f2 PACES EEE YEAR 82 NO, 115 HOW THE MANITOBALIBERALS | SOUGHT TO GET THE TRUTH | } Abont The Capitol Contract--Scented Some- thing Wrong at War Session: Hon. | br. Montague Annouced | | That Parliament Buildings Would Cost Million More Than iginally Specified---A Petition to the Lieutenant- Governor Resulted In Appointment of Royal Comins Winnipeg Free Press. on the site, prepared by an employee On the day before the special war| of the public works department, and session of last September closed, | showing bedrock at 52 feet. When Hon. Dr. Montague, in asking 'the |v WwW, Horwood, the provincial archi- house to support a bill enabling the | tect, came to give evidence, he as- Government to bérrow an additional | gerted that this plan was absolutely $2,000,000, chiefly for the new capi-| wrong, the distance to bedrock being tol, calmly announced that the cost| everywhere closer to 70 feet. But of that work would exceed the esti- | 41] efforts to get the man that made mates by about one and three-quar- | the borings before the committee ter million dollars. This statement, | fajled. A which naturally astounded the mem- ---- bers, formed the prelude to a dra-| Said Verbal Agreement Only. matic series of events that ended to- | Next, it came out that V. W. Hor- day in the resignation of the Govern-| o 04 had made, without authority ment. | by order-in-couneil or others, an ar- at the war session ;;p ement with Thomas Kelly where -- In his the Minister of Public Works told | expert witnesses south wing, and $16,575 on a third steel contract. [Evidence at the Committee showed that structural! | steel bought by Kelly and Sons for | $59.80 a ton was sold to the Govern- | ment at $115, plus 15 per cent. pro -| fit. The opposition"s estimate of] the total undue profits made by Kelly and Sons was $857,200. | Throughout the sessions of the; Public Accounts Committee Govern-| ment members constantly thwarted | the attempts of the Liberals to get evidence admitted. The opposition members were not allowed to bring in order to show | that the prices paid by the Govern-| | ment were excessive; they were not | allowed to obtain from Kelly and] Sons vouchers under the records) covering material purchased for in-| corporation in the parliament build-| ings. Kelly was also supported in his refusal to produce pay-rolls and | other important documents. Going Before The House. A few days before | purpose | doubt whatever that on the previous | chief advigers, including the heads the session | night the premier did not intend to| of the various German States. that spech that it was not the Gov- ernment's intention to meet the! wishes of the Opposition. If, he said, ! a charge had been prefered against | any minister or ministers, the de-| mand for a commission would be in | order. In the absence of such a defi-! nite charge directed agaiust memoers | of the Government, thére was not, he intimated, ground for appointing ai commission. i On the same night, therefore, a memorial signed by the 21 members | of the Opposition was presented by T. C. Norris to Sir Douglas Cameron, the lieutenant-governor. It set forth the same main facts as had been em- bodied in the Liberal resolution to! the House, and prayed his honor not | to prorogue the Legislature until] provision had been made for a royal commission of inquiry. The Legis-| lature had 'been adjourned until 10] a.m., the next morning, with T. H.| Johnson on the floor. At that hour, | however, Sir Rodmond stated that in | view of certain statements in the public press he would ask the House to suspend business in order that he might have an opportunity to confer! with the lieutenant-governor. When the House met at 3 p.m, he an-| nounced that as honorable gentle-| men opposite, over their own signa-| tures, had made a statement to kis| honor of such a kind as to warrant it, the Government had decided to! appoint a royal commission for the desired. There was no! The Daily British Whig KINGSTON ONTARIO, MONDAY, MAY 17. 1915 ------ U.S. NOTE VERY SLOW Method Of Its Conveyance To Ger. many Accounts For Delay. Washington, May 17.