for the con
struction of thu building of S. H. Atssood &
Co of Platlsmouth. Tlio stono\sas shipped
from Cedar Cicck , sshcio Atssood's qimiilcs
ss'cro located , and from Ncmaha county , this
slate , a part coming from Johnson , from the '
quarry of one John \V. Xook and the balance
from Aubuin fiom the qu.ury of Van Court
k Kood. Dorgan piid the fieight in all
instances. On all stone fi.mi hisosvn ( juairy
Atwood's pilco was by tie | bundled pounds ,
viz : Rubble , 0 and 8 cents , dimension 10 cents
Iff and coping 10 cents , and ssas sold by actual
weight. This stone sseighed about IGTi
pounds to the cublo foot. The evidence
plious that the same kind of stone ssas
\sortli about ana-half of the aboso llgurcs , or
Irs3. On the stone from Nemaha county
Atssood piid for the dimension stone -I'j '
cents per 100 pounds anil tinned It In to
Dorgan at 11 ! cents per foot , estimating onli
] ( X ) JKUinds to thu cubic foot , sshereas the ,
stone ssulghed about lr > 0 pouiuls to thu cubic
foot. In other ssoids , lor a fir of stone
iscighlng 40,000 pounds Atssood paid Sib and
chaiged Doigan $ ( > t For thu dimension
ptone , plugged to slo , Atssood p ltd 10 cents
a foot ami chai-ged Doigan Xi cents a foot ,
or for a car containing 'JOO feet ol this stone
Atssood would pas $ " . ' 0 and elmrgo Doigan
f"0 , thus clp.it ing $ . " > 0 per car ss Ithout In iinv
\vav handling it.
What has been said of the stone holds tiuo
of the sand also Atssood had the loatiact
for It at thu late of ? 1 peryntd at the pit ,
\\hllolts\abs\orthnottooxeeed 40 cents nat
jard.
It Is In nsidenco that PI tor to Dorg.in's
cntoilng Intoan.s ngicemcnt sslth Atssood &
Co to buy stone and s nut from them that
other parties had oflcicd to fmulsh the .iimt
to him at lo.ibonablu prices , \\i \ thu Ncmaha
county stone at the figures at sshieh Atssood
& . Co. purchased thu same. , as alias glsun ,
and for the sand and Cedar Ciuuk stonu at
liguies tanging fmm onc-thirxl to one-half of
thonmomits vhaigcd by Atssood Jk Co. ) ofr
denies that ho rnu
gan oser consulted anyone
except U. II , Atssood pi lor to his agreement
with that firm. Hu states that he ssas not ; u
practical stone man , did not knosv svhat It
\snsssorth , but relied on Atssoid & Co. to
i make him fair and icasonablc tatcs ,
Otlirr l.lttlo it : Cutrr.m.
' . l > om FDbrmiry 1. 1VIJ , Dorgan was thu
'prison contractor , Mosher has Ing assigned
A the eoiui act to him on that date , hut Doigan
lias noser enteicd into any bond as
such TOim-.ii tor. Prom that time to
March 15 , IWJ , he , as a ropiosonta- :
tls i of the Board of Public Lands and Buildings -
ings , contracted sslth Himself as prison
contractor for nil ions let labor uin-
jiloyid dining that pcilod , and as piison
coiitriulot kept thu time of the eon-
vlcts On March 15 , J ilf > , Dan Hopkins - iius
utpolntcd suporlntct.dciU In place of Dargan ,
his coiuiHMisallon being at the rate of So per
day He btcms to haso follovscd the gc'neial ;
po'K'i ' of Uorgan , Hiicniithmcd to purchase
stone and s uul of S H , Alssood % Vt Co. at the
sunooxurbltant pilecs , Ho iMit adojit a sss-
tem of keeping the time ot the conslcts isso
that noelrirges for such labor ssoru n.tutcVbo '
far as the commltteo Is
assiue , when they
AS ere Idle
Inonoof Doi-gan s statement thuro uro two
Items , one far S.VXI expense of liauil , and
the other. fiiOO to Dan Hopkins , for which
thoni are uo vouchcis. The lli-st was used
on a tilp taken by the secretari of stain l ,
attorney general , the land commissioner
and the then ssardcn .
of the. penitentiary , Dan '
Hopkins , to Inspect other prisons 'us to
methods of ventilation , cto. Theio U no
pretense of n statement a to the actual expenses -
ponses p lid out by the.su gentlemen , and II Is I In
evidenceth.it 111pt
thevhndtranspoitatlon -
except
for a very nhort distance. The secouu was
Used oa tt trip taken by the thcu warden
( Hopkins ) and the then chaplain ( Hosvo ) ,
to n prison congress held In Pittsburg ,
but there Is no Itemized account of their ex
penses , nor Is It npinrcnt to sour committee
hosv this fund could bo used for such n pur-
| K3SO.
In the first Instance the money was paid
to the secictary of state , J C. Allen , and In
thu second to Din Hopkl'is and In each case
prior to the trip being entered upon.
Within n fosv months after Hopkins became -
came HiiiKirlntcmlent , a portion of the south
wall th it surrounds the prison jard fell In
and it became necessary to ropilr It. Al
though Mr. Hopkins has not filed any re
ports ss ith the Bo ml of Public Linds an I
Buildings , ho submitted to > our committee
nn iteinfrcd statement of his expenditures
up to Janu ir > 1 , Ib'.H. on the south wallas
svoll ns on the cell house There Is ono Item
of < ! , < ! . ! 4 ! ! 8 for stone , being tss'cntv-onu car
lo ids , all of ss hich ss Ith the exception of ono
piece of coping , ssas used In the cell house ,
that is charged to the south svall This , Mr
Hopkins states , ssas donu on the lutlnritv
of the bo ml to bilanco n like amount of
labor ( estimated ) that ssas actually per
formed In building a stockade around the
open sp ice svhcro tno ssall had fallen In and
sshlc-H litul been ch.u god to the cell house
The attention of the house ts called to this
to Indicate the loose minnur In sshlch this
svholi matter lias been conducted Accord
ing to the hooka in the secretiuy of state's
olllce , there is jet on hands of the cell house
fund $1,700 , but something like $1,100 of
debts for ssoik and mitcriil are yet out
standing , and then ss lieu the nboso item of
$ lUt'J3 ( is charged here it belongs it ssill
bo seen that the fund Is moro than exhausted
As above indicated , Mr Hopkins has not
filed a single voucher svlth the boird to en
lighten that body or any other Hosv ho Ins
dislLirsed _ thojnonej intrusted to hlm Mr
Dorgan has filed a number , but ho fails
return any for5,151 , 77 , sshlch ho claims to
have spent
It is the opinion of the committee thit this
svork ought not to h ive cost over $22,000.
1'iijliiK thu Contnictor'H Debt * .
