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Show UTAH REFUSAL OFF ROW S. L. County Board Renews Old I Engineering Fight The most violent session in the turbulent history of the Salt Lake county commission was touched off Wednesday when commissioners got official offi-cial notice the stale refuses to take over engineering work on county WPA projects. Personsllties snd profanity were Injected Into the meeting, which ended with the situation In status quo the state still refusing to take over WPA engineering work from County Surveyor George M. Haley and Mr. Haley still being minus transportation. The fireworks begsn when the commission received a letter from W. D. Hammond, chairman of the state road commission, asserting the state will not assume engineering engi-neering obligations on two Salt Lake county-sponsored WPA Jobs. Would Relieve Haley The county's request to the state, sponsored by Commissioner J. B. Mullins, chairman of the county board, would have relieved Mr. Haley of the work. In one of Its scrappy sessions, the county board early . In January forced Mr. Haley to surrender his official automobile. Statements flew thick and fast st Wednesday's county board session. ses-sion. Mr. Mullins. after the letter was received, said he had conferred with Mark Gardner, district WPA engineer, and had been Informed that there are 10 projects In the county that can be started If engineering en-gineering work can be done. Mr. Mullins reiterated it was not his intention to "embarrass Mr. Haley," but that he merely wanted to start projects and put men to work. He said he understood a sidewalk side-walk project at Magna would be shut down Wednesday night if stakes were not placed. "I appealed to the state road commission to give us help," he asserted. "The road commission has district dis-trict and resident engineers who are at these Jobs and it would not be hard for them to do the work. It appears the road commission is stretching Its imagination In believing be-lieving I am trying to embarrass Mr. Haley." Commissioner J. R. Rawlins said he appreciated past cooperation of the state, but that "we should do our part." He charged Mr. Haley's budget had been cut from 822,000 lo eia.uuu. i Points to Record "The record will show thst for at least five years, Mr. Haley has done this work to the satisfaction of the county commission, road commission and W P A," Mr. Rawlins Raw-lins said. "I see no reason why we should curtail his work." Mr. Rawlins then moved that Mr. Haley be given back his automobile auto-mobile and be assigned two men from the drsfting department to do the project engineering. Mr. Mullins retorted thst Mr. Haley's personnel had not been cut. Commissioner Roscoe G. Boden said the road commission Is doing locsl engineering work In other counties and that he did not know why it could not so function In Salt Lake county. Mr. Rawlins then demsnded a roll call on his motion. Mr. Mul-liii. Mul-liii. demurred, then asked: "Do I hear a second?" No second to the motion was made and Mr. Rawlins called for County Attorney Harold E. Wallace Wal-lace to rule whether the motion should be put to a vote. Mr. Boden then asked to be excused ex-cused to attend a welfare board meeting. "Sit right there, don't run out," (Continues on Pan Toal (Column Oimi COUNTY BOARD 1 BATTLEFLARES Caaa-4 Tnm ru e replied Mr. Rawlins. 1 have asked for a roll call." Mr. Mulllns declined to call a Vote and ordered the clerk to proceed pro-ceed with commission business. "I want to tell yon X will take you Into court, mister, and aee If you can run this commission arbitrarily," arbi-trarily," Mr. Rawlins told Mr. Mullins. Claims PabUs Sapper The public Is with this commission," commis-sion," Mr. Mullins shot back. "You can walk down a street and hear people say, "What la the matter with that - old Rawlins T'" Mr. Wallace then entered the commission room and said the procedure pro-cedure was peculiar; that In tha past a motion did not need a aecond. Ha advised that the motion be put to a. vote. Mr. Mullins then submitted the motion and It lost, two to one, Mr. Rawlins voting for It. Mr. Boden suggested that' the road commission, W P A officials and count, welfare, board all. be Jnvited to meet on the question and "get It aettled." Mailtos Halts Haley 1 Mr. Haley then entered the meeting meet-ing and began to make a statement, state-ment, when he was Interrupted by Mr; Muinns, who said he did "not want to go Into this." 1 want to be fair," Mr. Haley persisted, "but I am handicapped." Mr. Mullins told Mr. Haley to "write a letter" to the commission. commis-sion. Mr. Haley, after tha meeting, told reporters there was a "mistake" "mis-take" about the threatened Magna project shutdown. He said It waa a matter of right-of-way, not setting out stakes. t He aald ha now has nine men In his department working on W P A project engineering, and that he had 12 last year and 14 In 1938. CUea Apparent OonfUot The letter from Mr. Hammond aid tha request for the state to take over engineering on W P A projects "appear to conflict with the agreement between our com-mtslsons com-mtslsons (concerning engineering work for W P A work on state highways) and also our established procedure In prosecuting these types of projects." j "Our mutual agreement provides that the state will furnish only cement, form lumber, joint filler and other purchasable construction construc-tion materials, together with the furnishing of construction Inspection Inspec-tion services necessary to safeguard safe-guard the atate'i Interest In the work," the letter said. "It waa further mutually agreed that the county would furnish all necessary labor, which we understand under-stand was to be W P A labor; and and gravel, grading and other work of manual nature, together with the necessary preliminary and construction engineering." CHURCH WAITS S. L. CONCLAVE Vanguard of more than 500 Methodists who will attend an all-day all-day advance of the church In Salt Lake City Thursday was arriving Wednesday to prepare for the conference. con-ference. Salt Lake City Is one of 83 major cities throughout the nation where the mass meetings are being held, according to the Rev. W. E. Black- stock, district superintendent of the Utah Methodist mission. The meetings will be conducted at the First Methodist church. Second East and Second South streets. Leaders of tha church held an advance in Boise, Idaho, Wednesday, Wednes-day, snd will arrive in Salt Lake City Thursday In time for the opening session at 10:30 a. m. Among the visitors will be Bishop Wilbur E. Hammaker of Denver; Bishop A. Frank Smith, Houston, Texas; Bishop Charlea C Selec-man, Selec-man, Oklahoma City; Bishop Adna Wright Leonard, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Dr. Corliss P. Hargreavea, Chicago, Chi-cago, world service publicity officer, offi-cer, and Dr. Elmer T. Clark, one of the promotional directors of the advance. Following the 10:30 devotional meeting, a luncheon will be held at 12:15 p. m. for laymen. A women's meeting will be held at 2 p. m., followed by a men's forum. fo-rum. Consecration service will begin at 3:15 p. m. and a youth rally at 7:30 p. m. |