The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-06-23
BOXERS AS FINANCIEES.

The Boxers have been pract1cally IN
control Of the council for the last four
years and if there has been any waste
of the public money, if any bills have
! been allowed that were not just and
| lawful, the Boxers are responsible. The
ing committee on all bills presented
against the city and if any one has
been allowed payment for work or sup
plies not strictly according to law,
the Boxer majority of the council can
not escape the responsibility for al
lowing these bills to go through.
We have heard a great deal about
the city's alleged loss of $4,000 through
change made by Engineer Thomson
in the city's contract with the National
Wood Pipe company. That contract
was read in open council and after
Councilman Mexican had called atten-
ton to the change from first class to
second class lumber to be used for
the gravity pipe line, Boxer Council
man Kirkman moved that the mayor
and clerk be authorized to sign the
shrewd lawyer; he is graduate of the
Boston law school, and a man of his
keen intellect and quick discernment
should have been on the alert and
swift to detect any variation in the
contract from the terms agreed upon
informally with the National Wood
Pipe COmpany's agent. If Councilman
Mexican had not called attention to
the change in the contract and after
wards told of the statement of the
company's agent that such a change
would mean a saving in cost of about
$4,000, Kirkman and the other Boxers
probably never would have discov-
cred than any change from the orig
| inal agreement had been made
| But when it became known that
kirkman and his Boxer colleagues
| had been caught mapping at their post
of duty, they Immediately raised hue
and cry against Mayor Hunt for hav-
ing obeyed their instructions to sign
the contract with the National Wood
Pipe Company after it had been read
and approved by the council. With the
mayor it was then mere formality,
|
after it has been granted by the coun-
Gil.
If the Boxers in the council have
| ever made any record for economy
they have skillfully concealed the fact
from the public. The latest example
of their business management was in
| the employment Of the Seattle ac-
countants without competitive bidding
to expert the city's accounts. This job
should not have cost the city more
than $1,000 at the most but in fact
it has cost $500 for a half-baked re-
port which must be doctored and fin
ished by local accountants at an add
ditional cost that can only be GEN.
jectured. g,
The latest Boxer financial scheme is
to defeat Mayor Hunt and elect a can
didate for mayor who will approve of
a conspiracy Of a cabal of Boxers to
hold the city up for more than $780,
600 in payment for the water rights of
a milling company that imagines it is
going to suffer damages from the con-
struction of the new $250,000 water
system. AS a means Of forcing the
payment of this money the milling
company has sued for a permanent
injunction restraining the city from
taking any water from Mill creek for
the new water system. Thus they
f! hope to tie up an investment by the
city of a quarter of a million dollars
and paralyze the water service until
| the city makes settlement on the