A receipt attached to ono of Dorg.in's
statements shosss d.fiOO flio biick , costing
$ tOS ! , and six burols of flic claj , costing $ J4
This material was used in setting some
boilois that belonged to the state. These
bollcis , sslth otheis , mo user , to ceneiate
steam to heat the pcnttc.ntl.iti buildings ( in
cluding the ness cell house sshen complete )
ami to finnlsh pissorto run the machlneiy
Yourconnnlttec is of the opinion that under
the contract ssith Mosher , the prison eonttac-
torshould be ir all such expenses himself In
this case the state not only furnished the
boilers and matciial but the labor also and
all is chin gcd to the cell house fund.
71111 Dorj ; ill's Iloncxtj.
Your committee , after hc.it Ing the testi
mony of cx-Tieasurcr Hill , Commissioner
Humpluev , Secretary Allen and Attoinoy
Gcncial Hastings , is compelled to bellese
and icpoit to this housctbat the interests of
the state wcro not guauled by
cscn ordinary care. Instead of throsv-
ing o\cry sifcguard sshieh honest }
and business methods ssould sug
gestaround the appiopilition and its c\-
pcndituio , the svay svas Ijft open for extrav-
iigame and corruption , which expanded and
gross moio rapidly than did the ss-alls of the
cell house To begin ssith , Mr W II
Dorgan , ssho ssas chosen superintendent , of
construction , did not sust lin that high ch ir-
acter for honesty which is a prerequisites in
such a position ; but had that not
been true , ho svas disqualified because
of the fact that ho ss.is agent or
foreman for C. W Mosher , whose int eicsts
constantly came in conflict svlth those of thu
st.ito Under suih circumstances wo aio
uniblo to comprehend by svh it process of
reasoning the board could expect an honest
dlsbuiscment of the moneThu prices
paid for matciial indicate his total unlltnc.ss
for the trust reposed in him , or his utter
lack of business integtity or honesty , and in
n somesvhat milder form , the s 11110 Is true of
the present supetlntendent.
Tot il I/iclc of Curo.
Members of the board had a very Imper
fect knoss lodge of the matter , some of
them intimating , sshcn questioned by thu
commltteo. that they ss ere too busy sslth
other duties to glso attention to this [ llt
appeals from the ovidencn that the board as
such , and thu liullsldu.il membets as well 1 ,
utterly failed to exercise any supervising care
o\or the building orrestralnt oser the super !
intendent , establishing a condition of nlTairs
that made ssastu and
collusion inevitable ;
and sslillo members of the board spent $500
or fOOO , drassn on Dorgan's check against thu
cell house fund , on a tiip to other states ,
mudo-osteiisibly for the purpose of enabling '
them to linpros'o on our prison mamgcment ,
the convicts have not hid the advantage t.y
the most ordlnaiy rules In icgard to s i iltary
arrangements , us ov idcnccd by the tilthy
condition in ss hich j our committee found the
cells. It is the opinion of thu torn-
mlttco that justice ssould compel ox.-
Governor Bo.sd and ox-Waiden Mallon
ex-Gov ci nor Thuj and
er ex-Warden Hopkins
to share the blame with the boa HI
for this condition of uffalis at the prison
Wo aio thoroughly convinced by the ciicum-
slanccs sshlch have been brought lo our nt ,
tention dm ing this investigation that the
public scrs ice is being demoralized and the
public Intelesls jeopardized by ofllctnl 10R
lect and carelessness which met it the
soscicst censure , and It Is recommended that
Iho authorities take immedi iio action to ro-
eoscr the amount conuptly diverted from its
tnopcr channel.
IN TIIIJ c.vsi : .
Somu Light Lot In on tlio Vrry Peculiar
.Sli'tliocU liii
The formil report of the commltteo to the
house sots fo'rlh in a brief and condensed
foinisonio of Ihu things sshieh svcio un-
coveted by the investigation , out it is in the
exhibits from thfl leport of the export ,
thereto attached , that aio found the most
interesting features in connection svitli Iho :
fiaud , steal and Jobbery associalcd with the
uppioprialion and the building of the nosv
cell house ,
The "reports" filed by Superintendent
Doigan sslth the board uro 11 vu in number ,
but there arcs no vouchcis for anything but
the freight. Outof * 32,10J drawn by him
from the fund by the consent of the board ,
Heio uro no vouchers for $5,151.77 , and for
iho otJl ; 15 received by Hopkins from Dor-
gan , no vouchers have over been tiled The
evidence shosss that before expending the
money for material , Morgan received bids
for the furnishing of stone and sand , but
notssllhstundlng this fact , ho bought the
matciial of an outsider , paj Ing inucails all
cusos tsso or three limes as much , and In I
some cases four times ns much as vsould
have been Iho case had iho material been
furnished by the bldOcis , or by others at the
prices bid by them
A Uncial estimate for the stone used Is
computed bj c ap.iblo outhoi Itles at 5JWO , 02 > ,
while the stale ssas compelled , through Ihe
extravagance of the superintendent , and the
connivance of the board , to paj' therefor
f8,777U ! , an overcharge on that ono Item of
ne.uly jtl.OOO , Sand ssas n lesser item , but
in tli it particular thcro svas an overcharge ,
as shown by the icpoit of thu expert , of
faiMO.
Labor cost the st.ito $ lii.35 ! , while had
a prisato contractor boon leasing the same
help from tin ) s imo soutce , it would have
cost but fllilb W. Hun ) is a steal on these :
thieo Items of nearly SH.OOO on a $10,000 ap
propilitlon.
H Is fuither demonstrated
that the appro
priation ssnsmuch moro than suftlcient role
have completed the building , but , us it is ,
4
the appropriation Is i-ioro than exhausted ,
the building has been b u el y enclosed , and
thciuuio debts as jet unsallstied for svork
tint has ulreads been pcifoimed The evi
dence shows that several other mutters were
allowed to llguie us n pat t of the i ell house |
deal , ut the expense of the Mate , although
the.s l.ad no connection svith It
Hcrotvlth Is tc-nroduced some of the evi |
dence sulm.lttcd befoie the committee :
ix-l'rru : iirur Mill' * Tt-itlinjii- .
J. U Hill testllied that he had been a
mc-mlicrnf the Board of l'ublo ) Ixmdb and
Buildings for fourjears , that the board had
had chin go of the uenltcntl.irj under tha
lass- passed by the legislature tsro years i.jo (
and that It superintended the expenditures
of that Institution. Ho related In detail the
several Impiovemcnts that had been madu
nt the penitentiary under the supervision of
thu board , stating that the ssork had
generally been put In the hands of
some cotnpatent person. The ssork on
the nosv wing authorized by the
legislature tsso veal's ago was done
by the day under the direction of William
Dorgan. The bo ml hold that the provisions
of the law precluded the necessity of adver
tising for bids or for u superintendent.
