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I I Ten--Mile Job, Started at $90,000, Grew to Nearly Four Times Sum | Extension of a highwav contract . to four times its original estimate without . asking further tenders @fiter the original contract was let was under question before Public Accounts Committe» of the Ontario Legislature yesterday by Opposition Leader George Drew, who also in-- » quired into automobile expenditures in several Government departments, which inquiries will be continued this morning with calling of further departmental officials. The McGuiness--O'Connor contract for a ten--mile stretch of road be-- tween Kingston and Secley's Bay, which Col. Drew said "started out s at $90,000 and wound up at nearly four times that figure" was again under question as to whether it was . o Government policy to extend con-- § tracts without asking further + tenders. | Conditions Unusual. | J. D. Miller, Acting Deputy Minis-- ter of Highways, on the stand for more than two hours, said the con--| «ditions in this contract were un-; usual. Conditions changed after the | work was begun. Col. Drew sought | to show that a better price might| Call More Officials. have been obtained on extension, or | Further information as to the that previous survey should have eonstruction of the road is to be warned the Highways Department sought this morning when three of what was ahead. It was brought | eofficials will be called before the out that whereas the o:'lr,'znml con=| Public Accounts Committee, District tract had called for 16,700 tons of| FEngineer Noonan and Inspectors J. eut stone at $2 a ton, the last certi-- D. Forster and W.--G. Clark of fied amount used had been 62,675 District No. 8, Department of High-- tons, on which basis G. H. Doucett | ways. (Prog. Cons., Lanark) thought a Several Government department be_tter price might I]a\'v bee.n Ob-- _ efficials were questioned as to car tained. Mr. Miller said that in the rentals and methods of using cars past there had been other contracts for Government work, and at Col. comparable in scale which had been Drew's request mileage accounts of extended on agreement _a'nd with= _ about a dozen of the 533 employees | out tender. "Apparenlly it's not @an _ who received them will be presented ; uncommon practice," said Col. Drew. for review as typical cases today. | As to the unexpected situation F. A. McDougall, Deputy Minister met with on the Kingston--Seeley's of Lands and Forests, and H. Cot-- Bay road, which had turned from nam, Provincial auditor, were ques-- a maintenance into a construction _ ;joned as to car usage and procedure job, Col. Drew suggested: "Surely and as to instructions to depart-- engineers can make some allotvwance mepnts for cutting down mileage as for \'ana_ble factors and arrive at a gasoline and tire conservation some estimate." measure.