The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-21

On November 5, about 10 o'clock, I for an estimate of our work on the Lower Columbana road and he stated that he would have it ready at noon. At noon he stated that he did not have it ready but would have it ready at o'clock. At 2 o'clock I called on him again and for the first time he stated to me that he had been double checking his inspectors s reports and that there was a difference which he could not harmonize. I immedi- ately told him that if there was anything wrong with his inspectors reports, for us to get in the car and go there at once and investigate same. We started and at Drennen's garage we picked up a young man whom l did not know, but it after ward developed that this young man was Gwin's nephew, and he stated that he had just returned from the job. On the way he stated that there was only 60 wagons at work. We reached the dump where we found the inspector and my brother, who got in the car with us. We counted the wagons the dump, all the wagons going to the dump and all the wagons going from the dump to the pit which we passed, until we reached the chert pit in Shelby county, and there were "A teams. As we returned we visited the camps of the subcontractors to ascertain how many teams they had at work until we reached the last camp nearest the ,,,1 Jerry Gwin stated to this inspector that he was satisfied and to continue the work as heretofore. I immediately told Jerry Gwin that if he had the least idea that this old man, who was inspecting and keeping account of the chert, was not honest in every respect, to fire him and fire him at once. I insisted on him doing so. l asked him if he would not do this or put another inspector in the pit, where our contract called for the inspector to be, but he refused to do so.
 On November he gave us an esti- mate for
 222i.5 yards of chert on five-mile
 haul ................ ........,.......$ 5,553. 75 224S.5 yards of chert on six-mile
 haul .......................... 6,740. 50 1176 yards of chert on seven-mile
 haul ........................-.. 4,ll6. .Ou
 Total amount for October work. .$16, 4l5. 9
 This estimate covered every yard of chert hauled during the month of October. Jerry Gwin stated to the board on Decem- 4, after he was fired, that the amount of chert hauled in the month of October had been padded to the amount of 256 yards. T.. i. <l November all that he knew on Decem- Der regarding the padding of this 256 yards, and if 1t was not honest after he was fired, it was not honest before he was fired, and he should not have al- lowed same for the October work. To make this plain, beyond any question, to the readers of this article, the checking that he claims to have done was done by himself and his men while they were rid ing down the road in an automobile in the afternoon, and one of his men stated that it was not a correct and proper way to check chert by counting the wagons for one hour in the afternoon for work that was going on from o'clock in the morn- ing to o'clock at night. Others whom he claims to have their sworn state ments as to this checking was himself. his nephew and one Dick Young, and since making his affidavit Young states that one of his negroes did the checking in the early morning and he did 1t in the afternoon, yet he swore he did the check ing on certain date. This man, Dick Young, insisted on us giving him some of the work, which we did. He approached 
 hauling and stated that he had been working for Jefferson county under Gwin for years, and that the inspectors had been allowing him extra yardage and that he expected him to do likewise. The old inspector informed him that if he got anything for hauling on that job that he would certainly do the hauling. Then and there trouble began. The readers of this article can judge for themselves. As for the padding of 256 yards, we know nothing of this. We emphatically say that there was no such a thing done and Gwin's estimates and actions will prove that it Is not true His pet did not get anything under this inspector but what he actually did
 On December 1, we asked him for an estimate. Then and there Jerry Gwln brought up the question as to the pad ding of a number of yards of chert. We openly stated to the board of revenue that we did not want them to pay us for this so-claimed padded chert, but to retain three times the amount that Jerry Gwin claimed was padded. He then gave us an estimate for:
 217s yards of chert on eight
 mile haul .........................$ S,7l2.00 104i yards of chert on nine-
 mile haul ....'......'..:..........' 4'SsS'eo
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