When the bo ml took up the matter of building -
ing the cell house Mr Dorg in ssas emploicd
ns superintendent nt a silary of if. > 0 per
month Mr. Hill stated tint ho ss-.is honest
personally as fur as the employment of Dor
gan ss-iis concerned , an 1 that ho ballos-ed
that Dorgan svas a straight man and would
maico the money go as far as possible Ho
could not tell ss nether nay pi ins or speclflca-
lions li'id oser been adopted by the bo ml or
not , but bus isv what purported to bo the
pliim for the nosv wing whllo visiting the
penitent ! irv some time after the work on thu
bull ling h id bjcn commenced Ho h id nl-
wajs belies ed tint plans and specifications
of some sjrt h id been Illo I ssith the commis
sioner of public lands and buildings
Trunti-il to Doricnn'H lnli-irtty <
Hefcrrlng to the employment of Dorgan as
thosupcilntciilcntof constiiictlon , Mr Hill
ss-as asked If the fact that Dorgan was act
ing us Mosher j agent at the simo time had
not been eonsUciod by the bo ml Hoio-
plied thit the m liter had been discussed
afterss.ud. but no steps vs cro taken to rec
tify any mistake that h id been made in tno
selection He thought at the tlmo that WO
a month was a pi eltv small silar.s for the
serslccs icquiied , but that he had at tlio
ttn.o os'cry confidence ) In Dorgan's business
intesrrily The miiller of employing con
victs on the vsotk ns sscll as the
purchase of mitciial had been lefl
utmost cnltrely to Dorgan , svho from tlmo to
time svould in.iko icpoils lo Ihu bo ml , ac
companied by voucheis and receipts The
boird uxamincd Iheso repot ts from time to
time The boird examined the bills and
vonchets for mitetlal , but never made any
Inquiries us to whether the miteiiil had
been uctualls , furnished or not Ho admitted
tli it theio had econ manj Hems reported by
Dirgan which h id not been accompinied by
vouchers 1'heso Items sseie place 1 on Illo
to bo consldeicd In the fin il sattlument , and
a fosv weeks bufoiu the board's term of ofllco
oxpncd Doigan ss-as oidered to picsent the
receipts , but ss linens did not knms sshother
Ihu receipts h id been fuinished or not
Mr Hill ssas then examined as to the as
signment of the contract from Mosher to
Dorgan He said th it the assignment had
been made In February , Ib9i , and lh.it the
bo ml at once discharged Dorgan as supcim-
tendent and employed Dan Hopkins , ox-
waulcn of the penitentiary , at a silaiy of
61SO per month. Ho thought the Imard took
.steps to requiio Dorgan to put up a bond
under the assignment of the contiaet , but
ho could not siy sshcthor that individual
hail oser clone so or not Ho could not re
member the mines of Mosher's bondsmen.
Too It n I'lcusint 1'rlp ,
Attorney Genrial II tstmgs was examined
us to the partlcul irs of the Junket madn by
sescral mumbeis of the bond a
- UL vii > 'u i it it seirngoat
the state's exponsa , the ostensible object
being to examine tlu m m igumunt of other
stale pen il institutions Ho Icstlfled th it
the pttty cons.steit of himself , Seeiotary
Allen. Commissioner Humphiey and W.uden
Hopkins Doigm handed them > " > OJ the day
they slatted and this amount ss-.ts used for
the expenses of Ihu liip They visiled
Lea vcn svoi 111 , Kan , .lolTorson Cltj' , Mo , St
Louis , Chc'Stei , 111 , Chicago and one or tss'o
of them svetil to Michigan City. Ind. They
had transpottilion as far as St Louis and
some membeis ot the patty had passes from
that city to Chicago. The others paid tholr
faro 'Ihey sseru gone about tsso weeks
Thej- made some ins'estigation of the matter
of venlllaUnir cell houses , etc. , und madu
some sort of a topoit to Doigan svhcn. Ihcy
10turned , but the ssitness didn't knosv
ss bother the ideis ssero u loiited in the Ne
braska cell house or not , Ho had never
midc an itemized statement of his expenses
on the till ) , but was positive th it ho had
spent all thu money that had been given to
linn.
linn.General
General II tslings svus then questioned
closely as to his knosv loda of the ninnnar In
svhich Djigan had been pormltleJ lo drasv
money on ihe cell house fund from lime lo
lime , but his ideas svero not verjf clear on the
subject. Ho felt sure , hosvos'cr , tint Dorgan
svas never allosved tiny money until after ho
got the bills for the work. Ho admitted
that soser.il Ihous ind doll us of Iho fund
might haso been checked out for which uo
receipts had been presauto'l , but ho claimed
that he had no knosvlcdgo of the fact. He
asserted that tha board was in the habit of
goiu os'or the claims verv carefully , but
lhat he nes-cr gave the m ittcr mujh atten
tion himself.
Where Information Vlay Uo Hail.
"I think if j'ou go to Mr. Allen or Mr.
Humphrey , " s ild the attorney general ,
"either one of them can give jou vorj' deli-
.
nilu information us Mr. Allen is secretary and
Mr. Humpluoy is piesldent , and my office is ,
attached to it simply as .i matter of oina-
ment , I suppose. I SSMS attending to mak
ing briefs in the supreme court und attend
ing to the affairs of my ofllso us uttoiney
general. "
He admitted that ho probably did not
give critical attention to the mailer of ex
penditures , claiming lhat bis duties as
attorney general made It absolutely Impos
sible for him to slay in thu other offices und
check over accounts As an attoinoy ho
considered that a bond for $10,000 was rea
sonably sufficient for a mm ssho had to ex
pend 40,000 of the stale's money.
Coming lo Ihe maltcr of Iho assignment of
Moshut's contract to Dorgan , the attorney
general staled th it the ha u-,1 heard of thu
assignment us a tumor and did not fl
it its duty to take anj action In regard to it
Ho rather held to the viusv th it Ihu original
bond gls'cn by Mosher lo the stale had not
been icleased When shossn the original
bond the uttoiney genet.il a 1ml ttcd Ih it ho
had never sCcn it before
Mniply Took SV lllliint'H Word.
Secretarj1 of State Allen took the vsitncss
stand and told the committee
whai ho knew
about the ti Ip liken by sos'cral members of
Iho board lo the pcnitcntlailcs of sos-cr.il
eastcin stales. Ills statements did not
vary unueh fiom the ones madu bj the at-
toiney general 'Iho patty took f500 and
spent it When Ihey relumed the amount
was charged up to the st.ito Speaking of
tliu manner in sv hich tno monoj had been
expended on the i ell house , Mr Allen sill
lhat Dot gan ssouU bo glscn a warrant for 11a
ccitaln sum and that nu vsould check against
thlb amount until it
vsas exhausted Then
ho vsould bo nllossed to draw another 1311U
The only thing the boaul
had to go by ssas
Dorg.in's statements of thu amounts ho had
piid 1 out The board noser got together
and i llgurcd hosv much
up Dorgan had con-
liacled or liosv much ho ought to diasv nIii
many i instances the board tooic Dorgau's
statement without ate , ' vouchers.
