Evening star., 1903-07-18
MR.. WINFREE'S CLAIM
AUDITOR PETTY REPLIES TO CON-
TRACTORS CHARGES.
Quotes the Record as Proof That the
Account Was Properly
Closed.


trict auditor, Mr.. Petty. had retained
1890, which rightfully belonged to him
under his contract for remodeling the Wal
ZACH School building. The writer declared
the auditor had made every excuse posi-
BILE to avoid payment, and that he never
learned what became of his money. The
matter was referred by the Commissioners
to Mr. Petty for report. and that official
has made return in which he shows con-
clusively that the District retained the
money from Winfrees contract for good
and sufficient reasons, and that 1t went into
the proper channels
Mr.. Petty declares he hardly knows how
to deal with such a bold. unsupported as
serton," and says the contractor has no
claim to consideration. LAS the matter has
been officially referred to me, however, he
adds, Il can do no less than quote the rec
ord in formal refutation of the charge
Under date of June II. 1896. the Com
missoners contracted with w. W. Winfree
to reconstruct and enlarge the Wallach
School building payments to be made upon
mca SurementS OF the building inspector, as
the work progressed. Not long after he be-
gan operations 1t became evident that ne
had overreached himself. and that he would
not be able to complete the contract and
meet his obligations to laborers and sub
contractors.
For Protection of Subcontractors.
''Ihe duty OF protecting tnoSe VIII Ihu
furnished labor or materials was laid upon
the Commissioners by paragraph OF
General Stipulations." which reads as fol-
lows:
- Contra ctors will punctually pay the
workmen who shall be employed by them
upon the work under their contract in cash
current and not in what is denominated
store pay orders, and will. from time to
time. and often as may be required by
the Commissioners of the District of Column
bia furnish to said Commissioners satisfac-
tory evidence that all persons who have
done work furnished materials have
been paid as herein required; and If such
evidence is not furnished, such sum or
sums as may be necessary for such pay
ment may. in the discretion of the Com
missoners. be retained until such claims
shall be fully satisfied
claims and protests from Winfree's
creditors poured into the office In a steady
stream, and under instructions from the
Commissioners l supervised the distribution
of the funds until we came to the fifth or
final payment. November 81. 1885, amount
ing to s2166.S5. which is the payment to
which he refers. although the amount Is
somewhat less than he names.
Acted Under Instructions.
Acting under instructions from the Com
missioners, l required him to ndorse the
check over to auditor, District OF
Columbia. This he did, and l deposited the
money to my official credit in the Central
NduOnal bdllk. L lllell OlIctlcu ~
submit pay roll showing the names of his
laborers and the amounts severally due.
| considered them preferred creditors, who
should be paid in full His roll amounted
to sl,o57.32. and I placed this sum in his
hands. requiring him personally to make
payment to each claimant as he presented
himself
4 next deducted s2797s for material
which had been furnished to him by the
District and paid 1t into the treasury Of
the United States August g. 1897. Wnfree
claimed that l had no authority for making
this payment, and brought suit against me
for the entire amount less the sum of the
pay roll The case was tried. being known
1888 Equity Doc. A. and was referred
by the court to Col. James G. Payne. audi
tor, to state an account. which he did, al
lowing as a proper credit the $219.7S which
l had paid into the treasury, and providing
for the pro rata distribution of the balance
among the creditors after payment of the
costs. This report was confirmed by the
court and the money paid in accordance
with the decree
Settled in Full.
From statement Transcribed from the
court records showing these disbursements,
Mr. Petty says it is clear that Winfrees
claim has been settled in FULL and that
there is no justification for the charge
that he has withheld money which was
rightfully due to him in connection with
the contract for reconstructing Wallach
school building.
Alleged Suspension of Payment.
THE second complaint" continues Mr.
Petty, that l suspended payment on vouch-
ers due for work in connection with the
removal of ashes has foundation to this
extent:
"In the work of hauling ashes 1t was
necessary for Winfree to secure stable
which he did. renting from poor
woman, who depended upon the receipts
from this source part of her living.
She called my attention to the fact that
Wlnfree was District contractor who was
using her property in executing his contract,
while absolutely refusing to pay the rent
due therefor. l took the case Immediately
before Commissioner Ross, who instructed
me to do what l could for the owner, both
of US realizing, however, that we could only
appeal to Winfree'S sense of justice This
l did, urging him to pay, but he was OBJ
durate in his refusal, and the outcome was
that he got his money, but the Commits
sioners selected another contractor for the
removal of ashes
I'm the light of these facts / am con-
vinced that all fair minded people will
agree with me in holding that my action
was not an arbitrary exercise Of power
but the discharge of duty incumbent up
on me as an official representative of the
District of Columbia.
What you pay for extracts is important
but what you get for your money is ten
times more important. Burnett's vanilla
costs more because 1t Is worth more.-Advt