The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-02-25
ANTHONY CARR0LL'S TALK
ALIRGE MEETING AIST ALOYSIUS
 HALL YESTERDAY.

The Report on the Grove Street Pave
 ment Investigation Sharply Criticised
 MT. Carroll Says of City Fathers, "A
 Swceter Body Of Political Trfckstexf
 and Unprincipaied Renegades Neve,
 Saw Sun Light"
 Anthony Carroll yesterday afternoon
 addressed a large audience at St. Alloy
 sius hall, criticising the report of the
 special committee which conducted the
 investigation of the charges which he
 preferred against City Engineer Kelly
 MT. Carroll felt that the report or the
 committee exonerating the ofhcials
 against whom the charges were prefer
 red and giving leave to MT. Carroll tc
 withdraw was unfair and not justlf1eo
 by the evidence which he produced be-
 fore the committee. He, therefore, at
 his own expense, hired St. Aloysius hall
 for yesterday afternoon and invited cit
 izens to attend the meeting in order
 that he might publicly express his
 views concerning the matter. He had
 invited Alderman Fertman, chairman of the committee, to be present, and de-
 fend the action of the committee, and
 he also sent to the board of aldermen
 an invitation for members of the board
 to attend the meeting. The aldermen
 delegated Alderman J. J. Walsh of the
 Tenth ward to attend representing the
 board, but neither Alderman Fertman
 nor Alderman Walsh was present yes- terday afternoon.
 The charges which MT. Carroll pre- ferred were that the city engineer had assisted contractor to "cheat and de- fraud the city in the laying of the Grove street pavement.
 MT. Carroll yesterday opened the meeting by reading a copy of the charges and then a copy of the com- mittee's report. He also had copy of the transcribed stenographic notes of the evidence given before the com mittee and frequently referred to these notes to corroborate his statements concerning the committees action. He He also read the specifications for the Grove street contract. He then showed to his audience that he was duly au- thorized as an employe of the city in inspect the Grove street job and see that the work there was done according 70 specifications He defined according to the dictionary the meaning of the words "cheat'' and "defraud'' and read a copy of his report on the Grove street job, rendered to Director Troup about the time that the latter was retiring from the office of director of public works In this report MT. Carroll made known to the director the facts, as he observed them, concerning the condition of the work and he said that the report was accepted by the director and placed on file in the office of the director
 He then read from the stenogra phic reports MT. Kelly's testimony to show that he (Mr. CarrolD left the job rather than allow the contractor to comply with the city engineers orders to meas ure the concrete stock by the wheel barrow loads rather than by barrelsful. He said that for trying to enforce the specifications of the contract he was alleged to be incompetent, to have de- layed the work and to be an imposition on the taxpayers of the city, MT. Car roll said that he had undertaken to compel the contractor to live up to the specifications and presented facts to show that the proper measurements in mixing concrete were not followed. He then read from the notes of the testi- mony to show that not one of the em- ployes of the city engineering depart ment who appeared before the commit tee could tell how to guage a wheelbar row so as to be governed by it's meas urements in mixing concrete. He show ed that the late George M. Grant, who was one of the oldest contractors in the city, had testified that concrete stocks could only be properly measured by barrelsfu. He said that the brick used for the gutters on Grove street did not conform to the specifications and that nothing done on the job so confornned. He said that when the committee visit ed the pavement he was not informed that they were going, but that when at the meeting before that visit was made he had offered to the committee a sketch of the street and had offered to mark on that sketch the spots where the pti CCb WdS nOt pIUPctIy SIduGQ tllhS COlIl- mittee had refused to accept that evil dence He said that 5000 feet of dirt which should have been taken out of the street and replaced by crushed stone were not taken out. He stated facts to show that the quality of the stone used was poor and that the stone could be broken in the fingers and said that specimens which he produced were not examined by the committee. He said that the pavement was built of dirty stones, dirt, coal ashes grass, | leaves, straw, etc. He said that the | curb stones were propped up with | pieces of brick placed under them, l while the city had paid for concrete to | be used for that purpose. He said that ] the city engineer had misrepresented to | he board of finance that the contractor lad been delayed on the work and [ ought not to be fined for failure to com olete 1t within the time contracted for. Mr. Carroll said that two courses were | egally left open for the city to pursue, | aither to finish the work and charge the cost to the contractor or to hold back -5 per cent of the contract price until he work was completed. He said that my way the contract provided that the contractor should be fined $5 per day 'or every day after October 31 that the work was not finished. Instead Of do- ng this the b5ard of finance after hear