Mr Allen made the
somewhat startling
st.uement lhat thcru L1"
svas no rucoid of thu :
board's account ssith Dorgan in the mailer
of tlio cousti notion of the cell house , either
in the books of Ills ofllco or the books of herd
' board. Ho did not consider th it the board
had us jot approved the accounts of Doigan , ,
an J lhat no settlement had over been mudu
with Unit pel son. Hu "supposed" the board
would pass upon iho accounts and make in
settlement sshen thu cell
house was com
pleted
Kno K Nothing of thu Detail * .
A H Humphrdj' , commissioner of public
lands and buildings , svas next called to the
stand. Ho also told the committee of iho
ssvlug around iho circle made by himself ana
olher members of the board
last year , ana
his story failed to place that memorable
junket In any better light ,
Uegardlng the board's
contract ssith Dor
gan , ho staled lhat no final settlement hud
j et been made. Ho had never made any ; ulh
amlnatlon us to thn correctness of the vouchers -
ers presented bjDorgan for matetitil fur
nished. Neither did ho knosv anything
about thu manner in sshlch convict labor had
been emplosed on the nosv cell houso. Ho
never scrutinized the vouohers for material
furnished and did not knosv whether hoer
charges for such material were reasonable or
not. Ho had asked the warden and the en
cmploj ed on the work and they had informed
him that the charges wcro reasonable. The '
money to meet the expense of the svork was
drawn in advance of the expenditures and
svns turned over to D r art ) vvho used It for
the purchase of m itcrlaU Dorgan took re
ceipted checks , and theso' ' chocks ssouU ba
In the possession of the1 board sshcn the
final sultlomcnt was mida Ho remembered
that some machinery had been purchased at
about the tlmo tlio svork vms commenced on
thu cell house , but ho didn't knosv sslr.t the
machinery vsas nor hosv much it cost ,
Colonrl HoriiAii on the Stand ,
One of the most cntcrtainln ? witnesses be
fore the commltteowas Bill Doigan. the
superlnlendciit of construction , ssho acted us
the agent of the prison contiactor ami at thu
samu tlmo dtosv . * > 0 a month lo look after Iho
Intel eats of thu state In the construction of
the ; new cell house. Ho stated that ho wan
nt present i the piison contractor , but that at
tin time ho acted as superintendent of con
struction for thu board ho svas slmpls the
man igcr of the contrtct for Mosher and h id
charge of all his intoiests at the peiilten-
tliry In letting out the convicts to sub
contractors he cnirgol us much as ho could
RUt 1'ho state svas obliged $1 per duy.
Private contractors ssoru chirgud less , ns a
i ulc , anil the avur.igo price ruoeis'cd from
pi ivutc I contractors svas about 40 cents a day
foreich , convict
The 1 number of convicts cmuloje.l on the cell
house varied from time to tlmo The follosvmg
diatoguo between the committee and Us ss it-
ness ssill glso nil Idea of thu manner in
which the tlmo of this convict labor vsas
kept and charged up to the state :
IIIn Charge * AlwajH VV'orlicd.
"Isn't It a fact , Mr Dorgan , th it all the
men who ssero cmplosed ami put Into that
gang svero checked up and charged for unless
thu.y svero tn thu hospital ? "
"Ve8 sir , they ought to bo. "
"And ssere ch irged up to the state
svhether they svorkod or not ! "
"Yes sir "
"And the state paid for them ? "
"Yus sir "
"Hosv much time have jou charged up to
the stile lhat Ihcy didn't ssork ? "
-Oh. there might h ivo boon a day or two ,
or something like that' '
Wasn't tlicro about tsventy da\s , fiom
Januirj 10 till J.inuiry BO , last j oar , that
they didn't ssork on Iho cell housa at all I"
' There may have been ; I wouldn t s is
. "Th it time was all checked up and charged
lo Iho slate i"
"I suppose it was checked up and charged
to the stale "
IIU Llttlit Dual With Atwooil.
Leaving tlio question of thu cmplosmcnt of
convicts on Ihu cell house , the bond tuined
its attention to tlio prices chaigod the st-ito
for the stone and s mil used In that building
Doigan st ito 1 th it ho had puichisud thu
stone of S H. Atssood & Co of Plattsmoulh
Ho mot Atssood In Omaha and li id been tec-
ommcnded to him by ono of the general olllceis
of the B &M railroad Hp visited Alssood s
quarry at Cedar Creek , and agieed upon Iho
pi ice lo bo piid for Ihu stono. He consullcd
no other slono dealer .tndj m ulc nc effort
lo ascertain the regular pi ices for Iho
kind of stone toibe used in the ssalls of the
cell house Ho denied that lie h.id obtained
an\ : prices of .I L Fat thing of Plattsmoulh ,
and s lid th it he noser lic-xrtl of such a m in
Ho knosv iho state piid iio cents a foot for
the : stone , but di in't know hosv much the
stone cost Atssood Ho sujiposed ill cents
ssas the regul ir price for that class of stone ,
but didn't knoss much about it , ns ho didn't
el lim to bo much of a stone man , anyss-ay
Iio believed ho had noticed In some chculars
that stone ssas svorth about 33 cents a foot
Then the follosvlng cntertanin.j ! conversa
tion took place : '
IH'MscI ) Ignorant lU-ganlln ) ; Stone.
"Do jou knosv as a milter of fact that
this stone j ou got onlycost-10 ; ceiits a foot ? "
"No slr. "
<
"If that was .whatit test , vvould-you say
85 cents was the regular price of stone [ "
"I would not , ticcauso I am not a stona
man" " . '
"Do you knosv ns a matter of fact that the
ptlce you paid for the stone was thieo times
the regular price for stone in this counlry ? "
"As a mailer of fact , I don't knosv "
"With whom did you talk to ascertain the
price of stone ? "
"I told you I dl In't talk svith anyone but
Atssood. "
"I understood you to say jou lalkcd svith
persons ssho undeistoad the price of stone ? "
"I told you that 1 had clrculais of stone "
"Whoso circulars did vou have utthit
time ? "
"I hud some from Jollct. "
' Well , svas stone svorth 35 cents a foot at
Joliet at that time ? "
"I think th it svas the price on the circu
lars for that kind of stono. "
"What kind of stone svus it ? "
"Tho kind I usoJ dossn there. "
"What kind ssas lhat ? "
"I told vou I ss-as not u stone man. "
' .How do jou knoss if it svas the same kind
of stone if jou don't knosv ? "
"I suppose ; I don't know very much about
it" \
"There were a gieat nnny slono men hero
in lawn lhat you vsoro acquainted ssith at
th it tlmo , svero there not ! "
'I don't knosv of n stone man in Lincoln. "
"You don't knosv of any that handle and
use stone ? "
"Thero may bo a hundred , but I don't
knosv ono man in Lincoln who handles
stono. "
Sumo VV hilling Illfc Cnrloada.
