The daily gazette., 1878-12-03
FOURTH EDITION
AOne-Sided Contract.
HOW THE CITY FINDS ITSELF STUCK
WITH A BAD BARGAIN.

| hON lhE tll1
WITH A BAD BARGAIN.
A few meeting nights ago commune
cation was sent to the City Council from
j. 4. Head, President of the Christiana
River Improvement company, asking
Council to fix up and grade the "Quarry
Square"-between Tenth, Eleventh,
] Spruce and Pine streets-iu accordance
with the contract made several years ago
| with the late VIM. 5. III les, and more
recently renewed with the G. Il. /. Com
pany. The existence this contract was
entirely unkn lwn to many of the MEN,
| bers, and i. was de cided TO hold special
meeting OF Council on the premises, for
| the purpo'e of viewing personally the
| work Council was asked to perform, and
looking carefully in othe whole question.
Accordingly the Council met at Eev-
en'l and Pine streets yesterday afternoon,
and af er organizing, had the last con
| tact read by the Clerk. This contract
| (Which is merely renewal ofthe previous
ones) was dated August 2Sth, 1877, and
was signed by Mayor Whiteley and City
| Clerk VIM. ii. Foulk on the part of the
city, and by Joshua T. Head on the part
of the Q. X. /. Co. Its main provisions
were as follows:
That the g. X. |. Company would lease
to thu city, from March =, 1877, 10 March
/ 2, 1875, "quarry square, as above defined
in consideration that he ci paw twelve
cents per perch for all stone quarried and
taken from the lot, and also pay rent fol
the lot at the rate of Sl20 per annum.
hat before March 2, 1878, the city
| should fill up and grade the bed of Spruc .
street, between Tenth and Elegent Ii, and
also the bed of Shearman street { small
street eX ending from Poplar to Pine) be-
| tween Ten h and Eleventh.
Before the eXpira ion of the term the
city was to dig and remove the ear h and
| quarry and remove the stone from the
said premises, and from the sidewalks
| thereof, to the depth and level of the ad-
lacent streets, respec lively. ProviJed
however, that said party Of the second
part may a. its option, during said term,
dig and remove The ear Ii and quarry and
remove the stone, 10 the depth of eight
feet below the grade Of the adjacent
streets respectively, from those portious
| OF said demised premises between the
building lines and lines drawn parallel to
aud a, the dis ance of thirty feet from
said building lines.
Before the expiration of said term Ia
fill up to level with the grade of said
| streets, and portions of the said denis ed
premises not within the said building
lines of sad streets re 'pectively, and tue
sad lines parallel to and at the distance
| OF thirty feet from said building lines.
| where at the date of the signing of these
presents any stone shall have been re
moved, or which shall during the same
| term he quarried or removed.
After the reading of the contract the
subject was generally and Informally dis
| cliSsed. The prevailing opinion was thai
! the cost of complying with the contract
| would be from three to five thousand
| dolla's, and that il would be the duty OF
Couucil to examine ctrefhlly into Sucl
JOBS IN the future, before binding the city
| by contract. 1t was instan Fed that the
| Council saved about thousand doll arr
/ by visiting the foot of Van Buren, street
! where stone wall was about to be erect
| ed to keep the wastings of dirt out OF
| the race, when IL was discovered that ;
| wooden schute, costing but triiiing sum
woulu answer the same purpose. Som,
| OF the members thought the contrac
| was unusually one-sided, as II required
| Council 10 put the lot in good condition
| Tor building purposes, as well as to pa,
an annual rental, aud a stipulated sun
| Tor all stone removed.
| without taking any definite action il
| regard TO the matter Council adiourned