The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-03-29
FORD'S NAME
 BROUGHT INTO
 INVESTIGATION
(Contiued from Page 1.)

evening comes uHu0T the nodQlnS or alleged incompetency. The specific | instances alleged were the repaving of | Stratford avenue from East Main street to Yellow Mill bridge, where it is alleged several different grades were established and at length the Connecticut Go. engineers secured their own grade for car tracks, and | taxed the cost against the city; Grown street grade where land damages were paid; Spring street grade, Ashley stree grade, and the Livingstone place grade and sewer In each of these public works it is alleged that l incompetency has been displayed. The hearing last night failed to produce any striking proof of the charges. In fact, MT. McKennas friends were elated at the outcome of the first night for they declared the testimony had thrown a very favor able light upon him. Apart from this phase, the matter of telephone ] charges were touched upon lightly, but the itemized bills for out of town l poses to adduce in support of the charge of alleged extrava gance, could not be presented last night
 Timothy B. Mccarthy general track foreman for the Connecticut Go. was the first witness of the Investigation being called in connection with the | allegation involving the Stratford ave- nue pavement. MT. Mccarthy couldn't | remember very much when the in- quisitors for either MT. McKenna or for Denis F. Mulvihill ct al pressed him too closely. There was a lot of questioning about the technical work of track laying, much time spent in the. use of such words as "tamping," lining" 'spiking," etc, the securing of definitions and the like. But witEess, Malvin E.. Stark, superintend ent of tracks for the Connecticut Co.,. | had the situation as thoroughly in | hand as Director of Public Works M A. Kenny.
 MT. Mccarthy was plainly unwilling to say anything from which even an inference of a mistake or of incom- petence on the part of Engineer Mo Kenna could be drawn, and repeated ly refused to answer questions with l either a ives" or mo- without qualifying his responses with clarify- ing explanations.
 MT. Stark explained to the com ! mittee that he has many such jobs | under his supervision, and that he had no especial recollection of the | Stratford avenue job, because there was nothing in the job that he would not expect to encounter in any other l job in this or other cities where his work calls him. He too was unwill ing to intimate that MT. McKenna had l erred. Once when Senator Judson
 
 the word "blunder," he replied, 'I ! would answer that question yes if you leave out the word 'blunder'," but Judson wasn't inclined to do that. Well, what would you call it, | then? ?" persisted Senator Judson. "A difference of opinion, not blunder," said the witness.
 Senator Judson sought to establish that the Connecticut Co. was oblig9 ed to pay for considerable ripping out of cement in connection with the relay ing of the permanent pavement in Stratford avenue last year. It re- mained for Director Kenny to eX- plain the conditions. MT. Kennys testimony was just as effective in the similar matter of the Park avenue trolley changes south of the viaduct. Relative to the latter, MT. Stark said he recalled that Waldo c. Bryant objected to the layout of the work MT. Stark, when questioned as to the cost of changes in the work as be- gun, said he had no personal knowl- edge of who bore the expense but he did not believe the city bore the ex- pense. He supposed the charges were borne by the company.
 Director Kenny said relat tive to the Stratford avenue matter, that the plan was to maintain the old grade laid seven or eight years before. ''The permanent paving commission and myself went over there and found a very flat cross section grade near Pembroke street and that it would be necessary to get a different cross sec ton grade to shed the water, and that the rails should be raised a little higher than they were at the old grade. The engineer established such a grade. He set the grade for the rails.
 "Now. as a general thing we find a bed of concrete then a sand cushion an inch deep. then the permanent pavement. Between Hough avenue and Waterview avenue we found on taking up the old brick that there was a two and one half inch sand cushion, at least an inch and one half more than anticipated. I would not say that there was too little cement, but that there was too much sand beneath the permanent pavement. When we found this condition it be- came necessary to order the grade of the rails lowered so as to conform to the old grade which we expected to use for our wooden block pavement. That was what caused the changes.
 "As for the section between Penn found the blocks were laid on a level grade. This would not admit of prop CT drainage. So we laid a new bed, using the same grade as before. The new bed allowed the pavement to round to the curb.' He said the
 
 was laid wrong.
 Director Kenny said that there was appropriated for the work of the re- paving of the avenue about $7,00O. He believed that by using the old concrete bottom, the work was ac- complished for half what it wounds have cost had the entire street been reconstructed He knew, he said, of no money being spent from his de- partment for the work in Stratford avenue, and he added that the ex- pense whatever it may have been for extra work in Stratford avenue, was very small. He and the railway meu denied that any considerable portion of work actually completed had to be done over.
 Speaking of the Park avenue mat ter Director Kenny said that he found a condition south of the rail- road, on visit there, to which he objected. He visited the place in con-. nection with Mr. Elwell, the Conn. Co.'S engineer, MT. Stark and Mr. Me Kenna. Director Kenny pointed out of laying tracks, the city has an au- thority that it has not at other times He felt in a position to insist upon what he considered a better arrange ment than had been agreed upon by the city engineer and the railroad rep- resentatives.
 ''1rhe curb on the east side is about two feet lower than the curb on the west side. MT. Elwell and Mr. Me Kenna pointed out that the rails were laid at a proper grade to conform to the layout Of the street. I persisted however that these tracks should he