The committee then called Dorgan's ntten-
tlon to Iho manner in which the slate had
bc < n charged for stone that hid never been
delivered , but on this subject ho was as
Ignorant as upon the price of llio slono ho
had purchased of Atssood. One car of stone
had been charged up to Iho state as contain-
Ing 10J feet of stonu. This vsould maku a
ss eight of 00,000 pounds of stone on ono car
Them ss-as a difference of JM.OJO pounds be-
Isscon the amount Dorgan chirked Hie slate
for and thu amount the state uctu illy re
ceived Dorgan didn't knosv anything about
this item. Hu claimed that thcio sverO
many cars In usu on the B & M sshlch ;
hid a cipicitv of 01,000 , pounds Ho
had never made any estimate of the
amount of stone ho had purchased of
Atssood or of the amount ho put into
the eel ! houso. Ho hud purclusod derricks ,
hoisting tncklo and tools lo be used in elect
ing the cell house Hu svas as'.to.l ;
.M iilo the St ito r.iy for All.
"Did jou putvhaso them out of the state's
monej or jour own ? "
"I aimed to make the state pay for ovcrs1-
thliig. If I didn't I ovoilooked it. I aimed
to make the stnto pay for everything I used
in connection ssith thu building. "
Hu stated tint ho had ma Jo no agreement
sslth the BoirJ of PubJIc Lands and BuildIngs -
Ings ns to the kind of n call house to bo built
under his direction Ho cmploj ed an arehl-
-tect to drasv him some 'phins an 1 specifica
nd'I Ho claimed that all1 th' ' * boird asked
him to do was to put , up a .good building , and
ho asserted ssith sublime contldonco that
there ss'iisn't u hotter building in the stale ,
if he did siy ll himself. '
Ilopklua 11 iK1 ! tfo Limit.
H\-Warden Dan Hopkins , ssho succeeded
Dorgun as superintendent of construction of
the cell house , took thn stand to tell thu :
commltteo just what ho ilidii t knosv of iuk.
business methods adopted In doing the ssork.
Ho testified lhat svhcn fco. took up the svork
sshcro Dorgan left off nothing had been
complete 1 but the Inside wall. Thcro SSMS
no material on hand , and ! ia purchased some
tssenlj'-sos'en car loads'of mono of Alssood
ul the same price paid by Dorgan. Ho had
also purchased largo quantities of smd , ce :
ment , lumber and material for the toof and
colling. Ho had
no agreement svlth Iho
Board of Public Lands and Build
ings except that ho was to d1Q
ahead and put up us good n building as ho
could for the inonej' . No limit had been
placed upon his uxpcndltuics. Ho claimed
that ho hud talked with men vs ho wcro
familiar with thu prices of building material
and hud been told that the prices ho paid
svero tcisonahlo enough. JIo also told of the
trip he had takemsIth the members of the
state board to other states , ostensibly to Inv -
v , cstigatu cell houses In other pemtcnllarlcs ,
and also related the details of a trip tajceu
by hiinscll nn 1 Chaplain Howe svhen they
attended the prison congress at Pittsburg ,
Pa , last November at tha slato's oxponso.
This trip cost tno state t&X > .
Testimony of li Hton * Haleiin.in.
Ona of the witnesses who was able to
throsv some light upon tlio peculiar ! SS
[ CONTINUED oy SECOND ri.au. |
I\1M VII T\T nPTvPITI\TP ? M MIPO
DLAIII IN SEtlHIiNC 1'LAMES '
Boston , Mass. , Visitsd by a Fatal and Dis
astrous Uoniiagration ,
PITIFUL AND HEARTRENDING SCENES
Cut Oil from Kicupo Many 1'iioplc l , < no Their
* I.lvcn la thn lluriilni ; Hiilldlng Over
Wl,000,0nn U'nrtli of I'nip-
crtj' Destroyed ,
Uovrov , Miss . Mirch 10 One of
most destruetlso ilres In the history of Hos
ton , next In maxnltuJo to thu ono of Tu in'cs-
glvin , ; d.iy of ISsS , and in the stinu district ,
broke out shortly after 4 o'clock this after
noon , and baforo it ss-as placed under control ,
tlucohouis later , hid burned oser more
tlran a scpi ire , ha I lolucod to ash s several
of the magnlllccnt ncsv buildings recently
completed on the tcriltory burned oser thico
and a h ilf yoiis ago , had consumed property
valued by a eonscrvatho estimate nt $1,500-
000 , Ind caused scenes of pinlo and distiess
never before eciiriled here , and had de-
stroied , perlnps , many hutnin Uses , and
mangled or mainu'd at least thirty persons ,
some of sshom svill dlo of their injutics
The llrst alaim at I "t ssas soon follosved
by a second and then a general alarm The
llamcs broke out In thu toy dcpaitment of
Horace Partridge & Co. , svho occupied the
fifth and sixth lloors of the sosen story
building , coiner of Ussoxnnd Lincoln streets ,
oss ncd by TJ P Amos The cause of the ( lie
is at present , unknown , but the start Is dc-
scilbed . by thosa noiiest it as resembling
the bin still , ? of .1 tire cracker The llamcs
sptcadsvith Incrcdiblor ijildity and In \oty
fins moments the entiio Interior of the build
ing ssas burning
Aw fill S-cni-i of Mouth.
There svero maiii employes of theP.irtndgo
companv at ssoik at the time. , and the other
lloois of the building ss-ero sprinkled with
human beings The usu il avenues of escape
is ere at once cut off and then began a scram
ble for life , which sickened beholders The
panlc-strleken Inmates lied to the sundews
and rooms Some escaped by sliding dossn
telegraph poles , others by leiping into bl.ui
kcts Sosoral jumped to the { moment , six
or eight stories , and svero terribly mingled ,
and others , hosv nriny cannot ness bo told ,
fell back into the cauldion of flames , or
sscre os'eicomo by the dense bl ick smoke ,
sshieh suffocated all ssho did not speedily
escape
The entire fire depirtmcnt ssas speedily
on the scene , the departments of Sosseisllle ,
Cambiidge , Ness ton and Brockton atriscd
later bv train , and aid svas requested to bo
in readiness from more distant cities For-
tunatelj help was not needed
Vast cross ds of people 'Began at once to
lloclc to the scene and , as is matter of ] , ie-
caution . , Governor Kussell ordered tss-o com
panies of military out and ho proceeded to
the Iho in person.
The Hie spreid rapidly from building to
building , and despite the heroic efforts of
the cntiro flio bj stein of Suffolk county , it
was not controlled until the ssholc square
bounded bv Essex street on the north , Un-
colii on the e ist and Kingston on the svest
luui been leveled , also ono building noith of
Kssex street , extending along Columbli
stteet , three more on the cast side of Lincoln
street and ono corner of the United States
hotel , south of HSSJX street , sshlch coiner
contained the emergency hospital.
