Capitol Papers Have Vanished
April 13, 1907
Summary
The state auditor general for Pennsylvania cannot find papers from 1902 about the $2,000,000 contract for metallic furniture in the capitol. The state fears they could have been overcharged.
Transcription
Capitol Papers Have Vanished
Harrisburg, Pa., April 10.-The official copy of the schedule of 1902, upon which the $2,000,000 contract for the metallic furniture of the new capitol was awarded to the Pennsylvania Construction company, is missing and can not be found. This schedule is necessary to show the terms of the contract between the board of public grounds and buildings, composed of the governor, auditor general and state treasurer, and the construction company. Without the schedule the state would be unable to recover anything from this company if it should be found that there has been overcharges for the furniture.
The testimony before the capitol investigating commission showed that the official copy of the annual schedule for the state supplies is kept by the superintendent of public grounds and buildings. A copy is also kept by the auditor general as a guide in setting the accounts between the state and the contractors for the state supplies.
Former state officials testified that they had made a diligent search for the missing schedule and that they were unable to find any trace of it. This was the most important evidence adduced at the session of the investigating commission, which will go to New York to take testimony.
Auditor General Snyder said certified copies of the awards upon the schedules made in 1901, 1902 and 1903 could not be found, although he had mad diligent search for them. He repeated this search for them. He repeated this search with assistance two months ago, and now thinks they were not in his office during his term of office. He first made a search in 1904, as he wanted the schedules in order to audit the bills. The warrant clerk said he had seen them in the desk of former Auditor General Hardenbergh.
“What other important papers are missing from the auditor general’s office?” asked Senator Dewalt, a member of the commission.
“No other papers, except the schedules for 1901, 1902 and 1903,” was the reply.
Mr. Snyder then explained that he had at one time seen the schedule of 1902 after he took office in June, 1904.
Former Auditor General Hardenbergh testified that the schedules were in his office when his term ended, and his successor, Mr. Snyder, assumed office. The schedule were kept in his desk during his term of office and no one had access to it bur himself. Mr. Hardenbergh said he tried to find the missing schedules when Mr. Snyder asked him about them, and that made a diligent search for them. He was unable to recollect how long before he left office the missing papers were in his desk. He did not miss the papers until a few years after he retired from office. He knew of no other important papers during his administration which are missing.
“Have you any explanation to make for the absence of these missing papers?” asked Mr. Dewalt.
“I have not: they just dropped out of sight, and I have no idea where they went,” Mr. Hardenbergh replied.
S. Wilson Heaton, of Philadelphia, member of the firm of Heaton and Wood, sub-contractors under Sanderson for flooring in the capitol, was the next witness. He produced a letter written to Sanderson in July, 1904 offering to lay the floor at 53 cents a square foot complete. He afterward offered to furnish the flooring at 45 cents, without a concrete base. His second offer was accepted, and he laid 1538 square feet and was paid $6088.50. Sanderson was paid $1.27 ½ a square foot for the work.
Charles W. M. Juhle, a former employe of Architect Hutson, testified that his work was to copy the original drawings of Henry Ives Cobb. The doors of the room in which Juhle worked were locked by orders of Huston, and drawings were kept in a secret drawer when not in use. The witness explained that Cobb was the architect who originally designed the capitol, and that Hutson got all his ideas from the Cobb drawings.
Harrisburg, Pa., April 10.-The official copy of the schedule of 1902, upon which the $2,000,000 contract for the metallic furniture of the new capitol was awarded to the Pennsylvania Construction company, is missing and can not be found. This schedule is necessary to show the terms of the contract between the board of public grounds and buildings, composed of the governor, auditor general and state treasurer, and the construction company. Without the schedule the state would be unable to recover anything from this company if it should be found that there has been overcharges for the furniture.
The testimony before the capitol investigating commission showed that the official copy of the annual schedule for the state supplies is kept by the superintendent of public grounds and buildings. A copy is also kept by the auditor general as a guide in setting the accounts between the state and the contractors for the state supplies.
Former state officials testified that they had made a diligent search for the missing schedule and that they were unable to find any trace of it. This was the most important evidence adduced at the session of the investigating commission, which will go to New York to take testimony.
Auditor General Snyder said certified copies of the awards upon the schedules made in 1901, 1902 and 1903 could not be found, although he had mad diligent search for them. He repeated this search for them. He repeated this search with assistance two months ago, and now thinks they were not in his office during his term of office. He first made a search in 1904, as he wanted the schedules in order to audit the bills. The warrant clerk said he had seen them in the desk of former Auditor General Hardenbergh.
“What other important papers are missing from the auditor general’s office?” asked Senator Dewalt, a member of the commission.
“No other papers, except the schedules for 1901, 1902 and 1903,” was the reply.
Mr. Snyder then explained that he had at one time seen the schedule of 1902 after he took office in June, 1904.
Former Auditor General Hardenbergh testified that the schedules were in his office when his term ended, and his successor, Mr. Snyder, assumed office. The schedule were kept in his desk during his term of office and no one had access to it bur himself. Mr. Hardenbergh said he tried to find the missing schedules when Mr. Snyder asked him about them, and that made a diligent search for them. He was unable to recollect how long before he left office the missing papers were in his desk. He did not miss the papers until a few years after he retired from office. He knew of no other important papers during his administration which are missing.
“Have you any explanation to make for the absence of these missing papers?” asked Mr. Dewalt.
“I have not: they just dropped out of sight, and I have no idea where they went,” Mr. Hardenbergh replied.
S. Wilson Heaton, of Philadelphia, member of the firm of Heaton and Wood, sub-contractors under Sanderson for flooring in the capitol, was the next witness. He produced a letter written to Sanderson in July, 1904 offering to lay the floor at 53 cents a square foot complete. He afterward offered to furnish the flooring at 45 cents, without a concrete base. His second offer was accepted, and he laid 1538 square feet and was paid $6088.50. Sanderson was paid $1.27 ½ a square foot for the work.
Charles W. M. Juhle, a former employe of Architect Hutson, testified that his work was to copy the original drawings of Henry Ives Cobb. The doors of the room in which Juhle worked were locked by orders of Huston, and drawings were kept in a secret drawer when not in use. The witness explained that Cobb was the architect who originally designed the capitol, and that Hutson got all his ideas from the Cobb drawings.
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Upper Right Quadrant
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Contributed By
Benton Camper
Citation
“Capitol Papers Have Vanished,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed December 11, 2025, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/480.