--The neces- sity for repeated handling and the cireuituousness' of the American note's route from Washington to Berlin, were responsible for the mes- sage's delay in reaching its destin- ation, These were the various transformations and hands through which it has to pass before reaching the German Foreign Office at 10:30 a.m., Saturday.: . Coded in Washington. Sent by telegraph from Washing- ton to New York. Cabled from New York to Havre, France. Relayed by telegraph from Havre to Rome. Copied by Ambassader Page Rome. Telegraphed from Rome to Vien- na. Relayed by telegraph from Vienna to Berlin. Decoded by Ambassador Gerard and presented personally to Foreign Minister Von Jagow. Transmitted by Van Jogaw to Im- perial German Chancellor, Von Beth- in { mann-Hollweg, and by the 1atter to the Kaiser. The presumption was that the Kaiser would not act on the commu- nication without consulting all his how the Government had 'made wholesale changes in the plans of F. W. Simon. He attempted to justify these changes by attacking the archi- tect's reputation, asserting that he| was a better designer of pretty pic- tures than a calculgter of bearing power and strains. As the session bad been called for a limited and special purpose, the opposition did not then criticize the minister's an- nouncements, They promised, how-| ever, that they would not neglect to| do so at the next regular Session, | y the contractor was to put in the fssons. Both Horwood and Kelly swore at the time that there was no written document in existence em- bodying the terms of this arrange- ment, a verbal agreement being con- sidered amply sufficient. According to the statement of Horwood, the contractor was to get $25.83 a cubic yard for the construction of the cais- sons. Progress estimates, on which the Government authorized pay- ments, credited Kelly with having put in 35,996 cubic yards of concrete, 1,213,000 feet of lumber at $48,250, How well they kept this promise the | ong $111,660 for iron ringe. He ob- events of to-day attest. Despite the| ;5in04 payment on account of the determined opposition of Government | 3hove items to the amount of members, the Liberals patiently in-| gg44 037.45-- less only $64,505, vestigated as much of the Govern-| which sum was included in the ori- ment"s conduct in connéction with ginal contract for conérete piles. the new capitol as they could. Al The Liberals at the Public Ac- though the whole stery was not bY | sounts' Committee pressed for the any means told, sufficient data of a| production of the progress estimates, PAGES 8-12 my SECOND SECTION House Clean- Use our Frantz-Premier Electric Vacuum Clean- er, price $32.00. Best and most powerful suction cleaner on market. We rent for $1.00 per day. H. W. Newman Electric Co., Phone 441 79 Princess Street. startling' character was brought to light to Justify charges of the most grave description. Resume of Events, The contracts for the erection of the new were let on Satur- day, July 14th, 1913. Thomas Kel- ly and Sons obtained the main con- tract at $2,869,560. A separate contract for, heating, plumbing and ventilation was let to Crane and Ord- way at $119,000, The sole compe- titors of Kelly and Sons for the main | contract were Peter Lyall and eom- pany, whose tender was only $3,000 higher than that of Kelly and Sons. It subsequently transpired that Kel- ly and Sons had put in their tender a day later than the advertisement authorized. Sensi Changes in The Contract. Scarcely & fortnight elapsed be- fore the Government made the chan- ges in the gontract which resulted so disastrously for it. For concrete piles in the foundation, it authorized the substitution of concrete caissons, and for reinforced concrete in the superstructure it substituted steel and concrete. Nothing was said publicly about these changes, involv- ing close on $2,000,0000, until Dr. Montague ® his memorable speech at the war session. When he carelessly referred to the matter on that occasion he remarked off- handedly that public buildings were seldom put up without the cost lar- gely exceeding the estimate. . He was careful to point out that the changes were arranged before he en- tered the Government, and he ad- mitted that their cost surprised him. Liberals proceed make good their intention of subject- ing the parliament affair to an exhaustive inquiry. They mov- ed for exhaustive returns on the sub- lie accounts committee began a pat- ient investigition, which resulted in disclosures and also for the records proving the work. 