Sewer Graft Scandal Hits Ballard
A contractor linked to Walla Walla infrastructure is accused of corrupting a massive sewer project in Ballard.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Ballard is having some trouble with H. Worley, the contractor, who supervised the development work at the springs and who constructed the tunnel at Hume in Walla Walla. Worley has been employed by the city of Ballard as one of the inspectors of the new sewer system. Mr. Reynolds, an attorney of Ballard, arrived in this city to look up Worley's record. The city of Ballard had let the contract for the construction of a system of sewers at the aggregate cost of $200,000. Worley was appointed one of the inspectors; his appointment was made at the suggestion of the contractors. Investigation revealed that the work was not being done according to specifications. Worley allowed inferior material to be used. We are positive Worley and the contractors are in collusion to defraud the city.
“We are positive Worley and the contractors are in collusion with each other, in order to defraud the city.”
Public infrastructure projects have long been targets for graft, a theme that remains a staple of municipal politics. The 'sewer scandal' serves as an early 20th-century example of the civic friction caused by the opaque relationships between contractors and municipal inspectors.
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