Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1919-08-22
FIGHT OVER BILLS
ENOANCERS ROADS
ALLEN THREATENS TO STOP
WORK, But COMMISSIONERS
FINALLY AGREE.

Dissension among the county com
missioners which threatened for a
time to hold up all the federal aid
road work in the county and brought
forth from State Highway Commits
|siOner James Allen the emphatic
statement that "Thurston county
won't get another cent If that's the
way you're going to act," was
smoothed out Wednesday afternoon
when Commissioner s. w. Bennett,
whose refusal to approve several
bills submitted by Allen started the
rumpus, changed his attitude and
agreed to allow them.
Before the matter was settled,
however, the commissioners got real
personal among themselves and Com
missioner Allen was likewise pointed
in his remarks. Involved in the mix
up were three bills. one for $129.03
as Thurston county's portion of Dis
trict Engineer W. H.. Yeager's salary
of $3.50 a month; one for $142 for
some tents, and one for $8468 as the
county's share of the salary of an in
spector required by the government
to be stationed at the cement plant
Commissioner Bennett refused to
approve these bills, and when Com
missioner Sans noted that fact, he
too, bucked up. Sans, who was will
ling to approve the bills. contended
that as all three of them had signed
the resolution by which the county
authorized the state highway COM
missioner to handle the road work in
order to get an equal amount of fed
eral money, each commissioner was
obligated to sign the bills as submit
ted with the o. k. of the state high
way commissioner.
Benefits particular objection was
the payment of $3.50 a month to
Yeager, which aroused Aliens ire to
the extent that he not only jumped to
Yeager's defense but declared, mo
body is going to run my Office as long
as am in it but myself
With respect to the tents, Bennett
said the county never will get
them" and Sans came back with the
assertion that Its our fault if the
county doesn't" while Allen wanted
to know if Bennett expected the crew
to take to the bushes" Bennett did
not seem to think an inspector at the
cement plant was necessary. but Allen
pointed out that this was govern
ment requirement and we've got to
do it,"
''It isn't up to YOU to say whether
it's necessary or not" Allen declared.
You told us to 60 ahead with the
work. but if YOU don't pay those bills
the work will stop. and Thurston
county will never get another cent of
federal money on my recommends
tion---not another cent"
Bennett wanted County Engineer
Names to handle the work. but Allen
said he would not employ him Com
missioner Nevlon declared he was not
competent and Commissioner Sans
said Names couldn't keen up with
the other county work. let alone
tackling this. Benefits contention
was that the county would get more
road If Yeager's salary was not so
high, and he decalred that the engi-
neering on the Pacific highway paw
ing south of Olympia was costing the
county 81, 900 month. to which the
other commissioners and Allen re-
nlied that Bennett "didn't know what
he was talking about"
Commissioner Neylon suggested
that there would be ''some wool fly
ing around Thurston county when the
neople hear that this road work is
lied up and the county has lost the
federal money" and threatened to
bring a mandamus suit to compel
Sans and Bennett to sign the bills
Neylon also declared that ''if were
going 70 sit here and hinder things
like this. we'd better resign"
'I never saw man before who
was so suspi cious of everybody and
everything as you are" Sans hotly