The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1910-12-30
Men and Teams Draw
Pay and Reason Is
Not Satisfactory
County Administration Going at Speed That Would
Mean Bankruptcy for Any Private Business Con-
Germ.

Did Commissioner Torger Peter
son allow padding of the payroll
to help create that $132,500 de-
felt of Illegal outstanding road
warrants, and if so who got the
money?
The records show the deficit.
What was revealed by the
Times last night set a lot of peo-
pie to asking embarrassing ques-
tions and citing suspicious circum-
stances. There are things that
do not look good.
Commissioner Peterson has full
| charge of road district No. l. He
has his political and personal
friend, j. NJ. Mounts, as road COM
| missioner.
Under his administration things
have been going at speed that
would mean bankruptcy for any
private business.
The payroll on the Hanson road
shows the following men to have
worked there; r. F. Northover, A.
j. Benson, Henry Barbes, C. Wick
man, Anton Schwance, Carl
Young, Joe McArtle.
Pay But Not Work.
H. c. Christy, 1896 Thompson
avenue, declares he was in touch
with that job and that Carl Young
land Schwance never did lick of
work on the road in all the weeks
they are credited with time. Fur
thermore he declares that while
1.-THE payroll shows the men starting
to work September 1 that not a
stroke was done on the job for a
week later and that the work
started September 7.
With eight men on a payroll
drawing $3.50 a day it would not
take long to help materially in
making a deficit.
On the Kapowsin road also it is
charged there is evidence of the
county getting beaten again. Here
George Daniels, Charles Fix and
Ed Webster are said to have been
engaged with teams.
MIR. Christy declares they haul
ed gravel for the county last sum.
= mer. They spent a little time
hauling gravel and then put in the
rest of the time hauling wood al
Kapowsin, drawing pay for full
day from the county while doing
\ it.
Mounts himself put several
teams to work for the county. Il
has been intimated that Commits.
sioner Peterson himself had some
more than merely friendly inter.
est in those teams, but at al
events Mounts put in his teams a
So a day and then charged VI
$2.25 a day for driver, thus get
ting 1925 a day for his teams or
the Tanwax road. He had 81,
teams working there on that basis
J The law says that only 81 shall
be paid for a man and team.
But that is not the worst of II
Mr.. Christy has also looked int,
the work of the teams and he de
clares that on August 90 a team
controlled by Mounts was bus!
cutting the grain for Mounts faith
er-in-law, Fred Jensen, but tina
the county paid for the work o
that team that day, 81.
Teams Get So Per Day.
On August one of the Mount
teams was driven to the black
smith shop to be shod. 1t wa
not working for the county at all
but it drew 81 just the same TO
that day.
On another occasion a Mount
team was driven by one Mobeus
: under pay of the county, to Nc
Kenna to get fed. The county go
no work out of team nor man, bu
both appeared on the payroll 70
that day.
Citizens who have been watch
ing the operation of Commission
er Peterson say this is his metho
of conducting road work.
el They declare this Is the explana
ltion of the deficit of $4,000 Il
e Illegal outstanding warrants.
z Did the citizens of Pierce coun
:. ty shut off graft when they refus
ed to vote those 100000 wort
= of bonds some time ago?