Los Angeles herald., 1910-09-21
ADVISORY BOARD
WILL NOT RESIGN
Members Regard the Committee
Findings as indicating
Charges Made
DEMAND BlxBYS REPORT
Fleming Asserts Scott Must Give
Out Statement of Chair
man of Commission
DEMAND BlxBYS REPORT

"The good roads advisory board has
only just begun to perform its fune-
tions. 1t has not, as intimated by the
investigation COMMITTEES, 'outlived its
usefulness but has emerged from the
recent inquisition with abundant proof
and recognition of the fact that it has
demonstrated - great deal of useful.
ness and has saved the taxpayers of
Los Angeles hundreds of thousands of
dollars, as admitted by the investiga-
tion committee that inconsistently re-
ported that our mission is ended"
So said A. p. Fleming, secretary of
the advisory committee appointed to
help supervise the expenditure Of the
money voted by bond election to i'm
prove the county highways
Mr.. Fleming somewhat impatiently
resented the suggestion of the inYesti-
cation committee that all the members
of the advisory board should resign.
81 want to say right now." said Mr..
Fleming, "that the advisory board was
not on trial. 1t was not our function,
nor our methods, nor our usefulness
that were brought into question by the
good roads work. The Los Angeles
county highway commission was on
trial, and the charges that we pre-
ferred against that commission were
sustained in every material instance by
the investigation committee.
II would like to call the attention of
the public to one important matter
that seems to have been overlooked in
this arraignment of the highway com
mission and the chief engineer, and
that is that the report of the investi-
cation committee, while it sustains
our charges, is incomplete, and has
failed to emphasize certain material
points, which may be lost sight of by
reason of the fact that the investiga-
ton committee did not give out the
report of George H. Bixby, chairman
of the highway commission, on whose
report the committee predicated its
own report.
"Mr. Bixby's report should be given
to the public. We will insist that Jo-
seph Scott, president of the inVesti-
eating committee, give out the full
text of that report filed by Mr. Bixby,
in order that the public and the tax
payers of Los Angeles county may
know exactly what the conditions are
and where we stand in this matter
with relation to the highway commits
sion and the investigating committee.
BIXBYS REPORT Is KEY
"Mr. Bixby's report contains the key
to the entire situation, and throws
light on the entire controversy and
on the good roads situation that is not
furnished by the report of the inves-
tigating committee nor by the separate
report of its engineer members. That
report proves many of our contentious,
and inasmuch as it has such an i'm
portant bearing on the findings of the
inquisitors as we'll as on the phrase
ology of their report, we believe it
should be given to the public
Members of the highway commission
yesterday appeared to be emphatic in
their determination not to resign, as
suggested. They have not decided on
their course of action, but both Martin
Marsh and j. w. Calvert, two mem-
bers of the commission, stated that the
supervisors did not have the power to
remove the commissioners.
I'VE were appointed to serve term
of two years." said Mr.. Marsh, land
we will remain members of the high
way commission until July, 1911
f. w. Blanchard of the advisory
committee stated that an executive
session would be held Tuesday to de-
eide upon a meeting of the entire COM
mittee for some day this week.
"Tuss" Eldridge, who was the only
member of the supervisors board who
would discuss the affair yesterday,
stated that he would not demand the
resignation of the highway commits
sioners, and says he does not think the
report of the investigation committee
would justify such an action. 1t is
believed, ehowever, that ''Tuss" is
alone in this opinion.