The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-12-24


 The public will remember that
 this is the time when Wallace Caldwell started his attack on me,
 using w. B. Cloe as his mouth
 piece. The public will further re-
 member that Cloe gave his reason
 for wanting to have me discharged
 was because I would not approve
 CaldwelIs bills against the
 county"
 Charges by s. k. Batson, former county highway engineer, that no action was ever taken by the board of revenue formally awarding the contract for construction of the North Bessemer road from Besse- mer to Fairfield, and that his recom- mendations that the work be award ed to Dunn Construction company as the lowest bidder in April, 1920, were merely filed, were branded yesterday by members of the board as erroneous.
 According to Thomas F. Huey member of the board of revenue and who was a member of the board April 2S, 1920. when the contract is said to have been awarded, he remembers that the contract was awarded in accordance with the reCommenda tions of the then engineer to Dunn X Go. The same recollection is had by w. B. Cloe. commissioner oe public safety. who was member of the board of revenue at that time.
 Both of these members voted against awarding of the contract be- cause they were opposed, it is stated, to letting contracts for road work until the bonds to cover the most of the work were actually sold HueY says the award was made by 3 to ? vote, Jerry Gwin. J. B. Vines and Rufe Bivens voting to award the contract and he and Cloe voting against 1t. Rufe Bivens stated last night that his recollection of the pro- ceedings is the same.
 No Record shown
 Examination of minute records of the board of revenue yesterday for the months of April and May, 1920, fail to show any record of the con- tract to Dunn for construction of the north Bessemer road having been let. The minute entries of the board show that March 26. 1920, the board ot revenue passed a resolution author lzing the county engineer to adver- tise for bids on number of road projects. among which is the north Bessemer road. known officially az project IA. to begin at Dartmouth avenue and Thirty third street in Bessemer via the courthouse, Rut- ledge Springs and to Fairfield. an es- timated distance of 12 miles. to be constructed at an estimated cosd of $4S0.0o0
 The minute entries then show that At.riI o2 R tr,t d, highway engineer, recommended % the board that the projects. among which were the north Bessemer road, to be awarded to the lowest bidder as follows: Project IA to the Dunn Construction company on a bid of 5402, 452.33." declared Ito be the low w- est bid. At the same time the engi- neer recommended the awarding ot three other contracts to Dunn ana three to w. N. Bowdry. . No entry appears on the records of the board showing that official action was taken by the board formally award ing these contracts in accordance with the recommendations of the en- gineer.
 Clerical Omission
 Members of the board at that time and D. c. Ball. chairman of the pres ent board who was clerk of the old board in April, 1920, but who was absent in Montgomery on business on April 2S, however, declare that the contract was formally awarded and that failure of the minute entries to show this action is due to a clerical omission of the assistant clerk of the board at that time who was present at the meeting.
 Commenting on the matter, Thomas D. Huey states yesterday: The con tract was let in accordance with the recomm of MT. Batson, anl that Is all there Is to it. Failure of the minute entries to show this ac- tion is due to an error and nothing else. My recollection is that this and other contracts were awarded on that date by a 3 to vote of the board members. MT. Cloe and myself voting against 1t because We were opposet. to letting any contracts until money from the sale of county road inn provemeHt bonds was safely in hand to pay for it, but my recollection is that We were outvoted by the threa other members of the board" Ball Absent
 D. c. Ball, president of the present board, who was clerk of the ole ! board said: T was absent on busi- ness April 2s and. of course, do not know just what took place at the board meeting, but the fact that the contract was awarded to Dunn anc company as the lowest bidders has never been questioned and I am sat- isfied that it was awarded as Mir Batson recommended If 1t had not been I would certainly have investi- gated the matter and would not have | signed a contract with Dunn anc 1 company in October for carrying out the work. MT. Dunn made bono shortly after the award, which was l later cancelled by the board. Ht l would certainly have not made any bond if the award had not been made The formal contract with the Dunn | Construction company for work or the Bessemer road was signed Octo- Der 14, 1921. by D. c. Ball, as chair l man of the board of revenue and W R. J. Dunn. as vice president of tho l Dunn Construction company based or the award of the contract made IT 1 April, 1920.
 1 What effect this new tangle in the carrying out of the Dunn contract | will have when the matter Is finally aired in court on injunction proceed.