Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-14
ROAD DEBT BLAMED
ON-BAD ACCOUNTING
Montgomery'S Request for
Audit to Be Put Up to
State Commission.
Nv a stan Correspondent of The Star.

BY STAFF Correspondent Of The Star.
BALTIMORE, Md, May IA. &C.
Clinton UhI, chairman CT the Mary
land State Roads Commission, said to-
day that Montgomery County's delay is
settling bills for road construction dat
ing as far back as 1925 was due en-
tirely to the muddled condition of the
accounts left by the State Roads Com
mission which went out of office Janu-
airy Is, 1929.
He refused to say whether the re-
quest of the Montgomery County Board
of Commissioners to be allowed 10
audit the accounts between the county
and the State would he granted. The
State Roads Commission will have to
confer with the commissions auditor,
William A. Codd, before reaching de-
cision in this matter, he declared. 1t
was learned, however. that the commits
sion appeared favorably inclined to the
request at the meeting Tuesday when it
received a check for 278,623 AZ drawn
on the treasurer of Montgomery Coun-
ty, which closed out the county's debt
to the roads commission.
This Years Fund Taken.
The total amount owing the COM
mission by Montgomery County was
$50, 62342. but the roads body agreed
to credit the county with $232,000 the
amount of State funds allocated to
the county for 1881.
Because Montgomery will not receive
this State allotment of funds this year,
it will be forced to curtail to some
degree its road construction program
for 1881, Lacy Shaw, president OF the
Board of Montgomery County Com
missioners, said today. He pointed out,
however, that the recent Legislature
authorized a 100000 road bond issue
for 1881 and this is free to be applied
to road building.
He said the commissioners are unable
to say at this time what roads will not
be built because of the curtailment of
available funds, since they had not de-
cided definitely just what roads would
have been built IL the State road allot-
ment had been available.
Cites 100000 Error.
In support Of his contention that
Montgomery County should be allowed
to audit its account with the State
Roads Commission, Mr. Shaw cited
what he said was a 100000 error ii
the bill first submitted to the county
January. 1881, for construction over
ages occurring on construction from
1925 through 1928.
The first bill covering the 1925-28
period, he said, was approximately
$4,000. A comparison between State
Roads Commission accounts and county
records resulted in the roads body re-
ducing its bill to $275,642,72 for 1926
1928 period.
In the letter to the Roads Commission
in which he requested to be allowed to
audit the commissions accounts, Mr..
Shaw said:
I'VE make this request as we are set
Ting this account from figures finally
submitted by your auditor, as verified
by our general correspondence with
your commission. When this account
was first submitted to the clerk to our
board during the early part of 1881,
the amount due by us was submitted
as considerably more than 100000.
Your auditor in checking with our books
corrected his figures to reduce the
amount due the State Roads Commits
sion to the $510,623.42 total amount
due, set forth In your letter of February
~. 1881.
Covers Six-Year Period.
I'VE consequently would not make
settlement with any other than a State
agency on the basis Of this account
without complete ttemized verihcation,
but having implicit faith that your
commission will treat Montgomery
County fairly in connection with this
with the privilege of subsequent veri-
fication Of all the items included in
the account, which you will note COW
ers siX-year period, and which period
included expenditures by your commits
sion of over 100000 of Montgomery
County funds for construction of State
roads In Montgomery County"
Mr.. Shaw said the cash used to pay
the debt to the commission was from
1929 road construction bond issues.
The county commissioners knew the
county owed $225,00 on road con-
struction during 1929 and $4,000 due
from previous years, he declared, and
this amount was reserved from the 1929
funds
Payment of Montgomery County's
debt following communication between
Howard Bruce of the retiring State
Roads Commission and Gov. Albert C.
Ritchie, and between Gov. Richie and
Maj. E. Brooke Lee. newly appointed
member Of the commission and political
leader in Montgomery.
Governor At Hot Springs.
At Hot Springs, Va, where he is va
cattoning, Gov. Richie said last night
that he had not played bill collector for
the State Roads Commission, but merely
had telephoned Maj. Lee Sunday to hear
Montgomery County's side Of the case.
Naturally was interested when Mr.
Bruce told me a county owed the State
something like $500, 300 and called
Mai Lee" the Governor declared. He
told me the Board of County Commits
sioners was going to pay up en- Tues
day, SO let it go at that and came on
down here.
Il talked with Maj. Lee by telephone
again today and he told me all the de-
tails. had not known anything about
the matter when 1 appointed Maj Lee
to the Roads Commission recently, but
I would have appointed him anyway"
"Only one county owes the State
Roads Commission for road work done
for it." according to William A. Codd,
auditor Ct the commission. That is
Kent County. which, as OF March 81.
-,,.,,,z,-rr----