The Brinkley argus., 1912-12-13
CUT OUT RoA0 c0l1TRAoTon
Nothing Nero Than FlSseshssds and County pays Thsm 0ao preM
 fer Their ooee ei0Watueoe.

tBy ISAAC L. ToTTEN. fin the Farm and
 Fires.de.)
 In this state tlndiana) we have
 what is termed ''the three.mils gravel road law. Under the provisions of this law fifty freeholders of town ship may petition the county commis- sioner to establish and construct three miles of gravel road at any place within the bounds of that township. providing the road is to connect with a township-line road or another grHvel road at either of its terminals; and the road may be established and built if the township is not already over bonded, and if the bonds for the new road can be sold.
 This is very elastic law and per mits of the dissipating of . very large amount of county money. because of the fact that the work is let to con- tractors.
 Of course the construction work of the roads is let to the lowest bidders: but there are so many hooka and crooks---mostly cFooks--in connection with the work, when placed In the hands of contractor that the sCoot of constructing the roads iA greatly in ex- csss of the benefits.
 After the county commtaaaonegs have established the read for which the fifty freeholders of the townohAp have petitioned, they appoint . supsr- intandent, whose duty ii, to see that aha proper grade is made for the rod, and also to zee that the right kind of gravel IS used and applied according to specifications.
 The one who usually gets the Job of being superintendent is some one to whom the commissionoE8 eve polttt cad obligations, and 1n many 1ustanses he is not in. the least competent to su pervise the work.
 had an opportunity recently to ob serve how some of the road work waa handled. was one of the gravel haul CTS employed. The sravel-or what was supposed to be Sravel--Was hauled from cars, . distance of about Q mile during the time vas working. This alleged gravel was obtained from the gravel pits belonging to the con- tractors. The superintendent, who was employed by the county to zee that the contractors carried out the work according to specifications, enSi neered all of the work, with the excep ton of managing the teams and keep ing the time He did the contractors kA~ 1<HAIaA around the saloons in town making good follows with whoever they thought would play into their hands
 Although the superintendent was employed and paid by the county. he asked the contractors for eompsnsa- tion for the work hs did of setting grade boards and helping level the gravel.
 The contractors were nothing more than figureheads. The county was paying them a good. round profit merely for their signature on the con tract: the county was doing the work for them, and not the contractors do ing the work fer the county \ prst- Y, way to work 1t!
 Why cannot this kind Of work be handled direct by the county. state or national government and % elimi- nate the contractors? It would save millions of dollars.
 One contractor told of how the bid game" was worked when bids were placed on certain piece of work. He said that the contractors usually go' together and arranged their bids. and the one who wanted the job would give the others a bonus and have: them put their bids in higher than his. Of course they. were high enough to- give him chance to so place hts bid. as to bring in sum large enough to pay the bonus and besides that handsome prof, for himself