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Show MANITOBA HAS A BIG SCANDAL Former Premier Among the Men Who Helped to Rob Government. Winnipeg, Mann., Aug. 25. Charges that enormous over payments were made to the contractors who erected the new parliament "buildings of the province of Manitoba; that these over payments in part at least were designed de-signed to provide a campaign fund for the recent Roblln government, and that some members of that1 government govern-ment were cognizant of what was going on, were sustained today in the report of tho Royal commission which Inquired into the charges. The threo members of the commission, commis-sion, Chief Mathers, Justice Mac-Donald Mac-Donald and Sir Hugh John Mac-Donald, Mac-Donald, Winnipeg city police magistrate, magis-trate, aro unanimous in their findings which wore published today. Thomas Kelly & sons are the contractors con-tractors named in tho report as having hav-ing received the enormous over payments. pay-ments. Tho report states that the commissioners commis-sioners were hampered by the absence ab-sence of material witnesses and the reluctance of others to testify, and charges that 525,030 was Bpent in keeping one witness away. Dr, Simpson, Simp-son, charged with having been the financial fi-nancial agent who raised the election fund out of tho parliament building extras, was not questioned by the commission, having lort for military service In France. Four ex-cabinet ministers, includ-J lng Messrs. Howden, Coldwell and Armstrong were criticised for their reluctance re-luctance in testifying and Sir Redmond Red-mond Roblln, ex-premier, the report said, "made common cause with the contractors to resist discovery, and took an active part In securing for the contractors able counsel for that purpose. The report oharges that Holden "made many false statements" in his evidence and that the commissioners were further handicapped by the destruction de-struction and mutilation of records, the refusal of contractors to produce tholr books and their withdrawal to a foreign country to prevent their being compelled to do so. William Salt was the witness alleged al-leged by the commission to have been bribed to keep out of Canada during the investigation. The report finds that Messrs Cold-well Cold-well and Howden, the ex-cablnet ministers, min-isters, Thomas Kelly, the contractor, V. W. Harwood, ex-provincal architect, archi-tect, Dr. Simpson, the conservative organizer, W. A. Slliott, an employe of the public works department, M. G. Hook, another employe who was sent after Salt with ten thousand dollars dol-lars and claims he was robbed in Omaha, and Harry Whltla, K. C, all Interested themselves In keeping Salt out of the country and that Mr. Cold-well Cold-well Inspired the alteration of Salt's books. Dr. Simpson dictated the amount to bo paid for the election fund before the amount of "extras" was settled, according to the report, which claims such an amount was paid him by the contractor when received from the government From April 21 to July 9, 1914, just before the elections of the latter month, payments were made the contractors con-tractors totaling $882,208, upwards of $600,000 of which was fraudulent over payments by the government to the contractor During that campaign, six government candidates In Winnipeg made returns showing their election expense as nil, and the commissioners commission-ers assume their expenses were heavy and wre paid out of the extras ex-tras for the parliament buildings. The total amount paid the contractors con-tractors was $1,664,242. On behalf of the commission, Engineer Woodman estimates the total value of work done by the contractors at $812,536 and value of material on the ground at $50,613. or total value of $963,149, which makes excess payments of $801,093. without including 15 per cent which ought to have been hold back, or $121,870 more. The commissioners also proved that the practice of making excessive payments pay-ments to secure a campaign fund was continued In the steel contracts, tho government's structural engineers all adopting prices from forty to fifty per cent higher than steel could actually act-ually be bought and erected for. oo |
