HOW PENNSYLVANIA WAS SWINDLED.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 54, 27 November 1907, Page 9

HOW PENNSYLVANIA WAS SWINDLED.

IT; Pi,ID £2,600,000 FOR' !aN £800,000.

CAPITOL

Thb founding of Pennsylvania is ono of tbw idylls'of history. And when you go to it& chief city you cannot get away from the gigantic figure of its founder—the Quaker William Penu—which towers' above the City' Hall. ;■■.,-■ - '■"" , :: ■

But. Philadelphia has won-for': itself the '~ namei of;"the most corrupt city in the-, ■-. wprld" ("National Review, , . , January, 1904)>" r ■ ' And .reednt events soom to'justify it. This' in' chief—that, resolving to a ~' \ Capitol for tho State, the people of tho State ' ' w'ero''swindled so ruthlessly that they paid' • '' ' £2,600,000 for it when, 'as' tho "Times" states, "it is believed in' America that a " liberal estimate would be needed in order to bring up the valuo of tbo building an ,, •its contents to as much as £800,000." ARREST'OF THE CULPRITS. , Fortunately .those chiefly responsiblo for theso scaudals havo been arrested. Tologra'phing.qn, September 19,.the "Times'VNew ' yor.k cqrrospondent said:—"The long exarrests in connection .with tho 'graft , - • scandal over the recently completed Capitol pf;:Pcrinsylvania at Harrisburg wero-made yesterday. Tho men arrested, include Mr. Huston,;, the architect of the building, Mr. Sanderson, the cpntractor for the furniluro, Congressman Cassel, head of the construction company which provided some of the , furniture,' Mr. Matlraes, ex-State treasurer, Mr. Snyd'or, e—-ouditor, General Shumaker, ox-superintendent of buildings, and Mr.. Payncy contractor for the building. Further arrests arc expected. Pennsylvania has long lie™ recognised as tbo most corrupt of all tho States of the Union, and consequently very little .interest was at first manifested whon a good many months ago reports of 'graft' ' in connection with tho Capitol were published. By degrees, however, as tho amazing character of the alleged thefts was' disclosed general attention was aroused , , and now the entire country is interested'in the scandal." ■:•■■ ■■■■•• .<,

...'CIVIL.-- SUITS TO BE COMMENCED. •■:■■■' A ■special Commission,"- says the "Dail> Chronicle," "beglln to investigate tho scin■doy of the public charges for'tho Capitol in ■June], ''and'speedily unearthed ovidonce pomt-ing-'tjo. wholesale designs.on;.the public purse. -Furniture was charged for which could nob be found, burglar'proof safes wero capable of being opened with an ordinary steel drill, for they were of common stool, bronze work was charged at 606,000 dollars which could' have been obtained for 26,000 dollars, and goods supplied to'tho contractors by wholesale houses wore sold to tho Capitol Com- . mittco lit about six hundred per cent, profit, i :Tho men arrested reside' all over the State, and include, the architect, Mr.-Hus-ton, ; tho ..principal contractor,' and seveial Congressmen and State officials. Brought ' jip to answer a charge of conspiring to defraud tho public treasury" by falso pretencTO, they were remanded. Bail was. al'lowed. in . 60,000 dollars each.' Civil Miita against the implicated men aro to be commenced on tho conclusion of the criminal charges for tho restitution of tho money alleged to hnvo been plundered from tho State." ' • ■

The "story'as told by one of the American papers is as follows.- Tho Capitol, it should bo remarked, was built i(t Harrishurg;— ."When tho now building .at Harrisburg; was finished Inst year, it was' claimed to , he /the finest; building in existence- for tho money 'it''cost, and tho statement •'■ was proudly > paraded , that it had been completed without .exceeding" tho appropriation of 4)000,000 dol-; tars.: Tho Governor and the - commissiontooki to themselves much praiso for ■ this. , unusual record, and were the recipients "of .•'■ congratulations from far and near. In a ,, .littio while, however, the truth began to leak out. . , ' ■' ,

CARTE BLANCHE FOR FURNITURE. "." "Perhaps tho building did not cost more .1 that) the 4,000,000 dollars voted by tho "'■■:■. State"; but, as is now known, tho Legislature '. favo the' Governor and tho' commission a.' sort of carte- blanche for tho ■furnishing and- • epipment of tho structure, with result that ■ 'those in charge managed to spe-nd nino"millions inside of the four-milliou edifice. This ; royelation was'hardly believable at firstheaiv ins', -Imt tho fact was early confirmed. "Thb' v now Governor, Stuarti was elected: upon fhis , pledge .that ho wonld'thoroughly v ventilate the Capitol scandal; and hu 'has ; ■: redeemed'''his promise, for aii evidently' - energetic: investgation is under way. It- '■ has thus fur brought some astonishing' ■■ things to light. For example, on four. • lines of work involving a bil lof 1,110,000 dollars, tho oxcess of paymont over tho "'.i lcgimatc cost of. the work is alleged to havo been 833,000 dollars. For tho itom of 'imported'- baccarat glass for the lighting fix.tures, 138,000 dollars was paid', whereas the" '■■ glass was made in a Pennsylvania factory for 27.0150 dollars, with probaMy a good pro-'-"' fit. at that. A bid of 164,000 dollars for. " the 'painting and decoration, was rojectod, .■ and ; the work let to a favoured contractor : fdr 739,000 dollars. "'.' •; "Tlicsn aro impressive samples of what the linvestigation has to this, time exposed. Tho pooplo of Pennsylvania, if they havo any . civic lifo remaining in them, ought to insist on ways-being found for restoring somo of tho vast amount of misspent money to tho public treasury; nnd they should ho still more insistent for'the punishment of those - ' who are guilty of having nluudorcd them in such a wholcsalo fashion." ';. ' : \