The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-10-30
LYNCH CHARGES
S|'.0||'|0|||||h||'T'0|||..BEHEARD.
SCouncilrnen Mention Instances
Of Apparent slipsl,od Methods
in Engineers Office.
NEED | FOR OR CHIEF III CLERK GU
In Absence Of City Engineer.
Citizens Can Get Little or
No Information.
NEED FOR CHIEF CLERK
No date has as yet been set Tor be.
fhA fA,nnh inuAaAi "a "a. :. inAn

No date has as yet been set Tor be-
ginning the Lynch investigation into
the conduct OF the Engineering Depart
ment but tho initial meeting will prob
ably be held at the City Hall to-mor-
row night or Tuesday night. several
members OF the subcommittee on In
5vestigation being also on the subcom.
mittee appointed to consider the appli-
cation OF the Richmond Power Cor.
Eporation for franchise, which meets
Tomorrow night.
At the City Hall yesterday and In
5councilnaan!c circles generally. the
charges brought by Mr.. Lynch were the
CHIEF topic OF discussion. The con-
sensus OF opinion seems to be that the \
complaint has arisen through lack or
business system in the once. rather
than through lack OF engineering
ability outside. although 1t Is not de-
MED that there has been some slipshod
work done by assistant engineers.
Mention Is made OF sewers built, which
were not properly inspected, and which
buckled or choked when put into use.
Errors in the lines given to property
owners for building purposes are also
alleged. as we'll as errors given by as.
ststant engineers to contractors Tor
grading.
That Pump House Gutter.
An ms .ance OF alleged carelessneSs is
given In the granolithic curling and
gutter,ng on the pump house drive ia
VIM. Byrd Park. Instead OF the maent.
ftcent sweeping curves which the con-.
tour OF the driveway suggests. and
which the settling out OF trees pro-
vidod Tor. the Grub was installed IN q
series OF zigzaS lines from tree to
tree. Similarly. the plot at the entrance
4 of ut. Calvary and Riverview Gene
!, tcries, has been laid OF and parked
without regard to the evident inten.
ton OF the committee to have a ,ri-
angle, instead OF an irregular. shaped
plot. These are little things. but IN
the minds OF the Councilnen they In
dicate on the, part OF some OF the AZ.
sistants. a lack OF appreciation OF the
Importance IL city building.
It Is believed that some OF the assls-l
tants are overworked, while others
have In comparison, little to do.
An assistant engineer laid out the
proposed line OF new Lester street
some months ago. and the route was
adopted by the Council. Recently City
Engineer Boiling has been down ana
looked over the ground. and Friday
night he recommended to the Street
Committee revised location for the
proposed highway to Fulton, which Will
be just as direct. bu. which Will avoid the
necessity OF ccndemning the Clyde Line
property, valued at $4,000. and the cost
OF erecting retaining walls. Estimated
at $4,000.
"A $4,000 Error.
/ Had not the work been checked over
by the head OF the Office. in this In
stance. the city would have spent S2S,.
900 more than It was necessary for a
street above flood water to Fulton IL
was 50 with the Dooley Ray!ne sewer.
when the activity OF Mr.. Boiling. after
4 Major Dooley's proposition had been
/ made, discovered q route for the sewer
estimated to be $4,000 cheaper than
that through "Mayuaont., selected BIZ
an assistant. Z. sse - i. l
4 While there Is probably no office
in the city conducted more carefully
as regards money affairs, and there
!, has been no hint of graft in the en-
gineer's once for many years. either
j under Mr.. Boiling or Colonel Cutshaw,
yet Councilmen argue that the care
Ilessness, OF assistants and mistakes
[. In Judgment might cost the city thou
sands Of dollars. Several membess
Of the Street Committee assert that
the salaries Of all the assistant en-
sineers should be raised to $500 or
$4,000. and the city then demand a
class OF service commensurate with
Need Chief Clerk.
But It is to the office end. rather
J than to the engineering end. that most
OF the criticism is directed. In the
absence OF Mr.. Boiling himself--and
the head Of the department must
necessarily be out Of the Office much
Of the time looking over the ground
where large undertakings are pros
/ iected-there IS no one who can speak
with authority in answering @ ques-
ton from property owner or contrac-
4 tor. There is nj chief clerk who has
the records at his fingers ends. and
Iauthority to deal with the public for
4 the ofice. The visitor Is passed from
one clerk to another. from one assist.
ant engineer to another. from one
|drauEhtsman to another. and finally
4 told toScon,e back some time when the
! property owner who wants to know
the depth Of the cut or the reliability
OF installing a sewer in front of his
! Improperly, can get little or no infor.
smation save by seeing Mr.. Boiling
himself or following the old ward idea
a of securing the Information after
weeks Of delay through his ward rep:
Preventative on the Street Committee
\ a system which leads to oS.rolling
and ward politics Of the cheapest type
ENORMOUS Growth OF Work.
J Another factor In the stu alton Il
j, the enormous growth of the work en-,
trusted to the Engineers Department
In 1897 the total vouchers OF the
department for all street and sewer
work only reached s90.72s.ss. Las
yeartthey reache d "a total of S423.54o,ss