Omaha daily bee., 1897-01-06
rINDIcA1lNG MENDACLrr.

The attempt to drive Mr. Howell from the
city engineers office has failed. The city
council, by an overwhelming vote, has
decided that the acts with which he was
charged were at most indscretions and
impropreties.
The fact is that Howell has made good
city engineer He has greatly reduced the
operating expenses of his office and saved
the taxpayers much money. When Andrew
Rosewater held the office ne permitted many
expenses which Hcwell promptly cut Off
For this reform he is certainly entitled to
the thanks of taxpayers Ii all public officials
would do the same some reduction in taxes
might be achieved.
The attack on Howell was made by Editor
| Rosewater at time and in meeting when
Howell was doing his official duty under
| instructions from the mayor, by reading a
report in support of the mayors policy to
have the city buy the water works. The
purpose of the attack was to destroy the
movement for the purchase of the water
works by running Howell. He being the
mayors chief support, was to be knocked
out.
The World-Herald has not advocated the
| purchase of the works by the city at this
| time and did not agree with Mayor Broatch
and Mr.. Howell in their policy of war on the
water company Gs long a9 an agreement was
possible on fair basis. The attempt how
ever. to blacken Mr.. Howells character and
oust him from Office was not made in the
public interest and has deservedly failed
| World-Herald.
| 1t is in accord with the eternal fit
ness of things that the World-Herald
should volunteer to vindcate Engineer
Howell and couple its defense with dis
paraging comparisons with his prede-
ceSSOr in the engineers office. There
| has been no attempt to blacken Mr..
| IIowelfs character and no attempt to
| oust him. a mans character can not
| be blackened or injured if he has any
character His reputation may be
| damaged by SANDER or libel and it may
suffer the consequences of his own mis-
| conduct. If City Engineer Howell has
| been lowered in public esteem it is be-
cause of his own ''indisCretion" and
not because he has been maligned or
misrepresented.
The attempt to present Mr.. Howell
| ttS IVY W HIS btNOllOl W iht
| public interests is at radical variance
with his self-confessed effort to pro-
| cure for his friend Wiley remunera-
| tive sinecure in the water works com
| pany as an aid in securing concessions
| from the city that would Illustrate the
| plan of the mayor to purchase the plant.
| AS the chief support of the mayor,
hn.
way of cooperating with his executive.
Assuming, however that his actions
have been inspired solely by loyalty TO
his chief, what excuse is there for his
downright falsehoods not only to the
public. but also to the mayor? If
Engineer Howell has been really acting
under instructions, does he or any one
for him pretend that he was expected
to distort facts and make false asseT-
tions in support of the scheme for mu-
nicipal ownership?
Up to this time The Bee has rcfrained
from discussing Mr.. Howell's engineer
ing abilities or his record as city en-
gneer because any structures it might
have made would have been aScribed
to personal motives. Now that the
WOrld-IIcrald has dragged the name
of eX-City Engineer Andrew Rose
water into II controversy with which
he has had no part whatever, lit
tie plain talk on that subject will not
be out of place 1t is not fact that
Howell has made good city engineer
and it is not true that he has saved
the taxpayers much money. He en-
tered upon the Office without experience
in municipal engineering and has done
nothing since in the way of engineer
ing excepting to engineer through the
city council appropriations for himself
and II substitute imported from Indian
apolis to do the work for which the
city engineer Is paid. 1t Is II notorious
public scandal that Mr.. Howell occu-
pied two high salaried offices, each re-
qurng his whole time, one located Mt
Omaha and one at Lincoln, for the
first quarter of his incumbency rs city
engineer AS secretary of the State
Board of Irrigation he was drawing
$1,000 year, and as city engineer
he received $1,000 year. In
stead or paying for his subSti-
tute out of his own double sal
AIRY of $1,000 year, he worked the
city for an Illegal appropriation of $3.50
n month for that purpose,
1t is true that since the advent of
Howell the expenses of the city en-
gineers office have been reduced. But,
they have been reduced simply because
there was little or no work to be done
in that Office and they could and should
have been reduced much more.
The assertion that rhe charges
against Howell We're designed to de- |
stroy the movement for the purchase
of the water works by running the |
mayors chief support is absolutely
baseless. The charges were the result |
of spontaneous Indignation at Howell's |
audacious mendaclty and rank hypoc-
risy. They We're inspired with but one |
object in view, and that was to ex-
pose the attempt on the part of the |
men who wrecked the water works |
company TO use the city as n lever to
extort money from the new owners