New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-08-05

A''"' o,r,ed BY Governor Black to investi-
so' ~. exnenditure Of the S9,O0O,C00 voted
s"' ,oonls for the Improvement Of the State
" ,s strong docdment-strone because 1t
cane" ca.,,oi and places the blame where it be-
longs
Ssor,,v after II was made public to-day Gov
~ Rlack hetook himself 10 Lake Champlain.
=. ,.,s,, Congressman Foote. Superintendent of
prnlic Works Aldrdge is absent at Block ISL
and and state Engineer Adams returned to
Utica to-day
10 tone the report is judicial. the Commission
cumming up the evidence on both sides with
oors and absence Of political bias. The Com
r,ission personally inspected the work at the
r,os, in,po,tant points. accompanied by COM
notent engineers and reports as the result:
.Ve have not found it possible in all cases
:, which il seemed to us that money had been
wasted through insufficient preparation. un-
sLilfut work wrong classification. or improper
measurements 10 reduce the amounts TO
certainty or to attempt to repor. amounts in
every case where the evidence makes them in
capable Of ascertainment."
The Commission considers the various diff
culties and hindrances to the work. and says
that during the investigation it has frequently
been confronted with the necessity of deter
|, says that upon the Superintendent Of Pub
lie Works solely rests the responsibility for
making the contracts. and for the character,
extent and cost Of the advertising: for the exer
else Of his power to cancel and reject bids for
security required Of contractors. etc; but he is
not responsible necessarily for the cats Of the
State Engineers department. Then II says:
Although he cannot make payments without
tha ifca he &c n COmDpiled
pay in accordance herewith without question.
II is the payment which makes error or wrong
in the engineers certificate effectual TO injure
the State"
He is charged with being responsible for the
loss to the State. caused by the payments made
on the contracts Any other view would render
his large force Of inspectors unnecessary. and
the cost Of their maintenance wasteful expendi-
ture Of money Had competent inspectors been
employed faulty work by the engineers would
not have escaped. He, in common with state
Engineer Adams. is responsible. The Com
missioners remove the possibility OF making
State Engineer Adams the scapegoat. and nix
the responsibility also on Superintendent AL
bridge.
Considerable space is devoted to the subject
Of breaks, some Of which, the report says nave
occurred upon portions of the canals upon which
no work Of improvement has been done. and
some have occurred upon portions where work
has been prosecuted The latter. in our opinion.
are due in some instances to lack OF sufficient
care or skill the part of the engineers Upon
contract No. 2, in the city of Syracuse. break
occurred which should have been avoided"
The failure to make public the prices of the
contracts when let. is criticised. In some in
stances. the report says, there was considerable
delay, and then adds:
Delay in awarding Is unnecessary, and may
be made Of for improper purposes.
Competency not made the test in select
ing inspectors. and there was dual system Of
inspection which resulted in much of the work
being duplicated. Through bunglirg quantity
sheets it is pointed out the amount Of rock
excavation allowed contractors was nearly 200,
coo cubic yards greater than it should have
been. The preliminary survey was costly and
proved Of little value. Wasteful and extrava-
CANT departure from the intent Of the contract
and specifications is also dwelt upon.
The Commission found all the divisions
material classified as rock which was oosen.1
BY picks and. which undoubtedly could be more
cheaply ploughed than blasted"
The amount which the Commission fixes as
that Improperly expended not less than
100000 The cost of finishing the work will
be nearly $4,000 600.
The force Of men allowed the State Engineer
was not adequate TO the performance Of all his
duties the report says. He is a member Of
many boards and has many duties imposed
upon him. not generally understood. He should
have funds sufficient TO enable him to secure
the best and most experienced engineering tai
ert TO aid in planning and supervising the
waOle work
The work should be carried 20 completion. the
Commission believes.
REFERRED TO ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Governor Black has referred to Attorney Gen.
eral Hancock the report OF the Commission.
together with the testimony taken at that inves-
tigation. and has requested him to thoroughly
examine the documents to make complete in
vcstigation as the existence Of evidence
showing wrongdoing on the part Of any indi
vidual who has been in any way connected
with the work. and to report at the earliest
practicable day whether judicial proceedings
should be instituted in compliance with the de-
mands Of justice.
Governor Black is determined that If wrong
has been done it shall be righted. and that II
guilt exists there shall be punishment. The re-
port of the Commission is not deemed specih-
cally conclusive.
The documents were transmitted to-day TO the
Attorn,y General with the following communi-
cation:
August 3. 1898.
The Hon. Theodore f Hancock. Attorney Gen
eral. Albany. y. Y.
The Commissioners appointed under Chapter
10 ot the Laws OF 1898 have filed with the Gov
eFhoT their report ami the evidence upon which
u IS based The testimony is voluminous. con-
sSi!ng of nearly sixty thousand words. The fact
ana conclusions stated in the report. While gen
sIaI IN character present Il condition which may
G come the subject OF judicial investigation.
me Attorney h. the authority TO which
such investigation may properly De intrusted
therefore transmit to you the testimony
ana report with the request that you examine