The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-10-05
STILL HIDING PLANS
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS YET JUG
CLING WITH BRIDGE CONTRACTS.
DenfaIs of Discrepancies which Are
Very Plafn-Some Expenditures i'm
Pike Township Exposed.

1AO 1Ne0CAA "a ~ AAoot
zen's request to see public documents that
are in its custody does not in the least
bother that august triumvirate, the Board
of County Commissioners At a meeting
held several months ago the commissioners
adopted plans and specifications for the
erection of the bridges over Pleasant run
and White river at Washington and First
streets. These specifications were to be a
guide to bidders desiring TO bid for the
work. Plans and specifications for public
works are public documents, which every
citizen, however humble, has a legal and
undeniable right to inspect. The County
Commissioners however. persistently re-
fuse to permit the inspection of the plans
and specifications for these two bridges
until such a time as they see fit to show
them Whether there will be any changes
made in them while they are thus with
held by the commissioners is, Of course.
not known. Changes could probably not be
made in the blue prints, but if the purpose
Of refusing to permit them to be examined
is to prevent the discovery Of discrepancies
other than those that have heretofore been
exposed it would probably be necessary to
substitute another blue print for the one
that has been used by the bidders. The
commissioners say they are spending all
Of their time studying the bids submitted
for the work. During the greater part of
the afternoon yesterday they were not in
their Office in the courthouse, but were
closeted somewhere in the building in Sc
cret. A request made in their ONCE 10 see
the plans and specifications is met with the
reply that the commissioners are using
them in their consideration of the bids
This was the answer given a journal rep
resentative a few days ago by Mr.. Hunter,
who added that the newspaper men might
see them when they were Drought down
missioners were in secret conclave. Inc
Journals representative was in the once
after the plans and specifications had been
brought down to be locked up in the safe,
but was not permitted to look at them.
Yesterday evening Commissioners Hunter
was again asked for permission TO look az
the plans. This time the Commissioner did
not hesitate to inform him that ne could
not look at them until after the contract
had been awarded. The substance OF the re-
mark was that If there were any other dis
crepancieS between the plans and the speci-
fication the commissioners did not propose
that they should be made known till after
Ii was too late to remedy them. All or the
commissioners have said that they exam
ined the plans and specifications for the
Pleasant run bridge anu all or them nave
said that they did not observe any dis
crepancies. These discrepancies exist, how
ever, and are plainly visible upon a merely
casual comparison of the specifications
with the blue print.
The Journal, yesterday morning. con-
tanned fanne ar an article article s showing fay the me expenditures a11ins
May 81, 1894. IN the article was an item of
$212.50, paid to Hunt & Adams, for a bridge
w rik tbr tew bridpes IN rep 1syi; i IN rs P saie' t tnere
ship and If this amount was for them, the
commissioners paid a more than fancy
price for the lumber. There was but .4,224
feet of lumber used in all of the bridges.
which would make the price paid for the
lumber about S. & hundred feet. The same
bridge lumber could have been bought for
$3.50 a hundred feet, and delivered at the
bridge at SLIGO a hundred feet. Maurice DON
nelly, county recorder, bought the lumber
a few miles of the work and had it hauled
to the work in the wagons of the brewery
for which he is agent.
The expenditures from the bridge fund
for the years ending May 81, 1893, and MAY
81. 1892. are given below. For the year end
ing May 81, 1898, they We're: May 8. c. Won
Bennett Lumber Company. $3.50; May 6,
Isaac Sutton meals for bridge hands. $50;
Kentucky-avenue bridge, ssi2.as; Dec. Is.
Tolin & Carlin, repairing approaches to
Twenty-second-street bridge, $50: Dec. 13,
ilton & Beaver: building. Boiander bridge.
s136. q; Dec. 6, Wrought Iron Bridge Com
pany; balance on o Williams creek bridge,
lin. repairing approaches to Twenty-second-
street bridge, 500; Nov. 10, Wrought Iron
si,ooo; Nov oSm I, Paul Julian, surveys Grsey of 9n WI.
liams creek bridge, $50; Oct. Is, Wrought
b Iron Bridge ld6 Company, WillIams creek
Wrought Iron Bridge Company, repairs TO
Central-avenue bridge over Fall creek. $500;
Aug. 2, Vandiver & Berton. lumber for
Grassy creek bridge, $3S. 40; June II, Robert
Zener & Co.. insurance on bridge in Perry
township. $3.50, June 1, Barney Means and
Jerry Steinruck, protecting kentucky-ave
nue. bridge during high water, $50; total
For the year ending May 81, 1892. they
| were:
Nav Q Tanders q, Dopnellv lumber for
the Michigan-street bridge. $1,000; Nov.
Il, Indiana wire works, wire covering,
Cent; Nov; 1as s bridge i; La sisiss: N lomOe #. fG q,
]. Haase & Co, lumber, s32S.36; Nov. Z,
BENJAMIN Baldwin, hauling stone, SOC
Nov. 8, T. ]. Haase & Co, lumber for Nor
ris-street bridge, $3.50; Nov. 2, Chris
CRUDE. trustee of Perry township. c%ounty,s
approaches to bridge on Mud-creek road,
in Lawrence township, $111.S0; Aug. rs. A.
K. Hollowell. treasurer. Twenty-second-
hardware. ss.55; June %. T. j. Haase & Co,
lumber for Meridian-street bridge over Fall
creek. $40; June l. L. II. Presley, meals
x.4s2.16.
will show that Landers & Donnelly prac-
tically had a monopoly on the lumber trade
cerned. Donnelly,. it will be remembered,
was chosen for his present position as
county recorder by the unanimous vote of
the commissioners to fill the vacancy
caused by the death Of Peter Carson be-
| fore the expiration of his term. Messrs.
Hunter and Stout had already started for
New Orleans and returned to this city and
named Donnelly for the place: His pull
seems 10 be perennial. 1t will also be seen
that the Twenty.second-street bridge pro-
yided a means of donating funds to favor
ties. Tolln & Carhn received. at different
times. 800 for repairing the approaches TO
this bridge. Paul Julian. the county sur
veyor. was also paid another $50 for doing