The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-10-16
STATF Examiner MAKES SENSATIONAL
REPORT Of MORGAN TOWNSHIP

The fact that the board OF directors
{, Morgan township, Carter county
baye had at their disposal and spen
more than 1000 for road improve
ncnts during The last Two years ah'
,,,t there is not a single mile o.
permanently improved roads and NJ
bridges TO show for it, is brought ou'
IN q sensational report made public
Saturday by State Examiner and In
spector Taylor's office.
Morgan township is the home town
shin of Governor Cruce and Highway
commissioner Sidney Suggs, and the
latter asked for the examination
which was made by Deputy Examiner
John VI. Honekc 1t covers the per
fod from November l6. 1907 to Jan
nary q 1911. The offices upon which
the report was made were those OF
township Trustee :. ID. Mitchell, form
err Township Clerk O. j. Payne, who
resigned in December, 1905; &. }. Er-
win. his successor, and Township
Treasurer j. Hignight
The report states that there were
absolutely no minutes of meetings
held bv either the board of directors,
board of highway commissioners or
by the board of equalization. There
are also no minutes of the creation OF
road districts or reports from road
oycrseers MS required by law, nor is
there an annual report of the town
ship treasurer to the board of county
commissioners
The claims, warrants and checks
turned over to me were in a confused
heap missing numbers among each
showing gross carelessness, lneifi-
cheney and incompetency never equal
90 anywhere declares the report.
Illegal Claims.
II Is pointed out that about 5000
worth of claims were allowed by the
board of directors that We're not sign
ed or sworn to by the claimant, and
iI the Judgment of the examiner, are
absolutely void and Illegal, and the
board responsible for the illegal allow
ance of such claims under their bonds.
I'm a number of instances, the report
shows a double allowance for the
same bill of goods There also was
cross Irregularities in signing claims.
The feature OF the report comes in
a statement in relation to money for
road building purrCSes. On June 26,
1909 the board of directors was au-
thorized to issue $4,000 worth of
bonds. The bonds bear dates of July
/. 1909 and $4i,55l.S9 was realized
from their sale. In addition, levies
made for road and bridge fund
amounted to $9,S4i.66. All was turned
over TO the treasurer and the entire
sum devoted to the improvement Of
roads with what result the records
and reports of the various road over
seers sayeth not" There is absolute
ly no map showing road districts, the
number OF highways open, the miles
OF highways macadami2ed or per
manently improved, but the examiner
states that he was informed with all
OF the sums available. Morgan town
ship has not a mile of road perman-
cutly constructed with any material
The indiscriminate purchase of cuk
Nrrts and other materials comes in
for its share in the report. II is stated
that abou' $500 was expended for
corrugated iron culyerts which have
disappeared under ground no one
knows whore" For road implements
and machinery. the sum OF $500 was
expended and this is now scattered
over the township with the net result
that a hair of it is lost destroyed o.
stolen. In addition, $1,000 worth O!
ordinary tools were purchased, for
which the retail prices We're paid
"Had the board of directors eXercis-
ed ordinary care and business ability,
% saving of at least 20 per cent might
have been made by advertisement for
competitive bids, says the examiner.
Over Salary Limit.
The board managed to gct we'll over
the salary limit, is another allcgation
of the report. over drawing their sal
aries TO the amount OF $3.6oo, while
the balances of the bond issue were
distributed between the Oyerseers OF
the various districts for labor per
formed" Not 4 single claim, declare