Milford chronicle., 1939-02-10
RIPPER BILLS

There has been and still continues
to be more or less discussion
throughout the State concerning the
Republican sponsored, so called
Ripper Highway Commission Bill"
which concerns the addition of three
new Highway commissioners to the
present body which will overcome
the present Democratic majority OF
members on the Board. II is being
called cheap politics by Democrats
and it is claimed it will disrupt the
normal orderly form of State gov
ernment. It is also alleged that it
is being programmed by Republi-
cans who are Job hungry" and have
no other ideas behind their support,
except that fact.
Let us look the action straight in
the face and see just what these ac-
cusations presented by the Demo-
Gratis really mean and what other
side of the question presents itself.
If it is true that it is only Repub-
lican politics and the sole object is
the handling of a multitude of jobs
by the Republicans, at least We will
have to cOncede that it is case of
'the pot calling the kettle black "
There never was any force hungrier
for jobs, gotten in any way and by
any method, than the Democratic ad-
ministration in 1887, just after the
1886 election.
Although the law plainly states
that the State Highway Engineer
shall have full power to hire en-
ployees for the Department and to
discharge them when he so decides.
the Democrat controlled Highway
Commission, Immediately cast the
law out of the window AMI arbitrar-
lily started to remove old and well
trained members of the State High
way force. There was no considera
tion and no consultation with State
Engineer w. w. Mack. At each meet
ing of the Commission. blanket reso-
lutions were passed in which the
men named in the resolutions were
discharged, and the men backed by
politics were named in the same res
olution. Often it was plainly writ
ten on the minutes that "Air.---.
a Republican, be replaced by Mr..
-, Democrat" The firing was
done on a wholesale scale by the
commissioners, in direct violation
of the law and Of their oaths of Of
fee. These who remained from one
meeting to another were in constant
dread Experts after experts, in
their sel leral divisions were quickly
dismissed-One quota of dismissal
succeeding another quota as often
as the Commission met. No one
knew when the axe would fall again.
Some OF the men dismissed were
Democrats who had been chosen by
a Republican administration for
their knowledge and experience, but
that made no difference-their jobs
were wanted by the men who were
attempting to build up personal
Democratic machines.
The right of way men, very I'M
portant in the department, and all
highly trained and experienced were
dismissed in groups, engineers head
ing the division of testing materials.
highly trained assistant road engi-
neers and even men whose expert
of the figures required by
the WPA national engineers, was
recognized and could not be replac-
ed satisfactorily, were quickly dis
charged. Men who had helped write
the laws under which they worked,
men who had instituted certain d.
visions of the work, all were quick
ly discharged to make way for some
one recommended to the Commits
sioners by some county or district
committeeman. Their places were
filled by men who knew nothing
about their duties and it is appar-
ent now. never will know what to do
except draw the salaries, and the
Commission forced on the