I.lst of the Dead.
The follossing victims of the lire wcro
taken to the citv hospit il Dcid
UNKNOWN MAN , aged 25 , supposed to bo
Tied Meario rcr.ift.
KOIIKKT I. KI.MTAUX , aged 25.
A r , ADUIUMAN.
CIKL , too hnilly burned to bo Identified.
iaoNII > Ab H. KKDl'ATH , tnurcliiuit , died
at hospltul.
Thosu In lured.
J J. SUI.MVAN , engine man , fell off ladder
and received serious injuiles
JOSHUA Suni'AUi ) , injured nnklo.
Joux F DE.NMIOV , dislocated shoulder.
MICUAI i. IlAunss , Injured thigh.
DAMCI. H Mumm. compound fracture of
leg.PAUI
PAUI , MUUKAI , injuicd log.
BEVJAMIN HEIID , Injuicd by falling svolls
Mn Kit n , seiiously injured
MicitAi'i , DBVI iv , fractured thigh.
JOHV P. KVAN , injured ankle.
JAMES Ki \ , injured .inkle.
A. W. IlPDi'ATii , badly cut.
Miss MAIIT PI.YNX , badly cut.
C. J. WAUSOHTII , badly hurt.
GLOHOE 1 Kurnv , aim broken.
CIIAIU.KS GSSM.SS , scalded and burned.
MATIMH KICIIAUDS , inlurcd slightly on hip
by jumping out of a svindosv.
J. J. LIONS , fireman , fractured hip
KEMITOV TSSESS , ilremai | , fractured hip
Ciuuin3 J. WhM.sssoKTii , aged 'M , Jumped
from thud story ; condition critical.
KOIIMIT J. UosTitACk , lauder man , fell , in
ternally injured.
rii MAUsiiLAM ) , hurt by fall from lad-
der.
JOHN Sur MS-AX , flremin , burned and In
jured by fall.
MAitosnr.r FLIN.V , stenographer , scalp
ssound
Miss MAOOIB Lovn , numerous contusions
DISTHICT CHIEF HAQAX of Kust Boston ,
ncrsous prostration
Miss BrssiK AM it , shikcn up *
Test Gun iv , flicm in , cut and burned
BisjssiiPOVP , injured by fulling ssalls
MICIIAFI , HSHMNS , badlj- hurt
Miss Am I'KiiuiNs , aged ! 2J , Jumped from
third story , badlj hurt.
Ono Mas * ol Srrtlilni ; I'liuncs ,
fieorgo M McCallcr. bookkeeper at the
burned out stoio of Partridge X Co , BIJS
"But live minutes
elapsed between the ciy
"FlroP'nml the ariival of the enginesyet In
that tlmo the whole building seemed to bo In
one seething mass of flames liiihciush
fiom thu building many of the people ssuro
knocked dossn and trampled upon
"Tho pitiful appeals of the joung girls ,
mingled svilh ino shouts of the men , ns ihcy
stioso to pull them lo a place of safety , ssas
Iho most exciting I hive no iloubl that
many of Iho film's employes sshosseioon
the lifth and sixth floors of the building haso
met with serious injury , if some of them are
not dead
William 11 Hummcll , another emplojo , '
said : "I first sasv a man svlth his hair liicr-
ally singed oft lushing up the street to the
nearest IIro alarm bo\ I sprang to the door
and sasv u spectacle that apt ) tiled me erA
tororutof llama was literally pouring out of
the svmdosvs in the center of Iho front on thu
second floor of the Ames building Upon thu
paVapot iii > the stieat sseru four men and 10a
ss'oman clinging to the stone ss'ork There
ssas no such thing us getting n ladder up to
them oss'ing to the nutss-ork of sslie , 3H
that Is the vsorst corner for ss iros In Boston
Wo ss'atchod Iho quurlot ns they clung for u
fosv moments , while iho crowd in Iho blrcet
stood In brealhless bilcnco then the four ! ,
ono after the other , Jumped off Dossn they
came , n height of six stories , and struck the
frozen ground It ssas horrible , all four
wcro unconscious \vhcn picked up and thoto
could hardly have been a whole hone In their
bodies "
Story of un Onlooker ,
Francis Gulloup sivs. "I svas going dosvn
Summer street just ns Iho ftru started Ono
steamer had just arrived In front of the
building I sasv men , ssomen and girls tryIng -
Ing to got out of the upper stoiles They
svero excited. I shouted to them not tone
jump , us tha ladders would bo there in tea
minute. But they svero too frightened OHO
mill jumped from the second story and
caught u who , Hu hung thcro until ox-
hauslcd , thin dropped. I could not bee
svhether the fall killed him or not , I saw
another man jump lo the telegraph polu. Ho ;
slid dossn without Injury.
"Several took horse blankets and called to
the frenzied crowd at the windows to drop
and they ssould c-ntch them. A good many
did this , and , though bruised , the blankets
broke Iho otherwise fatal force of thu
fall , Ono little girl , too timid to
Jump , ss.is saved bv a man i caching
out for her on his vsav clown thu
polo. A
long stcpladdar was brought oser
and standing on It the firemen reached up
as far ns they could and caught others In
their arms In. n mlnutu thu other
apparatus ] came and ladders weru put up to
sivo \ the rest. But they vsero not lu tlmo to
siso ono Him In the third story. Ho must
have either Jumped or been overtaken by
tin Ilimcs ami fell back Before tlio HOSV
appiratus could gut to ssork the entire block
| burst Into ( lames fiom os cry ss Indosv It
vsas so sudden that the steamer sshlch had
been plaj Ing In front of thu building had no
time lo le isc H must haso been destroyed
Lincoln slrcct at tint place ssas In an In
stant a ro.ulng llamo "
Unrk ol u Urn D riroiniin.
