National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-09-19
ASPHALT AND BRrLLIANoY.
A Remarkable Rcqucst OF the District
CornmtasIonera

commandment
IL is a well-known fact that Bailey Il
Fletcher the contractors for streetpaving, cannot
proceed with their contracts, as they have no as
phalt. IL Is also q woll.known fact that A. l..
Barber is the happy posscssor Of all the Trinidad
asphalt in the country and has nearly finished oil
his contracts with the District government.
Bailey & Fletcher suggested TO the Commissioners
that they could go ahead with their contracts If
the District government or any other parties would
furnish the material A bright idea must have
struck the Commissioners 10 help Bailey & Fletcher
out Of the dilemma rs they on the 9th instant adj
dressed, through Lieutenant +. V. Greene, COM
munlcation to A. L. Barber asking II his firm could
furnish the engineer department with one hum
dred thousand tons OF refined Trinidad asphalt,
delivered ut the ratc OF one hundred tons per week.
This brilliant request for Mr. Barber to turn the
grind. stone while the Commissioners sharpened
the knife to cut his throat was replied to In sub
stance as follows by that gentleman:
Having understood from you verbally thot this
asphalt, II so furnished, would be used IN the
completion Of contracts for which among others,
was a bidder mt public lettings on the 5ih ana soth
Of May last which contracts were awat , "a 10
for want of necessary material, must respectfully
decline to furnish asphalt for this purpose.
Mr. Barber then gives his reasons Mt length, and
concludes as follows:
The inside history of the bidding of Messrs.
Bailey & Fletcher ut the May lettings of this year
is an Interesting ono. and | challenge contradic-
tign on the following points; ,,,-,-,.
the spite of ono who had been offended by losing
small trade In limestone powder:
SCCOnd-No estimates Of cost Of work were made.
Third-Thc streets 10 be done were not ex-
nmincd.
Fourth-No asphalt had been purchased or con-
Finh-Thc parties bidding had no material no
tools no machinery, nor had they contracted for
| any.
| Trinidad asphalt have n common interest In do
| ing good work at fur prices, hence they have no
trying to destroy their trade by doing work poorly
| or at Improbable prices.
THE PLANS OF THOSE GENTLEMEN
| are on large scale. They contemplate the intro.
duction aud laying Of this pavement (now admit,
knOwn--n n word, the solution Of the paving
question that hasso long perplcxed public anthori,
Ties and engineers) into all the cities of the United
States and OF Europe II is of the highest import
ancc for men who contemplate making the heavy
investments OF capital required In carrying on the
| business to know that there Is a reasonable pros
| pect Of their business being protected from de-
| struction by unprincipled or unskilled men, OF
BY ruinous competition. Certainly inc public IN
important condition for insuring such work. Tha
the interests of the District of Columbia can b,
fnly protected from any undue or improper efor
to charge unfair prices for this work
| Is APPARENT FROM TWO CAUSES:
First-This pavement must compete with oil thu
other kinds of pavement, some OF which are eS
ccllnnt, especially Belgian block snow laid undo
sccond-Trinidad asphalt must compete witt
CUBAN asphalt as announced IN your own ,specih
cations. OF Cuban asphalt there are several known
mines containing large deposits. There are othe
deposits of asphalt of various qualities and guam
| titles In different parts of the world, notably IL
Mexico, California Colorado, Michigan, Texas
and ON the shores Of the Dead Sea.
That the material has not been or cannot bt
| successfully introduced into market from any o
these places is evidence that the prices Of Trinidad
asphalt and OF pavements laid with II, nave no
on Gi hs
been wanting in wit or pluck necessary to secur
their material.
1T CERTAINLY WOULD SEEM
| that the Commissioners have fully met their re
sponsibility by publicly advertising and lettin
the work TO the lowest bidder nor can any shade,
of blame attach in the present instance TO any bu
the men who bid blindly, actuated by spite and 10
the purpose ofdestroying our business and capita
in trade, amounting to more than $4,000 in thi
city alone, they at the time of said Lettings NO
having dollar invested in the business. AM
now, TO ask us who by diligence, atlarge expendi
turc of time aud money and by expensive iOreigl
travel, have succeeded in making necessary ar
ourown contracts 10 abandon our business and tur
over those supplies for the benefit of competitors \
trade, thus stopping our own business, letting capi
tai lie idle and machinery rust out Is hardly
JUsTIFIABLE ON BUSINESS PRINCIPLES.
For us to grant such request would seem TO b
putting q knife to our own I at, and cerainl
| must HOlu US UP W tilc VI ulA
business men Il is quite certain those failing con
tractors would not have shown any such favor I
us IL the situation had been reversed. From o.
| experience covering more than two hundred thou
sand square yards of this pavement am enable
to say that II cannot be laid with present cost {
labor and material at Il reasonable profit under "a
prices named by me at the May lettings. For tn
same pavement, laid under the same specification
the city OF Boston is paying S9S5 per square yart
In no other city In the world have asphalt pave
ments been laid at as low prices as those named
me IN the May lettings
II Is now supposed that Messrs. Crawford an
Barber will be designated to proceed with tn
w"-i' heretofore given by the Commissioners
the Appliances hCgo when they knew they had nc