The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-05-19
|BILTz z.TEST|FIES IN M'kENNA
 INVESTIGATION Unable to Remember Who Paid For Doing Over Certain Work Amount Involved Was Small Committee Allows Hour
 For Arguments

With the examination of Charles F. A. Biltz, a contractor and a few SUD- plementary questions directed to City
 Engineer Maurice F. McKenna, the
 probe into the city engineers office conducted for many weeks by a spe-
 cial aldermanic committee came to
 close last evening.
 The chairman's announcement that the committee would hear the sum- ming up of counsel on Monday even- ing, May 29, at o'clock, set at rest all conjecture as to what if any in- fit to make in addition to that occa-
 stoned through the instrumentality of
 Denis F. Mulvihill and others The
 committee is through save for the final arguments, and the preparation
 of it's report to the Common Council
 Each of the contending counsel will be allotted one hour in which to urge
 their claims upon the committed
 MT. Biltz came here from Mt. C1em- ems, Mich., in response to a letter
 from City Clerk Boucher representing the committee. He was at the Mich igan health resort whither he went af- ter attending the first session of the investigation for treatment for rheu- matism.
 Attorney Judson sought to establish that the city was obliged to pay for certain work done for the Connecticut Go. by Biltz in the repaving of Strat- ford avenue. The work in question was the tearing up of a new concrete
 bed between the rails in Stratford avenue, near Waterview avenue, when it was found that the grade was not suitable.
 Klein sought to show that while
 there was small amount of addi-
 tional work done, it was occasioned through faulty construction done be-
 fore the regime of City Engineer Mo-
 Kenna, and that despite this fault,
 the city did not pay for the work
 of the Connecticut Cos The entire
 amount involved was variously testi-
 fled to as distance of from 50 to 150 feet, and according to the estimate
 of Biltz last night. the cost of ma
 terial labor and all would be little
 more than s1 a foot.
 Under persistent questioning at the
 hands of Judson, Contractor Biltz tes-
 titled that he could not say whether
 the city, or Connecticut Co., paid for
 the extra work. All he knew was
 gathered from the reports of his men,
 for he spent but. little time on the work. He had not seen any of this additional work done. He startled the
 committee when he testified that the sand cushion. which rests between the concrete TOunOdI1On ana DlOCkS, was found in some instances to be 6 inches deep where 1t should really be only 2 inches deep, this leaving the inference that the concrete bed upon which the sand cushion is located, was constructed correspondingly shall low. Other witnesses had testified that the sand was generously distributed none had given a figure so large. Biltz was positive however for he said he had made measurements.
 But as to the expense of this extra work-which was the principal infor- nation Judson wanted-Biltz said his he couldn't tell. The city paid him a lump sum for the work. The city's estimate of the work-part of 1t was day work and part of it contract was about $20 less than his estimate and he took the city's figures. But his who paid for this work in question. He added that the particular work was so small that he didn't have much oc- casion to recall it.
 Not satisfied with the questioning of Judson and Klein, Alderman Primrose of the committee questioned him at legnth along the same line. BiltZ ln- sisted that the city never sent him an
 itemized statement of how they ar
 rived at the figures they paid him,
 but said that it was so near his fig
 ures on the entire work that he ac-
 cepted it without dispute
 When Biltz stepped from the wit ness chair, Judson recalled McKenna and by a series of questions sought to establish that McKenna as city engi- neer had acted without authority in sending a man named Sweeney from New Lonodn to the south to inspect pine used for the making of wood block pavement; also that McKenna had neglected to pay his bill for s11O which was a charge against McKen- mas office.
 McKenna promptly stated that the hiring of Sweeney was done by the Paving Commission. The commission, with which he as city engineer regu- larly meets, instructed City Auditor Keating, it's clerk, and City Engineer McKenna to hire such a man. and they acting upon the recommendation of R. H. Murphy of the Frank Miller Humber CO. hired Sweeney. who work ed for two and one half weeks in- specting the timber before it was con- verted into blocks.
 The charge is not against his of fee. but against the paving account. and when Sweeney sends in a bill for SIS. said McKenna, it will probably be paid.
 The hearing lasted less than an hour. and the attendance was the smallest of the series.