The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-06-09

the position of this man here who
| when he was discharged went about
| the City of Bridgeport telling stories
| to a dozen men, each Of whom tolC
| them to a dozen more.
It's the evidence that must guide
you This investigation was open tc
everybody. Every citizen who desir-
ed to come forward could do so. My
friend invited the citizens of Bridge
port to come into his parlor and say
what they wanted to say. He did this
right at the outset. Yet out of the
thousands of citizens in the City OF
Bridgeport. the only man who has any
grievance against the office, is the
man who was fired.
Klein declared there was nothing
strange about the sewer in Livingston
Place An error was made in the en-
gineer's office before McKenna became
engineer In charity that error is
passed over. McKenna provided the
contractors with profiles showing a
cut of feet at the intersection OF the
proposed sewer with the Noble avenue
sewer The council ordered the sewer
extended as far as the grade would
permit When the contractor made
his excavation it was found that the
cut was II feet instead of 9, and there
fore the sewer having more depth than
was expected, could be constructed a
greater length. There was nothing
about it to Justify the limitations that
McKenna had erred and that to save
the skin of the contractors he had
built a worthless length of sewer, for
witnesses testified that the sewer is
working properly it's entire length and
even now residents of the street want
it widened.
referring to the testimony declared
AT there wasn't a single specifica-
ton in which the charge of incompe-
tence was borne out.
Then he took up the finances of the
office Judson must have been mis-
led, said Klein. Judson naturally had
a right to expect that Mulvihill would
tell him the truth Klein confessed
his own surprise when he first enter
ed into the ease at finding such re-
markable system of vouchers that at
almost an instant's notice receipts can
be produced for every dollar that has
ever been drawn for the city engin-
GERS office.
He dwelt upon the character of the
specifications and reminded the COM
mittee that they were not the result
Of careful investigation. For instance
he spoke Of the sS5 that McKenna paid
to stenographers under an arrange
ment with the then city clerk for copy
ing records of the city clerks office,
winch MulV1n1ll alleged was pdlQ out
of the engineers public funds. Klein
called to mind MulvihilPs testimony
that he had heard this was the fact,
hence included it in his specifications
without questioning either the then
city clerk, anyone connected with the
engineers office, or the auditors Of
flee.
Klein argued that despite claims to
the contrary there is no evidence but
that the specific appropriations were
not used just as they were intended.
Then speaking of the alleged reckless
extravaganza of the office, he declar-
ed that the excitement over the main
tenanCe of the automobile was I'M
founded The city bought a $4,000
automobile for $500 and got just such
an automobile as it might expect.
There was a heavy expense in main
tanning the machine, but Klein re-
minded the committee that he had
never been given an opportunity to
scrutinize an itemized bill of the Miller
Motor Car Co., particularly with ref
erence to the charge of about $500 for
automobile hire.
Klein gleefully referred to the Sea-
view avenue sewer outlet built under
water, which was brought in as an
evidence of McKenna's incompetency,
and recalled the CONSERVATION of Null
vihill when he read the agreement
made by the Common Council under
which the city built the sewer with its