Horace O Connor of eiiglno 7 stated tint
his enginu ssas thu llrst at the sec-no of the
conll igralioii and he was sent lo the second
stor.s of the Ames building to help sivo the
emploj es of thu Pal ti Idgu eoncei n Said ho
"I haso been In mans a tight place , bill what
Ihivu been lluough lonlghl I shall icmem-
hotns long as 1 live When I loichcd Iho
second sloiy and entered the room on Iho
Lincoln sti eet side , the sight was pitiful
Men , sOIIH n and girls , ft curled ssith fear ,
ssero struggling to rcaeh thu sslndosss to
throsv themselsco Into Iho sticet Taking
ono nl n llmu I losscied them by the hands
ls far a * , I could and then diop-
ped them into the nels spreid be-
loss- , al Iho same tlmo lighting
thu wossd hick fiom the window The eiien
ot the frightened creatures sseru hcartiemt-
ing , while the men seemed to lose all pres
ence of mind and fought like demons I
think 1 lowered tssenti-llso or thirty I
should sis them must havu been at least
thiit.s ssl.o noser eimo out of the huinlng
building ullso. although it is Impossible for
tins ono to estimate the loss of life in this
building toni.'ht "
No Tluin to I'nnipp ,
J C Young , minnger of the Lain i it. said
"Wo s iss ono man Jump from the fourth
story , landing on hlshcid Of onremploses
Miss Lllliin Scott , Miss A Lesls , Miss
Pert Ins , Miss Hiehuds , Udssard Lunblev
and a bos aio missing 'Iho Hist smoke
c-itno with a puff like a flashed' Iho ci acker ,
\sith hitdls any rcpott , the smoke ssas
dense blind In f and suffocating and very
hot This rapid piogiess of Ihu II lines SSMS
the most imiicel feituio The smell might
haso been one of buinlng i libber. Thuio
ssas no smell of gunpossdur "
The conll igiation nsslesscd from a dis
tance ssas giand A dcnso pall of blade
smoke cosered that cntiie section of the city
and as daikncss came on this ssas lighted tip
bv the flames , while oce-.ii.loii.il tongues of
lire and binning embeis shot UP volcano-
like , into the uuoir , m iss In the Immediate
vicinity the scene was assftil Whllo the
Ames ' building ssas b lining theio sscio re
peated explosions like Hi ess oiks , mingled
ssitn the hoirse shonls of llroni"n , Iho
engines pufling iho crash of falling ss-.ills
and the nimble of Ihu vast cross ds vs hich
soon gat hot cd
It ssould bo impossible to n irrato all Iho
events of this , exciting nl'ht , thcro sseru
dee Is of valor that aio woithy of a nuro ex
tended -count than can bu given here
Thcro sseie plenty of ssitnessoj toandaclors
In iho iiciy diama
I'lrms Ilurni'il Out.
The largest dims burned out are Woon-
socket Hubber comp my , Barbour Bros ,
Am.i7cnno Machitu comp my , Consoliditcd
List company , Mei rick Thread com ) ) my , A.
Packaid & Co , Hanosur Shoo comp my.
Lai ill Manufacturing comp my , damn
Liroeb&Co , United Stales Hubber com-
piny , J , A. Jaquith , Hubbor company ,
Tapley Machine company , Horaca Partridge
& Co , fancy goods ; Hathaway , Sonlo Ai
Hariibon , bools and shoos , Caps Cod Glass
comp ins ; Ameiican Pin comp my ; Partridge
Bros , wholesale fanigooJs ! , and Singer
Manufactuiing cnmpmy , and numerous
small firms and ofllco i enters vscro among
those bin ncd out Very fess s ived anything.
Incoming trains fiom all dliections ssuro
hcasils lo ulcd during Iho ovenln , and prob
ably 5,000 oulsideis viossej the conllagra-
tionA
A consers'atise estlmito of the totil loss
Is $1 , . " > ( ) ( ) . OJO The Insuiauco ssill amount to
$1,000,000 No olTorD w ill bo made to eoui-
uile the insuianco tonight ,
Js'iishtllli , I rim. , on I'l re.
NASIIVIUE , Tenn , Match 11 Flro has
Just broken out In the heart of the whole
sale district The 111 o is i airing flciccly and
the full department ti is been ordeted out.
-o-
lltr.l.t V.lf > fS.
Yost iTil iy' I'TOi'i-mlliUM 111 tlio I' tn I ill i Trl ll
\V liiil * Up I'liiqunt mill HU C'olli
ICnpui-ljlitnl limitJamvt ] GUI Inn Ilcniif'.t ]
PAIIH , Much 10 fNow York Herald
Cable Special to Tile Brn ] The adjouinel
hearing in the Panama corruption tri il today
was the most important of any luld up to
the present M. Flo < iuet unJ his colleagues
received their political death blow.
The explanations of M do rreycinot ,
showing that ho had noser done anything
for his personal interest , made a good im
pression , but M. Clemeneoiu in ido a still
better impression and produced a good effect
oven upon his bitter adversaries
M , Clemonceau icpllodictoriously to the
accusations against him and explained the
role that Couiellus HewhidpUjed. His
most important statement ssas th it ho was put
en rapporto with M do Lcssaps by M Cir-
not , then minister of Fran 'o It is piobablu
that this declaration will bring about s > omo
asskss'ard compile itions Itiroliicod ) a pro
found Imjircssion JAI < jt KS Sr Ci HK.
f > TJtlIl.\U It IIUIO IDIHtl.
NutlilneNow 11 the Allilrs or thu Tolnilo X
Ann Arlmr iin-liicerH. :
DRTIIOIT , Mich , Miruh 10 A spool il fiom
Hammirg , M lch . BUS- The Grand Titmk
engineers hive dOv-ided to help the strlkois
on the Toledo , Ann Albor .S ; Northciii Michigan -
igan railroad and today icfusud to take any
of their freight fiom hero This place is one ,
of thcli-prliu'lpil di'lh cry points , as all the
eastern height comes this way , amounting
to lr > 00 cars a month
A ( pueri by the Associated press ropro-
sentatUu heio this afternoon elicited a de
nial of the truth of thu foregoing dlsp itch > 0y
thegcneial superintendent Hu declared
that them Is no piobabulty of the Grand
Trunk taking any such action , as no freight
Is being offeted or taken from the Toledo &
Ann Arbor ) oad
Sent Out I MI > I ri iKht Triilim.
Ossojso , Mich , March 10 Two fiulght
trains weio sent out on the Toledo ft Ann
Arbor ro.id from heio this , moinlng. Super
intendent Connois assorts tint all trains
will bo running In a fosv dajs I > er > thing
Is qulot The conductors luuo made no
mos o i ot to go out.
ma HJK < H > Kour. .
Team offiri'iit DIIIIIIKU.\liiii ) ; the MlHsU I'l
N.Mir Dinenport.
DAVCNPOHT , la , Mirch 10. [ Special Tele
gram to Tun Bun ] -The Ice In the Missis
sippi is unbroken from hero to Duillngton ,
but Is becoming vor.s rotten and mosoments
atsuseial places uro expected soon Thu
smaller stieems are nro.ikliu up. I lock i Ivor
ii : Illinois la clear below the rapida. 'J ho
residents of Milan hone to bo siurc'd the
Hood of last spring Tim Io\va and Cedar
uro bicaking at their conlluenco near Colum
bus Junction , la The approach to- the Koek
Islind's bridge there has bow slii-titlj
mos'cd , but trains are using It. Apprchcn-
slnns of a gori'e are felt hurow hen thu moso-
mentiomcu. 'iho ice Is ntarly two feet
thick.
HfRi ISOTON , la , March 10. [ .Special Tclo-
grain to TiiullPB ] 'Iho Mississippi liver
Is rising at the rate of Iho fcut u day.
