Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-27


Col. Moller had Ia ken all correspond
ence relating to the traffic lights eX-
! hanged between the traffic office and
, the Grouse Kinds Co. 10 his home.
/ Not until the Bureau of Efficiency
| representative asked for this CORE
| spondence recently and / was unable
to find It," he replied.
! Seller said his suspicious were then
aroused.
| Asked what he knew about Moller' s
activities. Seller answered that the
| traffic engineer always kept him sin
the dark ON all matters. Represents
tive Houston then urged him TO ex-
plain the meaning of his expression
in the dark" Seller replied that he
meant in the purchase Of traffic equip
ment.
Seller related the results Of two re
cent inventories he made of the traffic
equipment in storage aud q check he
made of the number of automatic sig
nails In operation. upon orders Of MIR.
Eldridge. The first check, he said,
was about six weeks ago, when he
found lis signals installed and oper-
ating on Massachusetts avenue be-
tween Twelfth and Eighteenth streets
and on Sixteenth street between /
street and Florida avenue and Euclid
and Newton streets. Subsequently, he
explained, IS additional lights were in
stalled on Massachusetts avenue be-
tween Twelfth and Seventh streets
and on Rhode Island avenue between
Fourteenth and Seventeenth streets.
After these installations, he said,
there were 3o signals left in storage.
Figures Show Discrepancy.
Sellers figures. however. showed
discrepancy in the number OF signals
reported shipped by the Grouse Kinds
Co.. which was emphasized by Mr. Glib
son. According to Sellers calcula
tions, there were acquisitions for
total of 173 lights and 1888 have been
delivered. Mr.. Gibson said previous
testimony showed that Moller had or.
dered 232 signals.
How do you account for that?" he
investigate further.
Mr.. Gibson promised to have a rep
resentative of the Bureau of Standards
assist him.
The examina ton of Electrical En-
gineer Hadley was proceeding slowly,
with the discussion of technicalities re-
garding the furnishing OF cable for
the lights, when the suggestion in
volving an irregularity in his Office
broke.
MIR. Hadley was asked If he had
supervised the installation of the traf-
f1c signals and whether he had certi-
fed to the payment of a bill from
the Potomac Electric Power Co. which
did the work. amounting to $16.s15sS.
He replied that he had not. Mr.. Glib
son then produced an order of the
District Commissioners under date of
September II, 1925, which specifically
charged him with both of these duties.
THAT takes me by surprise re-
sponded Hadley after Mr.. Gibson had
reading the order.
II don't think I knew of it before"
Pressed BY Gibson.
Hadley's attention was then called
to the fact that a copy of the order |
had been annotated in the left.hand |
corner with the legend that it had
been furnished the electrical engineer
and others. He continued, however,
to insist that he had not certified to
any bills under this order.
How could the Potomac Electric
Power Co. get it's pay for this work
without compliance with this order?"
Mr.. Gibson. Hadley did
not answer. !
A copy of the voucher Of the power
in connection with its work
was next shown Hadley. after which
he stated he did certify the voucher
as to the correct rate for services rem
dered. His attention was then invited
to the fact that the order Of the Com
stipulated that he should
supervise the installation of the traffic
signals, and he was asked whether he
had done so.
No" he said. II did not do so in
any fair sense. I think I did certify
the blu as to the rates charged in 1t. /