DODDRIDGE COUNTY’S
DAYS OF DISCONTENT, 100 YRS. AGO
PART TWO
Last week, I laid out a small part of the petition to remove the thirty-two (32) year-old commissioner, Joseph J Graham, in 1920. We found that Absalom C Stickel of Greenbrier, Eli Nutter of West Union and former sheriff of Doddridge County, Doc C Snider of Grove District, Henry Ash who was proprietor of the Columbian Hotel, A W Robinson, of New Milton District, and G B Vanscoy of West Union were the petitioners. The first grievance (the one we covered last week) was the waste of public funds.
This week, we shall discover the second grievance: that funds were raised in the community for the purpose of paving several sections of roads that were still dirt or gravel in 1917 and the funds were used improperly. The roads tapped to be paved were:
1. The Northwestern Turnpike from the east line of Central District to the western line of the town of West Union, 2.21 miles.
2. The Northwestern Turnpike from the end of the pavement, east of the town of West Union, running east to the west line of Grant District, 6.05 miles.
3. What is known as the Rock Run Road,1.86 miles
4. The road leading to Piggin Run from the end of the new wagon the bridge across Middle Island Creek, near the Christian Church to the foot of the hill beyond the residence of L.C. Shannon, .8 miles.
5. The road running down Middle Island Creek from the end of said bridge to the Tyler County line, 7.56 miles.
6. The road running from the end of said bridge westerly past the residence of the late N.E. Duckworth, Joseph Freeman, and H. C. Foley, 700 ft.
7. What is known as the Bluestone road to the foot of the hill in front of the Lewis Maxwell residence, 1 ½ miles.
8. That part of the road in Fairview Addition to Smithton between the two bridges across Meathouse Fork, 1,580 ft.
The County Court granted the prayer by an order that was recorded on January 20, 1916 in Commissioner’s Report No. 8 at page 70 which ordered an election to be held to vote on the issuance of road bonds in the amount of $200,000.
An advisory committee was created to oversee the project. John J. Foley, J. M. Martin, J. E. Trainer, W. J. Trough, W. F. Smith, B. H. Maulsby, and I. L. Ford were named and accepted to sit on the committee. Horner Brothers was the agreed upon engineers to supervise the letting of contracts and the construction of the roads named above. Cisler and Morse of Marietta, OH was contracted to supervise and control the work. This was agreed upon by the other commissioners and the advisory committee as well, according to Commissioner Graham.
The petitioners claimed that the work project was not completed and that much of the work that was completed was substandard and that 85% of the blocks used were already broken.
Commissioner Graham responded that the statement was a gross exaggeration and not true. He further claimed that while some injuries had resulted to said road, the fact was not disclosed until six months after the road had been accepted by the engineers and the advisory committee and payments were made in accordance with the provisions of the contract of which Commissioner Graham had no part. Commissioner Graham stated that the damage caused by the new work done to the roads were the result of poor workmanship and not defective or substandard material. He continued by saying that the County Court did not obtain labor to keep the said roads properly drained and in repair. It was because of this that drainage water penetrated into the roads causing heavy freezing of that water to damage the concrete work and pavement. He said that no such damage would have occurred if the roads had been properly drained.
The next complaint was that the work was not completed. To this, Commissioner Graham stated that the reason the work project was not completed was not the fault of Cisler and Morse. But rather, it was due to the United States entering into WW1 against Germany in the spring of 1917. After which time, he said the U. S. Congress enacted a ruling which took control of various railroad including the B & O which traversed through Doddridge County as well as most construction material. This made it impossible for Cisler and Morse to complete the work through no fault of their own. The fact the U.S. Government drafted every able-bodied you man into the military made it impossible for Cisler and Morse to obtain manpower to do the work should they have been able to procure the material (which they could not), and forced Cisler and Morse to cease the work.
Commissioner Graham went on to say that due to conditions prevailing on and about October 1918, it wasn’t possible to secure contracts from any reputable contractors to continue the work contracted, or any other work. He said that all railroad shipments of material were embargoed. If material could be procured at all, it would be in small quantities and at irregular intervals. That labor was not available at any reasonable or fair price and the labor situation so uncertain that reputable contractors would not enter into undertakings of any magnitude. That it was not possible to foretell when the World War would end, or when conditions would change.
In view of the fact that Cisler and Morse had available a large amount of equipment which was idle, the Doddridge County Court, at the suggestion of and with the advice of the advisory committee, under whose supervision the proceeds of the bonds were being expended, made and entered into the contract of October 4, 1918, in order to advance as far as possible the work of grading the road, and at the same time to determine whether or not it was feasible to carry out the work on what was generally known as a cost-plus contract or undertaking. That the work itself under the contract was intended to be and was, in fact, largely an experiment. The Doddridge County Court knowing that contracts could not then be awarded, and the fact that they did not foresee when conditions would change, believed that good, sound judgment would justify the experiment of trying to do the work by forced contract on a cost-plus basis. They believed that while certain work was done under the contract of October 4, 1918 and payments which amounted to $3,837.63 were actually made, there were included in the item considerable sums which were expended in the purchase of sand, gravel, and tile for drainage purposes which were used in the construction of the Bluestone and Rock Run roads, and made in the public’s best interest which did result advantageously to the public.
The fact was that the materials purchased for the road work had greatly increased in cost subsequent to the date that the purchases were made, and the cost for those same materials in 1920. The increase could have increased as much as 100% more than the cost at the time of the purchase. Commissioner Graham reminded the others that at the time of the signing of the October 4, 1918 contract, all the members agreed. Even though it was stated that F. Greathouse dissented from making the contract and cast his vote against it. Graham said, the fact was that there was not one dissenting vote.
Six months after the last work was done on the said roads and before any damage was done to the newly completed roads, Cisler and Morse
expressed to both the County Court and the Advisory Committee that they were compelled to pay large fees to continue the bond for fifty thousand dollars which had been executed by a surety company and that in view of the indefinite period during which the work might be suspended, they felt that they ought to be relieved from that annual charge and permitted to give personal bond sufficient to cover the small amount of work yet to be completed. Understanding that the work would be completed as soon as conditions were such as it was possible. He wanted it understood that Cisler and Morse was not relieved from completing the work for which they were contracted.
After consulting the members of the advisory committee, the Court permitted Cisler and Morse to substitute a bond for twenty thousand dollars, which relieved the contractors from the payment of the annual premium of four hundred dollars for carrying the bond in the penalty of fifty thousand dollars.
Commissioner Graham had a serious problem and must have been concerned about the outcome of what he was facing. Indeed, it was looking worse by the day.
Was he going to be found innocent? Was he going to found guilty and impeached?
Next week, Commissioner Graham will face even more allegations. Stay tuned.
God Bless and Stay Well
Patricia Richards Harris
