The herald., 1894-09-29
Ss'ssisssSss- 's'A' =
sNruKpAy. sEPrEmnEH 80. 1894.
THE sQUIRMING OF A DIsGRACED OF
FICIAL.
We find the following in the Express

we nnu the IolloWlDR IN tne Expre6s
Of yesterday:
1t was discovered yesterday that the
city street department was doing some
work OF repairing on Temple street and
Temple road that should have been
done by the Tsmple-street Gable COM
pany. The railroads. under the law. are
required to keep the streets in repair
between the tracks and for two feet out
side of the tracks, but some OF the city
employees were found to be putting in
gravel and repairing ell parts Of the
street. As soon as the street superin-
tendent's attention was drawn to it the
work was confined to the oity's part.
Street Superintendent Watson explained
that some new men had gone to work
out there and had made the repairs gen.
eral without knowing any better. rhe
work had been done unknown to him.
self or the cable people. Deputy Riggs
said that not exceeding half dozen
loads of dirt had been put on the rail-
roads territory, and that the latter
promptly offered to do as much work
for the city with its own men to make
up for the mistake OF the green hands.
Street superintendent Watson evinced
considerable csloric today over the way
in which the HERALD refers to the mat
ter. He said that because he went into
the Office as Democrat the HERALD
tried to control him and make him
s.divvy;" and when it found that it
couldn't do so that paper attacked him
mahciousiy on many occasiunS. " IN
understood the Taxpayers Protective
league was Instrumental in calling at
tention to the city employees doing work
belonging to private parties.
In the classic language of Mr.. Waokel-
ford Squeers of Dotheboy's Hall fame,
Here's richness Tor you." Because the
HERALD, true to its mission, exposes the
shortcomings of Superintendent Wat
sons offics, that individual 10 repre-
sented by the Express as saying that
this journal, because he was elected as q
Democrat, tried to "divvy" with him.
II this derelics official ever made use OF
such an expression he lied. He should
long ago have been removed from his
Office for scandslous dslinquencies, and
below we enumerste some Of them as
found by the grand jury:
In partial report made by the grand
ury OF Los Angeles county May 10th
last they devoted nearly the entire re-
port to the administration of Street su-
perintendent Watson's Office.
They refer to ths shortage found in
the Office and the claim by Superin-
tendent Watson that $S7S.40. alleged to
have been left in the Office by Superin.
tendent Hutchinson. his predecessor,
was not 30 left. In commenting upon
the dispute between these two officers
they call attention to the danger OF suct
O loose conduct of the Office.
Referring particularly to the manage
ment OF the Office by Superintendent
Watson the grand jury said that com
petent engineers under their instruc
tions had made examinations OF streets
constructed and approved by the super
intsndent. and had in no case fount
them constructed according to specifca
tions. The work on various streets &C
examined is given with details. th,
most striking defect being shortage o
gravel amounting in every contract to
considerable percentage of the cost
They found cuts where sidewalks wer
10 to II feet wide instead Of II, and case
where street assessments were oompro
mised with property holders, in one o
them an assessment OF $l700 being com
promised for 500.
Referring to the embezzlement of pub
lie funds by Wataon's chief deputy
Stewart, the grand jury found that tbs
embezzlement caused the keeping of
proper cash book, but that there
scarcely any record of other bushes
done; that there is no system OF boob
kept in the Office, although the charts
clearly provides for it.
The grand jury also found that at lea
one laborer with a team paid fifty cen
day for six months position. amour
ing in all to SIS, and that other mon,
was collected from employees by dept
ties, and that Mr.. Watson admitted tn
he had known OF the proceeding al
still retained the guilty deputies.
The grand jury recommended that l
money be handled in this Office, ar
tbat the street supsrintendent's off
be made division of the city engineer
department.
And more to the same purport.