The morning journal-courier., 1907-12-27
Incoming Director Thinks
 troller Acted Illegally,
 Issuing Vault Bids. V.
MAY ASK FOR InlUNl
Claims That One of the Fund Goes Office Was Assumed Asking Bids for City
 Hall Work. ]

FranclS w. Foley IS questioning th&@ authority of Controller Jonathan Rowe to advertise for bids in connec': tion with the construction of fireprpol vaults in the city hall The work hasS already been started there and Mr. Foley has concluded that Mir. Rowe in advertising for the bids for the work has been usurping functions that be- long to the office of the director of public works, James B. Coe. MT. Rowe says that he is proceeding by law Mir.
 Foley will undertake to show to the tcontroller of the city of New Haven
 that his course is diainetricalIy op- posed to the provisions of the city charter.
 While the construction of the vault lis now under way, the contract having
 been awarded to D. J. Carmichael at $7,sS4, that for the fittings, the tables.
 bookshelves and So on, has not yet
 been let. It was said last night that Ian injunction would be sued out by
 Mir Foley and others interested to pre-
 vent the second contract being gtawHrded
 on the grounds of illegality.
 Attorney Edward H. Rogers, who
 succeeds Leonard M. Daggett as corr poration counsel, called upon Controller
 Rowe yesterday afternoon
 Some time ago the board of finance decided to make an addition to the
 vaults of the town clerk in order to
 conform to legislation providing that
 the vaults containing the public rec- lords and so forth should be firenxoofa
 Tho finance board. Mir Rowe says,
 authorized him to advertise for bids. since the money appropriated was fo
 be taken from the linexpended balances
 in the sundry accounts department 7 These bids were to be. for the actual
 construction work While MT. Rpwe
 realized that the work was in the iuris-
 dictiori of the public works department
 the finance board and he were d unit
 lin agreeing that any advertising thare ! for should be doAs Bs the :. the latter to colIabnrate with Mr. Coe \ in the perfecting of the details. The
 advertising was done, Mir. Rowe said, :. after a consultation with Mir. Coe. if being perfectly understood between \ them that the work appertained to the Y department of public works since if Y was of constructive nature, and that Y Y MT. Rowe in advertising in the name ], of the controller was only doing so to !. facilitate matters, the available fllmds 7 being in the controllers department, '' Bids are now being advertised for ir
 connection with the furnishing of ths . vaults. These are advertised to bt ~ opened at noon Monday.
 Y This is just two days before Mayor. is elect James B. Martin and his admin, 7 istration assume control of the affair." ' of the city The contract for the fur ' nishing Is worth about $t5s0oo to fh, '. contractor
 s' Tn order to become thoroughly con V versant with the work of the dircctD q that is before me first began to reai the city charter, said MT. Foley, las night I was considerably irnpresse'
 by section "A after I saw the controll " CTS ad. This section says:
 o Except as otherwise provided by th u' charter the director of the bosSSa . e public works shall be responsible Sc V the care and management of sN street. ~, Al avenues, highways. alleys, bridgei V'' public houses and parks of said citS ~ the opening, improving, repairsnl - cleaning of the same; of the cOnstrnl lsS tion, repairs and furnishings of tk 0u public buildings except such assarcsHr der the terms of this act under u " control of some other officer or depar M ISt 4