'They got the former and part of the latter. Tt was found that Kelly's payments did not work out right at $25.83 a cubic yard, In fact, A. B. Hudson, after a careful analy- sis, announced on- the floor of the Legislature that Kelly had been paid for 13,732 cubic yards of concrete which he did not supply. Exactly how this result was ar- rived at formed one of the most in- teresting chapters in the story un- folded before the Committee. No authentic and complete record of the material put into the eaissons could be produced by the Government. No plan was ever exhibited show- ing the cubical contents of the cais- sons, but only a plan showmg the superficial size. A little black book, kept by a man named William Salt, was the sole original record that the Government could produce to justify an expendi- ture of $844,000, This book, more- over, did not contain a record of the total number of 369 caissons; it showed only 242. Nearly every ome of those 242 caissons bore unmis- takable signs of having been altered, As changed, the depths were indi- cated as greater tham before the Yet even on the assumption that the little black book, as far as it went, gave true information, there was a shortage of 10,397 cubic yards In other words, Baily t : THE PRICE OF NEUVE CHAPELLE. A corner of Nille cemetery, showing the graves of British soldiers who lost their lives during the now famous battle. 8 \ closed the Liberals asked to have subpoenaed one Leonard Easton. This man had prepared for the legis- lature a copy of the original specifi- cations, which contained an import- ant phrase not to be found in any other copy of the specifications. It involved the sum of $417,000 for prime costs, and in order to see how the mysterious phrase came to be incorporated. Easton's presence was essential. It transpired that while the committee was in session he left the employ of the Government and went north on the line of the Hudson Bay Railway. Government members at the committee voted down 'the motion that he should be brought ' back, When, therefore, the committee came to make its re- port, the Opposition presented its conclusions to the House in the form of a resolution embracing the facts learned, and demanding the oppoint- ment of a royal commission to inves- tigate and report on all matters in connection with the contract. The Government, for its part, submitted a report affirming that all changes in the plans of the mew buildings were absolutely necessary, that the additional contracts had been enter- ed into at fair prices, and that the work had been carried out in accord- g grant. the. Oppesition demand, was surmised that his changé of front came about a8 the result of sugges- tion from Si¥ Douglas Canieron: Appointing The - Commission. Nearly three weeks elapsed before the Government appointed the prom- ised royal commission. It was finally announced that the commission would consist of Chief ' Justice Mathers, Mr. Justice Macdonald, and Hon. Sir Hugh John Macdonald, and the commission held its first formal session on April 23. At several sittings formal evidence was presen but nothing new de- veloped until Edwin Salt, the broth- er of William, swore that Hon. George R. Coldwell induced him to conceal from the Public Accounts Committee the whereabouts of his brother. The same witness declared that ett th Siow ood, ho, bY the way, the city the day before the on began work, proposed to William Salt that he should altar his records showing the depth of the caissons. ¢ ---- Kelly freaks With Government. On May 1st, evidence was submitt- and the Government. beginning of the end. § i : £ i be i 5 It FALL STYLES FOR WOMEN Colors Are Black, Navy, Dark Brown, And Dark Green. cial announcement of fall styles for women was made to-day by Dame Fashion. Her decree was approved .by the National Cloak, Suit, and Skirt Manufacturers' Association, Here are the styles: Colors: Black, navy, dark brown, and dark green. Skirts: Wide and not more than ankle length. Coats for separate wear: Long. The style committee of the con- vention, headed by Joseph Prince, of Cleveland, in its report corroborating the decree of Dame Fashion, said: "There should be no definite line set for the length of the suit jacket, be- cause it should vary according to the height and figure of the wearer. "Taflored suits, cut on smartly sever lines, somewhat shaped to the form, will be much worn. solely on the beauty of the tailored lines or perhaps the addition of fascy buttons and novel pockets for trimmings. - "Broadwgrths, worsteds, poplins, gabardines, cheviots, whipcords, serges, and tweeds form the fabric material for fall and winter suits. "High buttoned convertible col- lars and set-in-sleeves will be stylish on coats." - Cincinnati, Ohio, May 17.--OM-|" | Al Kinds of Fresh Meatsand Pickled Meats at Parker Bros. 217 Princess St. ~~ Cooked Meats a Specialty = Unless you deal with a prejudiced, old fashioned corset department, your corsetiére will show and recommend the "'D & A"' and the "La Diva" Corsets made by the Dominion Corset Co. "BUY MADB-IN-CANADA CORSETS" 815 Phone 1683 Trew