The Indianapolis times., 1931-03-02
.PROBERS SLAM
JOHN. BROWN
AS NEGLIGENT
Branded Ignorant of Details
in Methods to Get
U. S. Road Aid.
REPORT GIVEN SENATE
Highway Chief Called as
Witness; Quiz Board
Lists Faults
REPORT GIVEN SENATE

Drastic denunciation of Director
John j. Brown and alleged unbusi-
neSSlike conduct of the present
state highway commission marked
the senate highway investigation
committees report introduced in the
senate today.
The senate by vote Of 26 to 18
suspended the rules to permit in
PRODUCTION of the minority report,
upon urging of Senator Anderson
Ketchum CDem-, Bartholomew, De-
catur, Franklin, Union).
The report bore the signature of
Ketchum, who prepared it, and
Senator Charles L. Strey (Rep., Wa
bast), probe committee chairman.
The two are authors of the senate
bill to abolish the existing highway
commission setup.
Three Fail to Sign
The three members of the senate
highway investigating commission
who did not sign the report, but
who expect to submit majority re-
port of their own, are Senators c..
Oliver Holmes Rep., Lake., Glenn
r. Slenker (Rep., Carroll, Clinton,
White) and William P. Dennigan
]. (Dem., DavieSs, Knox.
The senate recessed before the
minority report could be read.
Findings Of the committee were as
follows:
1. That Director John j. Brown
has no knowledge of the details of
how federal aid is handled.
2. That i'll will between the Indi-
ana state highway department and
the federal bureau of roads was
brought about by the state extend
ing construction contracts without
proper advertisement and letting of
bids.
3. That, despite pleas to the con-
trary, no ALLEGATION of federal aid
has been made for the Evansville
bridge.
Work Done Illegally
4. That this is the only depart
ment that put the state in debt by
exceeding its budget, borrowing
money issuing certificates of in
debtedness and letting contracts
with promise of future payments,
despite the fact that it has more
money to spend than all other de-
partmentS Of state government COM
bined.
5. That construction work con-
tlnues to- be done under the term
"betterments" by the maintenance
division, contrary to an opinion of
the encouragement declaring it
illegal.
6. That the maintenance division
construction program failed to COL
lect $250,000 in federal aid that
could have been obtained in 1880.
z. That $2,247,OOO was spent for
bridges in 1880 with no attempt
made to collect federal aid.
8. That the purpose of the state
highway departments creation was
the collection of federal aid and
that in 1880, with more state reve-
nueS than any year in the depart
ment'S history, less federal aid was
collected than any time since 1928.
Branded as Paper Plans
9. That the department made no
effort in 1880 to cooperate with
congress in securing additional fed
eral aid for drought and unemploy-
ment relief and failed to collect
S6,354,000 in normal and special
federal aid allotments.
10. That the setup of the depart
ment whereby it claims that all
federal aid balances will be ex-
hausted in 1881 are largely paper
plans and that actual contracts to
absorb federal aid amount to but
81 ,462 900 at this time.
In commenting upon the latter
point the report set out:
amy reference made to amounts
on which they testify they intend
to obligate and place under con-
tract in the future, can not at this
time be construed as binding upon
the commission, especially since in
the early part of 1890, similar
condition prevailed and was i'm
mediately abandoned.
Road Patronage Is Issue
From their own statements the
state highway commission has either
blindly entered into a program for
the year 1881, which is impossible
of completion, and which will bring
financial difficulty of much greater
magnitude and far-reaching effect
than the difficulty of 1880, or that
they have deliberately and sys-
tematically set about to deceive the
public, the legislature, and if pos
sible, the members of the investi-
eating committee, as to what their
actual program will be-"
Following this charge the report
warns members of the senate not
to be surprised if the department
fails to deliver "roadS and improve
mentS which have from time tc
time been suggested to them as in
cluded in this years program"
Senator Strey, chairman of the
committee, has charged openly that
road patronage is being used as q
commission defense.
Motorists and members of the
general assembly should be resent
ful of the mismanagement of funds
IN 1880, the report declares.
"Our conclusion is that the high
way commission is guilty of one
of three things, either lack OF
ability and comprehension of the
job which confrontS them, gros;
negligence, or that they had un-
consciously proceeded into finan-
cial difficulty from which they were
unable to intelligently construct ar