The Evening critic., 1882-11-08
HAMS HALTS
IN AWARDING THE CONTRACT

For Dredging in the HarbOr Inn
prOvement Between n Washington
ian who In the Lowest Bidder and 70
New Yorker who IN on the Ground
Floor - The New Workers. Bid
Nearly Per Cent. Higher than the
WashingtOnian's, But the New
Yorker has the "Chum +" "FlOO-
ence."
Tho delay In the letting OF the dredging con.
tract for the improvement OF the harbor and
reclamation OF the flats having begun TO OK.
cito public attention, a CRITIC reporter this
morning hunted up ono of tho gentlemen con.
cerned and asked him what the trouble was.
at is not ong story," was the reply, "but
II is worth listening TO and may become very In.
teresting. You SEQ whom the bids were opened It
was found that Mr.. W. II. Adams, OF this city,
had bid to do the work at 10k cents per cubic
yard and Mr.. p s. Ross, OF New York, had bid
81 cents and 2 mills por yard, q difference of
i cent and z mills per yard, which would
amount to many thousand dollars In the ag-
gregate work. You must bear In mind that
this is really the largest contract ever handled
In any single transaction, when tho fact Is
considered that whoever gets this preliminary
award Will havo the inside track on all tho
future awards OF work, tho total Of which is
likely TO reach Into the millions.
"1f, as you soy,
Adams ~ the Lowest Bidder,
why is not tho award made to him at once?"
inquired THE CRITIC.
"Do you remember printing n news item
the other day reporting Major Hams rs say.
Ing that he was not yet satisfied OF Adams
ability 70 do tho work."
swell, thereby hangs a tale. The engineer
In charge has good deal OF arbitrary powor
to decide al TUtVIUm upon tho ability OF n
bidder to perform his contract. Adams knows
that he can do the work. He knows whero his
financial backing is, and where 70 90 for his
machinery and supplies. But tho engineer In
charge hns tho right to doubt or question his
representations II he wants to, and this is
Just what is being DONE"
"Why ls this Z? What is the reason for hold.
ing Adams Off in such n manner? Is It q bona
ildo reason, or is 1t simply pretext?" asked
THE CRITIC.
"Ah: now you arc getting on delicate
ground. l Will explain. But at the start |
be understood to reflect upon Hams. That
onlcer, though nominally in charge OF the
work in all its details, is actually subordi-
nate, and Is to certain extent subject to tho
Will OF Others Higher i'm Authority.
though not visible In tho foreground. That is
to say, the powers that be In tho background
do not want Adams to get the contract THOR
man Is Ross. Adams Is Washingtonian, with.
out any particular afllliations; Ross Is a New
Yorker, having Intimate relations with Ger.
tain thrifty persons who arc understood to bc
closely identified with the Administration
itself"
"who IRE these persons2" inquired THE
CRITIC, with Its usual appetite for accuracy.
4
Stove French, Tom Murphy ct al.-the chums,
as they are called. You don't suppose these
thrifty citizens are going 10 lot Job that will
involve at least S3,0OO,O00 fall to man like
Adams, whom they are not even acquainted
| with, do you? Well, this is the meaning of the
| delay. The attempt which was made at first to
brush Adams out OF the way did not ucceed
Ross Came Over Here,
stayed n day or two, and then went homo tc
| New York, assuring his friends that he 'had
already got tho contract to all intents and pur
poses."
"But 1t hung fire. Adams was not only per.
| sistent, but ho also developed strength and
| Importance to n degree that Ross and his
| thing had to bo dono right here under the
| nose OF Congress, and 1t was not safe to under
| take too much In tho way OF personal favors
You sec the difference between Adams and
Ross bids amounts to nearly 0 per cent on the
amount OF the contract according to the low
est bid, and this In the aggregate would foo
up an enormous margin. This state OF thing'
produced dlnlculty. Hams was put between
two fres. Adams as the lowest bidder natur
| ally would have the public on his side. Ross
| though bidding o per cent. higher than Adams
had Hams superiors ut his back. You SCI
the position is one Of Immense embarrass
| ment."
natter"
the whole question to General Wright, Chief o
| Engineers, and there II stands still undecided
| My impression Is that they VIII ultlmatel.
escape from tho muddle by availlng them
| selves of the clause In tho proposal reservini
10 the Government tho right to reject all bids
| and readvertise. ] don't sec how they cal
avoid awarding the contract to Adams In an.
| other way"
"Do you know whom General wrights dc
cision will be made?"
"No. have told you all the facts in tn
matter that can now be got at. Will keep yo
posted, however, as TO further Developments.