The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-09-30
managed it should be practically sell sustaining.
 COUNTY ENGINEER


 managed it should be practically self sustaining.
 COUNTY ENGINEER
 The department of county engineer, commonly called the county highway engineer, has been conducted in such a way and manner as to have the abso- lute control and management and say so as to the kinds of roads to be con- structed, repaired or maintained, as to who should be the ontractor and is to the kind of material used. We find that the report as to where the convicts are worked are made to the county en- gineer's office each day and .notwith- standing that said convicts together with the county trucks were used to repair and improve private roads, that | the engineer whose duty it was 10 see and know what had happened in this regard claims to have not seen and to have made no investigation whatever as to where said work was being done on pvate roads or to stop the use of the convicts and the other equipment for private gains and betterment. We find that the county engineer, notwith- standing the law charges him with knowing where the county line is be- tween the counties of Jefferson and | Tuscaloosa, permitted the coun sys money to be spent on work outside of the county. We find that he was given free hand in the construction of a mile of road known as the Third Ave- nue road, beginning at the end of the brick paving at Ensley boulevard and extending towards Birmingham, oy the fairgrounds, as an experiment and that his experiment cost the county between $15,000 and s2o,000 for that mile, which was useless and worthless experi- ment and which proved of no perma- nent benefit, which was pure and simple waste of money. We find that he has reclassified work of the con- tractors without being called and meas uring the work done and by this way and manner large sums of money nave been paid out on said reclassification. TOT which the county may or may not have received value received, We find that ne has been permitted to draw from the county's funds a sum of money equal to the pay roll made out by him and O.. k.'d by one member of the board of revenue and to deposit said sum of money to his individual ac- count and draw his individual check s TOT the pavement of employees in his i department. We not anly condemn th;s put we do not hesitate to say that # is "a technical conversion of the county's funds, and unless this was done in or der to premita graft or some other un- i"oIthy enterprise we have been unable to determine. It is inconceivable that a board of revenue composed of riva supposedly efficient men would ner- mt man in charge of one department 10 obtaln such absolute and definite icohtrol or his entire department as ,he poaro or revenue has permitted the en- sheer or thIs county to foster about himself in his own department.
 THE ENGINEER
 | we Ind that $. R. Batson, the conn " highway engineer, has recommended mat contractors bids we switched ar urahsierred to other projects on the roao' ana that the piece of road. or porJects for which the bid was tbe Iou
 est, be given to bidder whose hid wa not the lowest; and that contracts have Dy nm sought to be placed regardless oi Dlds so that certain contractors not 1 wltnstanding that he was not the low est bidder, would obtain certain nieca or road construction, because the said ehglneer was favorable to the contrac tor. Not only have these contracts Deeh switched where it was agreeable | TOT high bidder to accept a niece of work at the price of the low bidaar but we also find where certain con. tracts have been split and half of the I contract of the low bidder. be given to 1 the high bidder at the high bidders price. We also find that contracts have been split where contracts were let on la road or project. and that part of 1 the sald contract already let was take q away rom the contractor and was given to another contractor without competitive bids, at greater cost of lconseruction than the original contract. and why this was done is very apnar ent on the face of it--and that the re . suits and work obtained in the con-
 struction of the road was at a higher rate of cost. was inferior to the work ana construction of that portion of the road built by the original contractor.
 We have found that the board of revenue has built on Third avenue road. petween Birmingham and Ensley about TOUT different projects, claiming fol the reason that they wanted to ascer- i tain what was the best material to he used for the road construc tion in this district and that the piece of road or protect holding up the best and proving to De the best kind of material to be used for the construction of a road. l would be the material and construction to be thereafter adopted by the board ofsrevenue for the future road develop ment. Notwithstanding the cost of these various projects or pieces of road the board of revenue had paid no at- tention whatever to the promises they had made that the road and construc- tion of the material holding up best would be the material adopted for the building of future road projects; that that part of the road on which was placed the cheapest material and cost less in construction is that part of the | road which has held up best and has proved obe the material that should be adopted for the future projects and proposed construction was absolutely ignored, and that the contracts have been let for the construction and ma terial that proved to be inferior and does not hold up in these experiments. It is clearly apparent to any ordinary observer that there has been too much experimentation done. in the way of building roads in this county. and has, to our minds, demonstrated absolutely and unequivocally that the engineer in charge of the road construction in this couty and the board of revenue are in- efficient and are willing and anxious l d tr ho oF