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Boodle Charges

Boodle Charges image
Parent Issue
Day
5
Month
April
Year
1895
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

A big sensation was sprung at the council meeting last evening by the introduction by Alderman Christian Martin, of the second ward, of the following resolution: Whereas, Having received certain inforraation that there have been irregularities in the transactions of certain business intrusted to the board of public works, which I deem requires au investigation by the council, and Whereas, I am also led to believe that other members of this council are more or less informed as to the truthof this information; therefore be it Resolved, That a committee of five (5) be appointed and employ a short-hand reporter to take such testimony as they in their judgment deern best, to ascertain the truth of said rumors and report to the council at the first meeting in May. The resolution at once started a debate. Aid. Prettyman demanded to know the name of the accused city official. Aid. Manly told him that it was President A. M. Clark of the board of public works and that the charge was accepting a bribe to change his decisión that the sewer pipe used in the lateral sewers was not up to speciScations. The end of the exciting episode I was the offering of a substitute for the original resolution by Aid. Prettyman, that a committee consisting of Aid. Martin, Manly and Wood be appointed to formúlate charges against President A. M. Clark. AM. Martin moved that the substitute be amended by making the committee consist of five, Aid. Prettyman and Brown to be added to the committee. The amendment prevailed and the substitute passed. The committee arranged to meet this afternoon at half past 2 o'clock, to investígate the charges. The transactions on which the charges are based are as stated in the council, the acceptance of the Jackson sewer pipe used in constructing the lateral sewers. Soon after the Jackson pipe arrived in the city, the board of public works held a meeting, at which the sufficiency ! of the tile was considered. Capt. Schuh held that the tile carne up to the specifications, but Pres. Clark and Mr. Bullis voted that the tile should not be accepted. A day or two later another meeting of the board was held, at which all three decided that the tile was sufficient, and the tile was accepted and laid. It is also stated that no further test of the tile had been made in the meantime. Between the time of the rejection and the acceptance of the tile an agent of the Jackson company had been in the city. The charge made by the aldermen last night is that this Jackson agent had seen President Clark and had agreed to give him live per cent. of the contract price of the tile; that the agent afterwards attempted to arrange for the payrnent of the bribe with the contractorsso that each party should pay one-third. There was aísosome desultory talk about a check having been sent President Clark which was said to have been returned about the time the article appeared in the Argüs attacking Mr. Clark for attempting to get a paying position from the city. The search light has not yet been thoroughly turned upon the transaction and the committee of the council owes it to the people and to Mr. Clark himself to go to the bottom of the whole matter. This is the first time in the history of Ann Arbor that boodle charges have been publically made and no pains should be spared to get at the exact truth, strike where it may.

Article

Subjects
Ann Arbor Argus
Old News