Even then there might
have been some doubt as to the outcome but for Holker Morris's
testimony. He not only sent in his report, but appeared himself,
he told the Council, so as to answer any questions Mr. McGowan or
his friends might ask. He had done this, as he said openly at the
meeting, to aid his personal friend, Mr. MacFarlane, and also that
he might raise his voice against the slipshod work that was being
done by men who either did not know their business or purposely
evaded their responsibilities. "This construction of McGowan's,"
he continued, "is especially to be condemned, as there is not the
slightest doubt that the contractor has intentionally slighted his
work--a neglect which, but for the thorough manner in which
MacFarlane had constructed the lower culvert, might have resulted
in the loss of many lives."
McGowan snarled and sputtered, denouncing Garry and his "swallow-
tails" in the bar rooms and at the board meetings, but the
decision was unanimous, two of his friends concurring, fearing, as
they explained afterward, that the "New York crowd" might claim
even a larger sum in a suit for damages.
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