The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1920-12-11
Claims Made by Mr.. Stillwell
That He Had Saved Money
For City and Instituted
improvements Flatly Con-
tradicted
REAL FACTS ABOUT DIS
MISSAL OF CITY MANAGER
Mayor Jennings Gives Details
Respecting Purchase of Auto
mobiles by Him at Request of
City Council for Use Of City
Employees
Editor The Daily Item.

IOur issue or December Srd con-
tains a communication from Mr.. How
ard Stillwell which desire 70 reply
20, as there is hardly word OF truth
n the entire communication.
He stated he saved approximately
$500 by purchasing the water meter
o put at tho water plant This wa
.er meter was purchased not as u
suggestion originating with Mr., Still-
we'll, but the idea originated with Mr..
W. w. A1cKagen. Whether anything
has been saved by the purchase Of
this meter We do not know, because
there has been absolutely no report
since the meter was put in. and when
he says there has been Approximately
$500 saved II is onlvin his inlagina-
ton, as he had nothing to base his
statement on. d
He also states there was approxi-
mately $4,000 saved in buying now
pump instead of q boiler as had been
proposed. Council had never propos-
ed to buy another boiler, but at one
Of it's meetings Mr.. Stiilwcll insisted
that council should buy another boil
er for the pumping station. but he
was told that we did not believe we
needed another boiler but we should
have another electric pump How
ever, he was SO insistent on the neces-
sity of buying a new boiler that coun-
Gil told him to get prices on boilers
and we would then let him know
whether we would buy one. Subse-
esquently he came back before co,n-
Gil and stated he had completely re-
versed himself on the boiler propo-
iition. ard what the city needed was
another electric pump, which we au-
thorized him to buy. Yet lieii claims
he saved the city approximately s4,-
oSU, because he says he prevented the
purchase Of a boiler and in lieu there
Of purchased an electric pump
l do not know what his training in
engineering was, but ,one thing do
know and that is he is the most un-
mitigated falsifier lever had anything
to do with. His training must have
been along this line; IL not, he has ao-
CURED the art by perpetual practice.
He clnims he saved In the consump-
ton of coal by putting a new smoke
stack at the pumping station This
was no idea of his. The old smoke
stack had worn out and he was in
structed to buy and put up new
one
He also claims saving of approxi-
mately $500 in the purchase OF cast
ron pipe. DO not know what he
bases this on as council had not bar
gained to purchase pipe from any
party, but the city needed pipe and
we instructed Mr. Stillwell to get
prices. and when he did, we ordered
him to purchase ,at the cheapest price
which he had obtained.
His statement that sold the city
an automobile is absolutely false. ,and
at the time he made the statement he
knew 1t was false. Under instructions
from city council ] had been trying
for some time to get two Ford tour
Ing cars, one for the police depart
ment and one for the bity manager.
We had been unable to get them from
the local dealer, or. any promise as to
when we conid get thcms 4 then tried
a dealer in I,ishopyiIle and one In CO.
l,lmbiaaand could not geta Ford from
either. We then tried to- see if we
could get another kind OF car locally,
and instructed the City manager co
get prices, and also prices on trucks
He got the prices on the trucks and
cars. and council decided we would
buy two Indiana trucks, and a REQ
truck, and an Overland car for the
city manager, hut at the meeting in
which we decided to do this it was
lsnggested that I take up the purchase
or thefe trucks and car and see il !
ef. o.. 49, 4 H..
price which had been made to the
city manager. This I did and got a
reduction Of 1920 on the Indiana
trucks. When went tc see the East
ern Carolina Motor Co., about the
Overland car offered them $1,000
for the car, which they had priced to
the city manager for $i0S5 The
party to whom / made the offer said
Mr.. Shaw was out and when he came
In he would submit to him the offer
and let me know that day or the next
However, he did not do so, and a few
DAYS after that I went to Richmond
and round could get the cars, and ]
| bought two for the city, one for my
own use and ten to resell. / could
not get any from regular Ford
dealer, but had to buy them from
what they call a 'scalrer,' and had
to pay about 500 more than the reg
nlar price on Fords from Ford
dealer. i purchased these two cars
for the city, but when / returned Il
sumter 1 was Informed the Shaw Mo.
tor Co. could let the city have one ca,
at the regular price as they had got,
ten IN a carload. I called, the Shaw
Motor Co. and tried TO get them tt
let the CITY have two Fords, but tho,
said they could not do so, but woult
let the city have one. So took ons
for the city. and LEI the city have ono
l bought for the city in Richmond
and | kept the other. The city paif
for the car the exact amount at which
it was bought by me. i kept thf
other care and have sold all of then
pnt two. aud al Hrre sold az a prof