Almshouse Report Blames Commissioners for Defective Construction

The committee appointed by the county commissioners to examine the county almshouse has submitted their report. This is the first formal report on this question. Accepting the report of this committee as a fair one, there is no denying the fact that the county commissioners have been guilty of gross negligence. The committee reports that they find an incomplete or unfinished set of plans and a set of specifications that are not as definite as should be. The committee further reports that they find a number of changes and many defects, and that all of the defects could have been remedied by a more efficient superintendent as the work progressed. From the report of the committee it is clear that the work of the architect, who was chosen by the commissioners without competition, has been thoroughly unsatisfactory. It is a question of principle as well as a question of dollars and cents, and by the report of this committee the commissioners stand in a questionable light. Whether the commissioners, their architect, or their superintendent have been guilty of anything more than gross negligence—perhaps a criminal conspiracy to defraud the county—is for the grand jury to determine.