Two spans of thu Kcokuk Hi Northuestcin
railroad\irldgo across Skunk liver below
here weio carrrio.t out by the Ice and other
great damage svua dooe. Further duuiugo
is feared. {
PASSED THE HOUSE
Bill to Ragulutj the Railroad Charges in the
State Well Started.
OBSTRUCTIONISTS BAFFLED EVERYWHERE 1
Corporation Champions Fail to Block the
Progress of the Measure.
ANTI-MONOPOLISTS WIN AT ALL POINTS
Republicans , Democrats and Independents
Stick Together for the People's ' Interests.
VOTEi SIXTY-THREE YEAS ; THIRTY NAYS
llnrd MrnjfBlo In the Homo r.inlrtl In the
I'liniiiiKn of the Commlttvn'ft Minimum
itutu lltll I ) islt-N'Spi-i-cli on the
Cell IlllUHO Jill ) ,
LINCOLN , Neb , March 10 [ Special Tele
gram lo THU Bi B ] The leading of liio tall-
road committee bill was bugun In the house
Imniediitely after iho completion of the roll
call at tl o'clock this moinlng , and continued
ssithout interruption until it ssas com
pleted. 'Iho cleik and his quartet ,
uf assistants rcllused each olher
duiing Ihu reading , sshlch occupied
over llso liotlis No recess SSMS lukun for
dinner , although noiiuof Iho members missed
their noondaj lmu.li on that account , is they
de-parted almost In u body , and the hall pre
sented fullj us deseitcd un uppearancu us
during thu noon recess on other daj s Cooley
sat bj the side of the i catling cleik all
thiough thu leading to scu that no pot tlon of
thu voluminous measure SSMS omitted Ho
ssas assisted bj Oikley during the llrst
tss-o houis , bul Iho gunlluman from
Lancaster then gas'u it up , and , sslth Iho ex
ception of the etratlc Cooley , the opposilion
gas-o up Iho effort to tire out the indepen
dents by holding them slriclly lo Iho const- !
tutlonil pros'islons for tlio reading of the
full copy of the engrossed hill ,
HrliiKlni ; In tlin A Incut con.
At 2 p m the reading of the bill was com
pleted Casper demanded a call of the house
and his demand ssas Instantly seconded by u
scoio of Independents
The roll cull dos eloped the presence of but
sixcj nine mcmb is Pages ssuio sent scur-
rjing through the lulls , corridors and coin-
nilttco rooms diummlng up Iho absent mom-
beis The roll cull developed that Ames
( democrat ) and Grumm ir ( independent ) have
been excused for the sseck
After re uling the n mius of the absentees
Schappcl moved thai Hlcketts of Douglas bo
excused on account of sickness and death in
ills family Stevens of Pumas objected , but
a majoilly voicd to excuse him. On motion
James ( republican ) ssus excused
A motion was madu to excuse Crane by
Goss of Douglas , Kloko and Hhca , all repub
licans , but the proposition was not
ngiccd to , and the seigeant-at-arins
was directed to sers'o warrants upon the ab
sentees not excused at the tlmo of the con
clusion of the icading of the bill. ' 1
Iliillruiul lttpulll < HUH at Work.
The majority of the republicans
vsCO in caucus in the supicuio
court room considering what course
of action to pursue. They arrived at
IK definite conclusion except lhat each
should vole as ho pleased. The
railroad conlltigent ss as stin ing v Igorously to
Induce ihe anti-monopoly clement to stay
ssith them and knock Iho independents' bill.
vsT
The hope vsas held out lo them that If this
VSMS done n republican bill could bo
passed later Hut would teflcct credit on the
pirty and oserssholin the populists. These
specious promises of the railroad men vvero
rejected by Iho slralght line republicans.
Several of the anil monopolj'republicans , led
by Kecklcy , refused to attend the meeting ,
s tying they vsould not consort with that
crosvd.
. . . , , , - . . . , . .N- with tlio Cull.
The door was closed on the call of the
houso.
At 2 30 Woods , believing that the Inde
pendents hid enough votes to carry the bill
through on its final pissago , moved that
further proceeding under the call bo dis
pensed with. The motion was not agreed to ,
but fortj'-flso membeis standing where flfty-
ono were icquiied
Barry offciel a motion to excuse the ab
sentees , saving the friends and opponents of
the bill wore reads to meet the issue. There
wcro a dozOn seconds from the independent
side of the house
Watson vsas alsj ono of the seconds , and
ho stated that the bill might as well bo
brought to a vote
riftj-lhioo members voted for the propo
sition and the absentees were excused.
The call of the house was then , at 2:85 : ,
raised.
Kvpl lining 'I In If Vote * .
Tun roll call on tile final passage of the
bill was then oidcied , and many of the mom-
be i s expl line I tholr votes
Hums voted no because ho believed the
bill would prose dis istious to the best Inter
ests of tno state
Carpenter voted no for the reason that ho
favored a " 0 pur cen' , reduction Ho bo-
liovcd the sen ite would pass a bill bolter to
his taste
denies explained that ho had pledged
himself to vote for a rate bill , and , as ho was
a servant of the people , ho therefore voted
JC.l
Church Hosso passed sshen his tiutuo way
called
Jenkins slid tint having carefully ex
amined the bill ho found that it made un
average reduction of ! ! 0 to X > per cent und
voted no
.lenscn voted n.o
Kuup voted no boc.tuso ho did not like tha
blllund bellos-cu thobcn ito tvould glvo him
u hotter bill
ICcckloy voted for the bill.
If essler did not utlluvo the nlll svould sub-
serso the best Interests of the state , but ho
belles cd thu i.iilroid companies would not
bo injured by its provisions. He voted aye
and he reeclved a round nf independent ap
plause for his determination. '
McKesson soted no because ho deemed
the bill missIso , because It vsas never read
thieo times nor discussed In committee of
the svholu and because he did not belles o any
member of the hntiso could vole intelligently
in favor of the bill
Nuson thought the bill svns antagonistic
to the best Intelcstu of the stato. Ho
voted no.
Nluit On" Stump Spoerliri.
Many of the Independents Insisted on mak
ing lengthy verbal explanations until ICeck-
loy rose to n point of order. He de-elated the
house had listened to too many stump
speeches from the Independents. The
fiicnds of the bill wanted to vote on It , not
to listen to speeches ,
' 1 ho roll rail was completed at 3 o'clock ,
but It took ten minutes to verify the voto.
Hosso voted a stcntmlan "ajo , " and grace
fully aeknosvlo Iged the expected round of up-
pluusu svlth a smile
Thn vote vs.is announced nt f,10 | n fol
lows - ( > . ) for and 'XI against. Tho-announco-
incntnf tliu result was received without
demonstration or applause. The vote In de
tail :
Hnnr 'Iliojr Voted.
Ayes Barry , Deal , Brockman , Cain ,