Perth Amboy evening news., 1913-07-01
State Road Commissioner Re-
plies to the Charges Made
by the Contractor.
INVITES AN INVESTIGATION
Gives Facts About Highways
Complained of and Easily
Meets Criticisms.
Special to tho EVENING NEWS.

Special to the EVENING NEWS.
Trenton, July ALL the charges
made by Contractor Thomas II. Nc
Govern, of Trenton, against State
Road Commissioner Edwin A. Ste
vens and the State Road Department
In letter filed with Governor
Fielder last week, are denied in a
reply handed to the governor today
by Colonel Stevens. Colonel Ste
vens shows that Mr.. McGovern bid
on two road constructing contracts
and in each instance his bid was ir-
regular and had to be rejected.
| McGovern has been the bane of the
Trenton authorities for years. 1t
has been his common practice to put
in bids that were irregular or that va
| ried from the specifications, submit
ting something that he claimed was
lust as good This has earned for
| him here the sobriquet "Just-as-
Good McGovern. The commits
sioner Joins with Mr.. McGovern in
request for a probe of the depart
ment.
Commissioner Stevens also replied
to the complaint filed with Governor
Fielder by Contractor Barrett. OF
Bordentown, that the commissioner
was favoring one kind of road paw
Ing material.
Mr.. McGovern's first charge was
that through the self-confessed in
competency of Colonel Stevens the
money of the state was being squan-
dered in unbusinesslike methods in
road building. Colonel Stevens says
that this charge is too indefinite to
admit of any specific answer, except
as to the alleged confession of In
competency. The commissioner pro-
ceeds:
Il cannot recall the admission of
| incompetency to Mr.. McGovern in
the Hudson county court house, or
elsewhere, beyond a half joking re-
mark to the effect that some detail
was not up to me and ending I am
only the commissioner AS a mat
ter of fact, my road building expe-
rience began with the design and
construction of macadam roads In
| Hudson county about 1886. Even
were the charge correct, the law does
not require of he commissioner any
technical knowledge and none of my
predecessors have had any"
Mr. McGovern cited the governor
to a section of the Trenton-Law-
renceville road. Last year." said
he, "the State Road Department au-
| thortzed the Mercer county freehold
ers to give favored bidder con-
tract to resurface this road, and al
though it has been down less than
year 1t Is almost complete ruin"
| Contractor McGoyern claimed that a
stretch of paving on Greenwood ave-
nue., this city, was resurfaced with
| asphalt, sand and stone four years
ago, under proper supervision, and
Notwithstanding it is one of the heav-
lest Travelled roads In this Dart of
the state, 1t is sill in perfec con-
dition. This Greenwood avenue lob,
Nc Govern said. cost f1fty-three cents
square yard. while the Trenton
Lawrenceville road lob cost fifty per
| cent more. To tala Colonel Stevens
replies:
"As to the Trenton-Lawrenceyi
road, the contractor has not yet done
all the work required of him under
his contract. The road has failed In
places. but the failure has been due,
not to the material employed, but
to deficient drainage and lack of
proper foundation. The latter cause
of failure is pretty well proved by
the fact that wherever a new founda-
| ton was laid the road today Is In
entirely satisfactory condition. The
| law under which the work was done
requires of the road department no
examination Of site or approval of
| plans.
Its duty Is merely to approve
ennpifinaffnnc
The rest devolves upon the county.''
Commissioner Stevens then shows
that Mr.. MvGovern was the lowest
bider on the JOB on the Trenton
Lawrenceville road, but that he did
not submit proper sample of his
materials as required by the specif-
cations, a9d so the contract could not
be AWARDED to him.
He also replies to McGovern's
statement about the sample section
of road on Greenwood avenue has
been down four years and still is in
good condition. The commissioner
admits that this is good short piece
OF bituminous concrete and Lays he
was ready to recommend, with the
Mercer county engineer, this or
similar material, for resurfacing all
the important roads of this county.
but 1t was found impossible to get
the work done at the price McGovern
charged for this sample. The COM
missioner continues:
"Mr. McGoyern does not cite the
unsuccessful Filbertine pavement
laid on this same street as the result
of this sample. This latter pave
ment is IN a deplorable condition" +"
Refuttng the charge that he is de-
pendent on the subordinates In his
CONTINUED on page A.