Omaha daily bee., 1922-03-02
Road Cost
Comparison
Impossible
State Highways More Subslan.
tally Built and Grades Cut
Deeper Than County,
Witnesses Testify.
Details Are Investigated

Lincoln. March l.-(Speeial Tele.
gram. Failure TO get relative costs
OF state aud county road work
marked the second day OF the road
probe here.
Even Richardson county officials
and residents appearing before the
board with avowed intention OF dis
credi,ing state roads admitted a
comparison OF state and county road
costs would be unfair as the grades
were cut down more IN the state
roads. the state roads were more
substantial for heavy traffic and
more work had been put in on them.
A probe into SIS expense account
OF Frank Stewart. a state engineer,
occupied considerable time. Testi-
mony was offered TO the effect that
Carl Shildneck, Richardson county
official. had driven Stewart over the
county for three days and at the end
OF three days Stewart had him sign
blank receipt.
The testimony indicated that sew
eral months later Stewart sent Shld-
neck a check for S, in full payment
for his work. while records show
the blank receipt had been made out
for SIS and Steward had collected
that much. Stewart said he paid for
gasoline, oil and other expenses OF
the trip, which, he believed, made up
the other sic.
Protest Contract Change.
Richardson county officials COM
planned because Johnson and the
county board had made contract
for a road project with one contract
or and without consulting the board,
Johnson gave it to another.
Johnson presented figures to show
that the second contractor received
exactly the same amount OF money
as the first and the reason for the
change was the fact that the first
contractor had failed to begin work
on the project at the time indicated
in the contract.
The reason no one was consulted
was that things became so deplorable
that the only way ! could get action
was to act on my own initiative"
Johnson said.
Continuing, Johnson presented
of the Richardson county
commissioners meeting 20 show that
they had passed favorably on every
other state road project put through
in that county.
Explains Machinery Cost.
]. F. Relf. county engineer, an ap-i /
pointive officer, WHO, acloi ding to
Johnson, resigned as county sur
veyor, an elective Office, after his
books had been examined by the
state engineers department, declared
that government trucks and other
machinery was furnished
to Kansas counties much cheaper
than 70 Nebraska counties.
"The Kansas machinery is shipped
to Kansas counties direct" Johnson
said, "and much OF it has never or
will never be used. The government
is shipped to the state in
Nebraska and we repair and send it
to the counties in a workable condi-
ton. We sell it at cost and have
never made a cent from it,"
E. X. Hurst and R. B. Thomas,
contractors, were called to the stand
by Johnson and refuted statements
charged to them by Richardson
county residents that the bridge
over the Nemaha river had not been
properly built.
Lewis c. Westwood, county at
torney of Johnson county, objected
to the cost of road project in that
county in which he said Johnson
had offered to handle excavation
for 50 cents yard and which was
costing II cents yard
Differences in Cost.
"At the time the excavation bids
were opened the lowest bidder Of
fered to do the work for 65 cents
cubic yard Westwood said, "and
Johnson said the state could do it
for 50 cents. Instead it is costing
II cents.
"The total cost OF the job will
be $113,150.48, while under the So
cent excavation contract, if carried
out, would be S88, $3.50. 1t means
that under government rules, which
pay on contract prices, that approxi-
mately $4,000 of our federal aid
will be taken off some other job
to make up for the excessive cos.
OF the job.
"Mind you, we believe the state
is doing everything possible to build
roads economically. and we would
not say for a minute that the coun-
ty could have built the same road
for less money. Only we feel that the
state should lose on its contract and
we shouldn't"
johnson replied that the Johnson
county project was one of the first
Turn to Page Two, Column Three.)