New Britain herald., 1915-07-24
COMMITTEE TOLD
 HOW ID DO THINGS
Common Council Inquisition Com.
 mittee Gives Hearings.

| I AAO COHlInlILee or the l council on the formation of the .ac- counting system in various depart l ments of the city government, held l a meeting last evening and gave hear ings to Chairman filling of the board l of public safety, E. H. Prior of the l playground commission, D. C. Con- l nelley and B. C. Mercy of the char I ity department Clerk H. A. Enmet ] of the board of public works and Clerk I P. J. Egan of the water department. 1 Each of those before the board were l subjected to rigid examination as l to how the department IS conducted l relative to expenditures.
 T. Councilman o. F. Curtis, acted as ] chief investigator, and Councilman Frank L. Conlon was clerk. Other l mem bers of the committee in attend l ance were Comptroller Curtis and Councilman Dolan and Stadler. l filling On Rack.
 | Chairman Alling of the safety board was first heard. He stated that 184 tons of coal will be required this year 1 The regulation of the gasoline pur- 1 chased is governed by the number of fires He enumerated the gasoline used in houses No. 1 and and in case of a difference occurring from month to month, he explained this in sat- isfactory manner.
 l 'Inquisitor" Curtis, put the chair I man through number of questions regarding whether or not materials ordered and reported purchased, were always received.
 To this MT. filling replied that if MT. Curtis was of the opinion that anything wrong was being conducted in the department he would follow it up.
 The 'inquisitor'' said that several years ago it could not be proven that certain things reported bought, were received. He also wanted to have the clerk of the board prepare state ment of the system of purchasing ma sterials and have it presented to the committee.
 Hot shot passed between the .'in- quisitor'' and the chairman but with l out any outward signs of unpleasant ness. ] Clerk Egan Next.
 Clerk Egan was the next one to face l the ''inquisitor'' He told of the methods used in purchasing pipe, hy- 1 drants, valves and other necessities for l the department On the arrival of l such supplies Superintendent Towers
 always inspects them to assure the department that everything is all i right.
 The "inquisitor' asked questions pertaining to. the number of men em- ployed by the department and how
 many are on the payroll
 l Mir. Egan said, that the superintend- : 1 ent and foreman look after the pay roll and the payroll is turned into the office. He was well fortified for the hearing having brought along his books and bills and also had ready questions for the committee.
 The Playground Commission. l Chairman Prior of the playground l commission was next heard. He said
 that one man does the purchasing for
 this department The superintendent i having this power exclusively. He ! makes up list of articles purchased
 and the commission inspects them and
 passes upon themr When thread or
 such small articles are bought, the
 supervisor purchases them without consulting the commission. The plac- l
 largest item of expenditure this year.
 All goods received are inspected by the supervisor who reports same to the clerk.
 l Clerk Emmet's Work Satisfactory. T Considerable attention was taken I in the hearing of Clerk Emmet of
 the board of public works. Since
 the memorable council meeting on
 Wednesday evening, when one of the
 council tried to offer a resolution that
 implied that things were not being
 conducted properly in the department,
 the public has been discussing the
 matter at length, but after Clerk En-
 melt had finished last evening it was
 felt he had cleared himself
 Clerk Emmet presented the meth
 ods. of the department in a clear and
 intelligent manner. He said that the superintendent of sewers buys his na-
 cessit1es for the year which amount Fl to about $400, and the same applies
 to the superintendent of streets. The
 articles are bought from local mer-
 chants. This system has always prov
 en satisfactory. The clerk was ask ed if he meant it was satisfactory to him, Whereupon the clerk answer
 ing back sharply that it had proven
 satisfactory to the board.
 Councilman Curtis inquired as tc
 how many headings were required or
 the departments books and the clerk
 informed him that there is about for
 ty. "
 Comptroller Curtis. told the com.
 mittee that this amount of heading.
 is sufficient amount for a detailed
 set of books. In his statements te
 the committee. the comptroller in 2
 manner took a rap at one of the
 council members for statements tha M he i'm nnlied in his recent report Cf his