The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1921-04-07
Cav Taxpayers Money has Been
Wasted by Careless and
Slipshod Methods
CLAIM PAY ROLLS PADDED
,,,estigators Recommend Immediate
Discharge of Engineer Web
meier and Barney Folk

The Benton County grand jury,
vhich was called three weeks ago to
;rvestigate the records of the county
commissioners and other county en-
,loves, and to which was referred all
criminal cases now pending, complet-
a It's labors and handed it's report to
superior Judge Truax yesterday af-
ternoon. ~.
True bills were returned against
y E. Toothaker, of Hover, for pol
luting the cistern of C. C. Cantwell,
and Wilbur Adkins, of Richland, for
tsking a mortgaged automobile out
Of the state. Mr.. Toothaker and his
wife were already under bonds on the
same charge having recently waived
preliminary hearing, and it is under
stood settlement of the Adkins case
had been reached the day before the
jury reported.
While the Investigators do not find
that the offenses Of the county of
ficers are such as warrant the re-
turning of true bills they hand out
a scathing Indictment of the county
commissioners whom they charge
with gross Encouragement, ineffi-
cient methods and slipshod and waste
full practices. They make no recon-
mendations as to what measure of
punishment, if any, should be meted
out to the offenders but do make de-
tailed recommendations of methods to
be adopted to the end that the abuses
complained of may be corrected and
the affairs of county handled in a
more businesslike manner.
They specifically recommend the
immediate discharge of County High
way Engineer w. H. Wehmeier and
restoring supervision of the road
building program to the county en-
gineer. The immediate discharge of
Barney Folk, as road foreman in Dis
trlct No. l, is ordered with the furth-
er recommendation that he be never
again employed by the county in any
capacity.
That there was evidently a differ
ence Of opinion as to what should be
done to the commissioners is indicated
Ta paragraph of the report which
says.
That since your jury has been
aaaole to agree upon any recommen-
cations relative to the continuance in
onice Of the present incumbents of
ae county commissioners offices of
benton County, it therefore passes the
natter up to the voters of the county
~take such action in the premises as
may to them seem proper under the
ercumstances." III .
most Of the jury's charges of irreg-
uarties are in connection with the
purchase of road building machinery,
ue purchase and upkeep of county
'somobiles, and the road building pay
.0ls. The report covers 81 typewrit-
ea pages and contains tables of ex-
penditures to prove charges of irreg-
ular and wasteful methods.
copy of the report did not reach
N Courier-Reporter until noon today
saa 1t is impossible to publish it in
iuil until next week. In part the re-
port says: .2ta-
County Commissioners
Inc County Commissioners offices,
aaring the last seven years, has been
StHsdueted in a very loose and inef-
an ent manner, lacking in system of
day dy sort, devoid of any intelligent or
@ Oh conduct along business lines,
sessary to carry on adequately and
TSISecessfully TS the affairs of any county
;nte ae more thoroughly we have looked
b,o ba' It's various activities, the more
%se t;a" we realized that such condi-
tLa vn existed and the more deplorable
ent I situation appears. No business
Inv. ;.prise aside from one with un-
baan. b.ed taxing powers, could have
f;c;a fSa managed with such gross inef-
mosty cy and remain solvent; the
JMs. se simple rules of business con-
tima nave been repeatedly violated;
wban ana again have they spent money
draSa dnen the funds upon which they
hav" Were already depleted; they
tnr;s PAID no attention to debts ma.
entarggs g at future times; they have
in, leu INTO verbal contracts involv-
many thousands of dollars with.