Democratic Sentinel, Volume 11, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 April 1887 — CHICAGO BOODLERS. [ARTICLE]

CHICAGO BOODLERS.

How They Did Business—A Bottom* less Artesian Well—Over 300 Indictments. The Members of the Grand Jnry As* tonished at the County Rottenness. The indictments recently found against present and former Commissioners of Cook County number 200, and against wardens and contractors 102. About sixty men have been indieted. FoUowing is a partial list: County Commissioners D. J. Wren, 25 indictments; J. J. McCarthy, 20; G. C. Klehm, 19; R. S. McClaughrey, 14; B. M. Oliver, 11; C. Geils, 9; C. Casselman, 8; ex-Commissioners C. F. Lynn, 24; J. E. Van Pelt, 18; J. Hannigan, 17; M. W. Leyden, 17; M. Wasserman, 10; Adam Ochs, 8; employes W. J. McGarigle, 24; H. A. Varnell, 23; E. 8. McDonald, 8; Edward Phillips, 3; Janitor Gunderson, 3; Frank Murphy, 2; contractors JTUostelloe, 11; F. W. Bipper, 7; N. Barsaloux, 3; William Harley, 2; W. H. Gray, 1; Chris. Kelling, 1; James Murray, 1; M. Hennessy, 1; John Buckley, 1; P. Mahoney, 1; J. J. Hayes, 1; E. B. Brainerd, 1; C. O. Hansen, 1; L. T. Crane, 1; J. H. Carpenter, 1; B. K. Warner, 1; A. J. Walker, 1; L. Windmueller, 1. “ The thing is corrupt from top to bottom,” said one of tbe late grand jurors. “There is no honesty among the Commissioners outside of those recently elected, and there is no honesty among their employes and appointees. Where they can’t steal in a large way they steal in a small way. An arrangement was made with the man who sold goods. I’ll give you one instance in particular: There was a contract with a merchant to sell goods and pay 12 per cent. He had to pay it into the hands of a particular person to be divided. The chairman of the committee through which most of his bills went called on him and made him pay three per cent, additional for his influence. So the merchant paid in fifteen per cent, regularly. About once a month the Commissioner would drive up to his place of business, but wouldn’t come in, and be would go out and hand him the percentage in an envelope. That is the way that was done. Most of the business was done through one of the appointees who was made the collector for the gang, and as much as SII,OOO in one sum has been paid at one time for one contract. They required the sum paid down. The contract had been awarded, and the regular meeting passed without action. ‘ What is the matter?’ ‘ Well, have you got the money?’ or a question of that kind. ‘No, we cannot get it until such a day. Then you can have it.’ ‘All right.’ He had it the day promised, handed the money over, a special meeting was held, and the oontract was approved at once and signed. That was one way of doing business. Then there was another. One year SI,OOO would be charged for a certain thing, the next year $l,lOO, and the next $2,100. The year the highest commission was paid was the best year for business the man ever had. In another case the commissions, as a rale, were figured at 10 per cent. In one instance the commissions were not paid in money; that is, the parties swore they never paid a dollar. But one of the gang Would want a sealskin sack. The merchants didn’t deal in them, bnt had connections through which they could get one, and the firm kept a fictitious account to which such articles were charged, and the cost amounted to 10 per cent., which was added to the price of the goods sold to the county. The transactions were not confined to one branch of business. One house had sold some goods to the county. They were told, ‘You can sell a great many goods to the county, but in order to do so you will have tt> pay 10 per cent.’ One member of the firm, knowing one of the Commissioners, felt it was an outrage. He went to that Commissioner, a prominent one, confident that the proposition would arouse his (the Commissioner’s) ire in an instant. He told him, and the Commissioner said: ‘I think you folks had better pay the commission. The thing is just here. You sell the county at your prices, charge 10 per cent additional, and pay this commission over, and then the county will be better served, have better goods at less prices than it is buying or can buy them from others.’ He went back and told his partners, and said: ‘We won’t do anything of the kind. We will pay no commissions to anybody. There are our goods, and if they want to buy them at our prices we will sell them, but we will not pay a penny commission.’ That was the strongest case that came before ihe jury. “The way in which tbe swindling was done was perfectly wonderful. There were increased prices, short weight, short count, and short count way up into large figures. We didn’t get at the bottom of that artesian well. It is only 300 or 400 feet deep, but a good many hundreds more were paid for. That was short measure with a vengeance. A certain amount of money was to be paid on all contracts. It would be handed to a person indicated. That person would hand it over, or be present at a meeting where the divvy was made. At one time a Commissioner made the collections, but the others became suspicious that he didn’t divvy fairly. Men swore that they were told they must not pay that Commissioner any more money, but pay it to So-and-so, and they did, and they never had trouble.” One of tbe neatest of the many swindles exposed by the Grand Jmy was the artesian well at the Infirmary." By the terms of the contract with W. H. Gray, the price was to be: For the first 800 fe6t, $2.50 per foot; next 400 feet, $3; next 300 feet, $3.50; next 100 feet, $4; next 100 feet, $4.50; next 200 feet, $5; next 200 feet, $6; next 200 feet, $7; next 100 feet, SB. Under the contract the drilling was to stqp when a good flow of water was found, and the maximum depth of the weU was placed at 2,450 feet. Experts sent out by the Grand Jury to measure the depth of the well broke the trap that had been fixed 300 feet below the surface, and found the actual depth of the well to be 1,557 feet. At that depth a liberal flow of water was obtained and drilling was stopped, but bills were putin the County Board for a depth of 2,450 feet, the maximum depth called for by the contract. Chairman Klehm once attempted to measure the well. Tne weight would go down, but in trying to get it back the line formed itself m long loops, and it was impossible to do th mi. .s’>r : Dor Vr. Nlfbrx. H o pfa a practical builder, did not find oat the cause

of the trouble, but concluded the well was as deep as was claimed. After considerable trouble the experts found and broke an arched trap, and then had no trouble about finding out the actual depth. When they drew out their line they found attached to it the one Klehm had used. On this work the county has been saved $5,000. Vouchers for this amount were issued, bat payment has been stopped.