New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-06-24
HOW TO MAKE A CONTRACT.

81 ue friends from dis hbce, Ia tue state ITisoa
at Sing Sing. Observing that macy OF the prison
ers seemed ont of employ ment, be inquired rs 10
the cause and Learned. tn his surprise, tha' about
four hundred of the conyicts hsd been idle Tor
nearly year Four bubdred men supported IN
idleness by the State, whep By being pat 70 pr
ductise labor they might be m ode to suPpoft Them
selves, and, perhaps, to yield revenue; iour
hundred couvicts reduced almost to solitary con
fioemeut, when they might be subjected ." tae
umelorstipg Influence Of something like chrefiui
industry. seemed to Mr.. Hall two facts worthy ot
further consideration. After due inquiry aud OK
animation. ia the courses Of the Summer, he salts
fled himself that his bouse could employ tao
hundred of these men in the manufacture OF cosrse
boots and shoes. He proposed to make a contract
f,t such Il purpose, bus was told that none could
be- entered into until public notice was gwen oy
advertisement that this labor was open I" Puohc
competition. In September such al Advertisement
appeared, but only in such Journals as would Geo
tsinly present lie having any large publicity Mr'
Hall found il 10 B1ookly paper of small circua-
ton. In accordance with this notice. the Prison
Inspectors met at Sing Sing on the 18Th OF Decem'
Der last, 10 receive the BIDS
When the proposals we're ope ned, the highest bid
was found to be hat Of L. d. and Disso" o'
this city. They offered TO make contract for the
labor Of two HUNDRED meu for five years, paving
tw-pr, i've cents per day for each man for - first
AK months AMI forty five cents aud slx-tensAs Of
cent per d,y for the remaoiog four years aad SIX
months A contractor, Who WAS present when the
proposals were received offered the Nessrs Bug
elow $3.50 If they would withdraw this Did, but
they reiused. The Inspectors, however, TIRE" II
cut on tho ground of ihformality. alleging that 1t
was. in effect Two bids, rs 1t proposed Ia Tact To
mike two coutracts-obe for six months. AMI one
for four Years aud six months. Two or three other
bids were rejected, on the ground OF insufficient
security.
Messrs Benedict, Hall and Co offered togive forty
cents per Day for the labor of the two hundred men
for FIVE years beginning on the ensuing January. Ii
had been Infatuated to Mr Hall, by Prison official,
that a few hundred dollars, properly expended,
might influence the award, but the iutimstOn Was
disre parded Their bid, ais, WAS r:l-cted-it ap-
peanpg that a Mr III Ii Gilbert made higher
offer HIS bid Sss forty five cents aud five eighths
Of u cent per dag for The hee years. which, being
the highest after the bid Of the Messrs. Blgelow
was thrown out, accepted.
All, thus far, seem,d far aud abovebosrd, 80 far,
at least, as the award was concerned. Between
the three real competitors for the cootract, the
Big.l Brpedict, Hall and Co and Mr.. Gilbert,
the Inspectors chose the highest open to their
csptance THIS, Of course, however. is on tho sup
position that they bad right to entertain the
proposition of the Messrs Bigeow, because it in
Guided two prices and on the further sapposition
that Gllb-Its bid of fve-e shtbs OF cent over
Benedict, Hall and Co g was really higher, in being
Tor the same number Of men md for the same
length If time. IT. on tho other hand, The lnspec-
tors conld make such contract as that offered by
the BigelOws, then the Sta:e was the loser by lts
reectiou; and if Benedict, Hall aDd Co. covered
more mrn and more time by their offer of forty
cents than Gilbert did by bis offer Of fise-eighths
If cent higher then the Stats wn. also the loser
by the award that WAS given. Now, let us look at
the contract SIS actually male.
On the oath of December the Inspectors and
Warden met to conclude the matter, and SIR. f. 2.
Ross Of Auburn came forward-Mr Gilbert having
assigned the award 10 him. But the parties came
together, apparently not TO conclude bargain
oreody made, but to negotiate new one. What
Nr Ross may have supposed he had bought,
We OF course, DO hot know; bu. the Inspectors, at
least, could not have forgotten what they had
awarded TO Mr. Gilbert. Nevertheless what they
gave to Mr Ross bore but small relation to the
award they had made to Mr Gilbert They neither
re aarded their decision against the Bgelows' offer
nor their rejection Of Benedict, Hall and Co.'S too
low, but made contract with Ross similar 10
terms TO that asked for by the first, and lower IN
price than that offered by both. BY the terms
Of the contract actually made, Dir. Ross is ~ pay
40s cents per day only for all certified aud prscri
cal bootmakers, and for such convict not certified
and not prscteed as boot or shoemaker, he is TO
pap only 20 5-6 cents; be has, besides, the priyi
lege Of removing at any period within three months
after convict is placed Oh the contract, any man
whom be shall conclude ia not kelly ~ become suf-
felently skiIlfu for his purpose; and the Warden 10
10 supply him with two men for the five years, with
out charge, as sh0p~aiters. Now, remembering
that The bid Of the Blgelow. was thrown out be-
cause they divided the time into two periods, aud
offered price for each-that the BID of Benedict,
Hall and Co. was rejected because il wasower than
Gllberts; at glance the beauty Of this con-
tract with Gilbert's assignee, which gives him .te
convict labor q. lOrr price than either tbs
Biselows, CT Benedict, Hall and Co. CT
tered, and on the very terms for which
the Bigeh VS. bid was rejected Is Illegal.
But tie advantage gained BY Rose Is even greater
than VII be immedistsly apparent to tsose ignO-
rant "a ,ha tad. thonoh oil he olesr spon,b p