The Indianapolis times., 1931-02-03
WHY HIGHWAY
FUNDS MELTED
TOLD PRODERS
Black Top Program Is
Cause, Committee Is
Informed by Titus.
U. S. MONEY IS LOST
'BettermentS' Campaign
Drained Golfers, and
Costs Federal Aid.

Costs Federal Aid.
How the "black top interests
doomed state highway 5etterments"
during the fiscal year 1880 until the
commission was broke and borrow
ing money before the summer was
half over, was revealed today by the
senate highway investigation COM
mittee.
Questioning of William G. Titus,
chief engineers of the department,
this morning, brought the first ten
strike scored by committeeman.
Titus confessed that if the COM
nliSSioners hadn't met at the cot
tage of Jess Murden, commissioner,
in the woods near Lake Manitou,
and shifted funds from construction
to "betterments," which meant
more black top pavement, they
could have laid more approved
mileage and collected considerably
more of the $3,5OO,OOO in federal
aid which remained idle at Wash
ington while the commission here
borrowed money and went into debt.
Yearly Increase Shown
The witness dug up the data
showing how the black top program
progressed from year to year. In
1921 when the large mileage first
was turned over for state mainte-
nance "betterments," which is the
name used to designate black top
construction, cost 81 1,8O9, ,501.832.
The record then slumped a bit
and finally scared to its high points
of 1929-1930 under Director John j.
Brown.
Here are the figures as Titus pre-
sented them: 1922, 1924, 4,247.9O; 1923,
1868, ,043.36; 1924, 81 1856, ,729. 40; 1925,
$1,647617.83; 1926, 81, ,6O2, ,012.25; 1927,
$2,586, ,1O388; 1928, $3,499 ,273.11; 1929,
$3,740, ,409.66 and 1880, $3,050, ,980.O9.
Senator G. Oliver Holmes (Rep.,
Lake., who has been listed as g
commission sympathizer on the COM
mittee, brought the matter to light
by his questioning regarding op-
Grafton of the maintenance division
OF the department.
Mileage Was Higher
He brought the admission from
Titus that if less money were spent
on "betterments" (black top) more
would be available for construction
of projects. approved by the federal
government upon which federal aid
could be collected.
This, he admitted had been
brought to the departments at
tention by United States engineers
in 1880 when they were tagging be-
hind in collection of federal funds.
At his first appearance before the
committee Monday night, Titus
agreed with the conclusion that al
though more mileage upon which
federal aid could have been col
lected was laid in 1890, there was
less actual collection of federal aid
funds than any time since 1923.
Weather Was Factor
Today he said the fact that near
ly all federal aid was matched $3.50
in 1929 and that the weather was
unusually good for construction also
had something to do with the fail
ure to collect the funds and the de-
pletion of finances.
These points were emphasized by
Brown and the commissioners when
they borrowed $780, 900 from the
cities, counties and towns fund last
fYf of ~,
creased black top program and the
shifting Of contribution funds to
betterments was not mentioned. To-
days evidence disclosed that this
latter point was the main one cauS-
ing the commission to become in
volved in a maze of extraordinary
financing.
Agreed Not to Collect
How this financing was carried
on also was developed at the hear
ing.
Titus told of borrowing the ST.
100000 on Governor Harry G.. Les
lies advice to the state finance
board and also of how some 100000
of certificates of indebtedness were
given contractors who completed
projects but could not be paid be-
cause the commission was broke.
He also disclosed that on four or
five projects the contractors had
been required to agree not to try
to collect before April of this year.
"All in all, the commission went
about $4,000,000 in the hole without
trying to collect the $3,500,o00 avail
able federal funds" Senator Charles
L. Strey (Rep., Kosciusko and Wa
bash) declared.
Titus Asked to Return
Strey is chairman of the commit
tee which was created by his reso-
luton asking investigation OF fail
ure to collect the federal aid.
Titus was asked to return for
further questioning later today.
Senator Anderson Ketchum
/ (Dem., Bartholomew, Decatur,
Franklin and Union), is chief in
quisitor. Other committeeman .e
Senators Glenn R. Slenker D.,
Carroll, Clinton and White, and
William P. Denningan Dem., Da-
viess and Knox.