East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1914-10-20
LAW WAS GROSSLY
VIOLATED DURING
G|LL|LAND REGIME
Facts From County Records Show
Colossal SWindle Worked on the
People in l9l0-Contract for
Good Bridge at Fair Price Cancel.
led-New Contract Made for
Graft Bridge at Enormous Cost.

With L. z. Gilliland seeking ell
ection as county judge his record
when formerly in office is pro-
per subject OF investigation. 1t is
fair that this man who seeks an
office of great public trust should
be Judged by the way he acted
during the days he held that of
flee. The East Oregonian is in
possession of evidence showing
that when in office before Gilli-
land betrayed his trust in shame
less manner; was q party to deal
whereby the county was robbed of
$4,000 in one instance and was one
who participated or acquiesced
either through gross ignorance,
corruption or both, in the plund-
ering of this county for many
months in connection with the pu=-
chase of bridges.
These are strong charges. The
East Oregonian is a responsible,
cautious newspaper and would not
make such charges unless it be-
lieyed its charges to be true and
had evidence to show the truthful
ness of the accusations made.
Elsewhere in this issue of the
East Oregonian there is a story 1
showing that for several years
under the Gilliland regime A. Z. I
Eberhart had a monopoly in sup
plying steel bridges to Umatilla
county. That story shows the pc
culiar arrangement by which the
old county court protected him in
that monopoly and bought from
him bridges aggregating more
than 100000. The Umatilla
bridge was the ''high water mark"
in the bridge operations of A. +.
Eberhart in Umatilla county. 1t
is one case in which the graft has
come to light in plain form. How
many other swindles were worked
upon the county no one knows.
We will first take up the story
of the Umatilla bridge and the at
tention of the people of Umatilla
county is invited to the following
narrative and to others that will
appear in subsequent issues of this
paper.
The Umatllla Bridge.
Now for the Umatilla bridge story.
Just prior to May 6, 1910, the
county court had advertised for bids :
upon the construction OF a bridge at
Umatilla. Proposals were secured on :
a high truss bridge OF two spans, each
span 1853 feet in length, AS usual
Eberhart had drawn the plans and he
secured the contract His bid in de- c
tail was as follows:
Proposal.
To the honorable county court Of
Umatilla county, Oregon-Gentlemen: '
We propose to furnish all the neces- b
sary materials and erect complete In =
a workmanlike manner, ready for 4
travel the bridge over the Umatilla
river at Umatilla as per drawing and
on file for the following
prices:
complete 100000
approaches, per lineal foot 500 I
'oncrcte per cubic yard. 1000
The above proposal Is based on the
understanding that formal contract
hall be entered into acceptable to
10Th parties.
ATLAS BRIDGE COMPANY,
BY A. E. Eberhart
'iled May G, 1910.
Pendleton, oregon
Under the same date, May 6, 1910,
formal contract was made between y
sberhart, alias the Atlas Bridge Com y
ANY. and the three members of the
hen county court. The contract
,ound Eberhart to construct n bridge 81,
n accordance with the plans and :.
on file For the county ~
he contract was signed by Messrs Ga
;lrland, Walker and Lee, 1t was p'
awful contract and had that contract
een carried out the county would ~
ave secured an acceptable and sub OF
tantial bridge at Umatilla at fair 10
rice IN
Good Contract Annulled. sc
But that contract was never full WI
He'd as tho record shows, The next 10
fficiai document upon this subject Of