Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-24

Ine OTder OF the commissioners
suspending Col. Moller read:
Based on evidence submitted to the
subcommittee of the House commit
tee of the District of Columbia inves.
tigating District affairs on the evening
Of February %. 1927, at which the
Commissioners heard l. c. Moller;
traffic engineer of the District of Co.
lumbia, make admissions of practices
by him contrary to public interest. it
Is hereby ordered that said ]. G.. Moller
be suspended forthwith without pay,
pending further action by tine Com
misSioners."
Deny MOller Charge.
Although Col Moller told the Gibson
subcommittee that both Maj. Donovan
and Director Eldridge had knowledge
of his false certification of the electric
traffic equipment purchased from the
Grouse Kinds Co. of Syracuse. N. Y,
both of these officials, it is under
stood, emphatically denied this to the
Commissioners in the presence ofsCol.
Moller today.
In view of these denials the Com
missioners took no action in the case
of Mr.. Eldridge and Maj. Donovan.
The Commissioners went into special
session at $50 O'Clock this morning to
consider what action they should take
in regard to the disclosures which
they frankly admit are of serious
nature. Mr.. Eldridge was the first
one called to appear before them.
Later, Maj Donovan was summoned
M0ller Before Board.
After the Commissioners had dis
cussed the case with these two officials
for more than an hour, they sent for
Col. Moller and advised him of the
action they planned to take. Col
MOller was only before the Commits
sioners for about Is minutes, and when
he left he told newspaper men who
asked him what he proposed to do
that he intended to go to the bank
to cash a check.
Neither Mai. Donovan nor Mr..
Eldridge would make any comment
regarding their connection with the
case. The auditor, however, said that
he proposed to remain silent until he
is called to testify before the Gibson
subcommittee out of courtesy to the
committee and others concerned.
Admissions at Hearing.
The admissions referred to by the
Commissioners in their suspension
order occurred during the hearing last
night, when Col. Moller testified, un-
der oath. that he favored the Grouse
Kinds Co., the successful bidder for
installation of traffic lighting signals
on Sixteenth and other streets; that
he had falsely certified the receipt of
items called for in a contract with
that company when in reality those
items had not been received; that he
gave advance information to that
company concerning the number of
lights probably needed here when
other bidders did not have such in
formation, and that he knew he had
done wrong and would have been in
terrible hole if the Grouse Kinds
Co. of Syracuse, n. Y. had not re-
District so that he might ''cover" in
that shipment articles missing in the
first shipment.
The Commissioners and members of
the subcommittee We're in a protracted
conference before the hearing last
night. AT this conference, held in the
office of Representative Zihlman of
Maryland, chairman of the District
committee, the subcommittee laid the
whole fabric of charges before the
District Commissioners and told them
to take the action they deemed best
fitted in the situation. Their action in
the suspension Of Col. Moller followed
today.
u. s. Operator" Loaned.
While it had been rumored that the
Department of Justice had taken an
active part in this investigation, it
was learned today that the department
as such has not been connected in any
way with it, although an operative of
the department was loaned to the
Bureau of Efficiency, which in the lat
ter part of last year was making a
survey of the traffic directors office.
This Operator" came from the West