Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-02-14

Assembly Bill No. 80, which repeats the section OF
the Code prohibiting appeals in cases of contempt
OF Court, and which bill has passed the Assembly,
was agreed to, and will be referred back with the
recommendation that it pass
The minority OF the recent Joint Committees of
FINANCE and Ways and Means are engaged in prepar-
ing a minority report and substitute to present
MONDAY morning next to the two houses, and which
VIII be urged for passage in place OF Senate Bill No.
$50, adopted BY the majority
Inc committee on State Prisons continued the
investigation Of the facts connected with the build
ing Oh the PRISON at Folsom. Thomas Beck ex-See-
rotary OF state, testified that he was acquainted
with the matters connected with the construction of
the Folsom prison, In letting the contract for
building the prison, bids were advertised for and
one was received Tor $500 000 another for s2l2 0o0
and another for Sl61, 800, which was Mr. Jordan's
The Board considered Mr.. Jordan's bid was too low
at the time, and would willingly have allowed him
10 Withdraw 1t, as we were satisfied it could not be
built Tor that amount About the time the contract
was let, but before it was signed Question
arose as to what meant as TO the finish that
was to be put upon the stOne-work and to avoid
misunderstanding, the interlineations were made
in the specifications which have been re.
ferred to. | always thought Governor Irwin
too particular about the exact compliance
with the contract, considering as Mr. Jor-
dan had got the contract al too low figure He
required the work to be brought to exact compliance
when in many places it would have been Just as
serviceabe for prison purposes to have accepted
stones and portions Of the work which were rejected
and which in these fully as well done as
could be afforded at the price Jordan was being
paid. When Mr.. Jordan failed to continue under
his contract the Board took charge OF
the work and carried il on in accord
ance with the law of 1ST5-7G and bought
tire machinery and tools OF MIR. Jordan. Mr. Jordan
was to receive his pay awarded upon work com
pleed at the close Of each month. The first three
or four months nothing was paid as the work was
being done IN the quarry, aud payments were only
to be made for work nut up. We put a clause in the
hat he nst
until receipt should have been received from the
workmen showing that they had received their pay.
This was put IN protection to the men, and was
suggested by the previous experience VII Miles
The Governor and went time and again upon the
grounds and told them OF this contract, so they
should know their pay was secured 20 them When
the men had struck at one time and a
commii tee came to u.s. it was arranged
that MIR Jordan should assign enough Of
what was coming to him to pay off the men and
turn over the balance TO Mr. Jordan, and this was
done, and went up and paid of the men, and this
course was followed thereafter. Prior to this the
men had signed receipts to Mr.. Jordan and he
would bring them aud get his money and then go
back and pay the men, but they got so they did not
wish to trust to this way any more, and the com
mittee came down about it,, as stated. When Mr.
Jordan was unable to go and put on the number OF
men that would be required to complete the work
at the time specified, the Board would have been
willing to extend his time If he could have given
any assurance of being able TO finish the work
with more time but he could not. He had Is attach
ments upon him and IL strikes there i'll short time
| The work was segregated, and the carpenter work.
which was estimated at SIT 600 by Mr. Bennett, was
| let by the Board at about $4,000. The Board did
| all in its power to favor MIR. Jordan. The State
paid some SIS 600 or Sc 900 for the machinery and
| tools which Mr. Jordan had there. was dissatis-
fled with the fact that Mr.. Bennett used TO measure
| up the work in Mr.. JOrdan's absence and send up
his statement without saying anything to
| him about it, but the Board considered
that Bennett the only man they had to
deal with, and hence did not do anything about it..
| Mr. Bennett reported that floor in the prison
| was uneven by an inch and half, and wanted to
| know whether it should be taken up. l examined
it myself and found it only three eighths OF an inch
out of level, and said | would do anything rather
| than to make worse the matter OF a man who was
almost broken up already under the contract Mr..
Bennett dealt more strictly W tn Mr.. Jordan than
would have done. believe the specifications were
unnecessarily eXtravagant and expensive for a
prison, and his work was fully sufficient for the
| purposes for which it built, and no profit
was aecruing to Jordan, would have accepted more
| of his work than Bennett was willing to.
| | believe his bearing upon the subject and re-
marks among the helped to increase their
want of confidence in Mr.. Jordan and to bring about
| the strikes which took place then. As builder and
architect satisfied that the prison could not be
built for less than S250,000 In the manner required
| by the specifications. do not believe 1t was ever
| intended to exact so strictly as was done by Mr..
| Be nett and don't think the architect ought to
have altered work after the Superintendent had
accepted Governor Irwin has stated that he dis
liked to hear any reflections made upon Mr. Bennett,
who will probably never be able to leave his bed again.
| and that Mr. Duncan was not selected by Bennett.
l. L. Grant was recalled and said the difference be-
tween the rougher kind of stOne-outting and the
finer surface would make difference of s24,500 FOL
the inside of the cells, which could be reduced OF
greatly increased by the architect. The estimate OF
the actual cost of the prison by me is S9S, 600 Mr.
Johnson the Superintendent presented ime-cards
made out by Grant, of men ON the work, which wert
identified, and which the Superintendent claimed
would show that the stonework on the cells alont
would cost $780, The committee adjourned til
| Monday evening.