New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-05-13
THOMPSON CENSURED.
PREsENTNENT AGAINST HIS DEPARTMENT.
THE SPECIAL GRAND JURY MAKES ITS REPoRT-UN.
La mn,


| BALANCED BIDS DENOUNCED.
The special Grand Jury Of the Court of Over and
Terminer filed into Part of the Supreme Court
about p m. yesterday, and Foreman Merritt
Trimble handed to Justice Barrett document,
which proved TO be presentment against the Do
partment of Public Works Justice Barrett
ceived the paper and ordereda recess fortwo weeks.
Clerk Sparks took the document and filed it. Ho
had scarcely put it carefully away when clerks
from Commissioner Thompson rushed IN upon.Eim
to the number Of four, and, dividing mp the work,
secured within an hour a copy Of the presentment
for the Commissioner. The document as follows:
The Grand Jurors Of the City and County OF New-fork
empaneed in this court respectfully present and make
known TO the Court that,
The Jury as taken large amount OF evidence az TO
the methods OF business OF the Department OF Public
Works, and has arrived at the following conclusions:
The Department subject certain reguat ions pre-
purchases, etc., which regulations have been framed for
the purpose Of protecting the interests OF the CITY, and
moro particularly with the aim OF securing I'm the various
operations OF the Department all the advantages accr-
ing irom open and unbiased competition between re-
BY section 64 Of Chapter 41o Of the laws Of 1882.
yded as follows: Wherever any work necessary 10
be done to complete or perfect particular lo3 or any
is to be undertaken or supplies furnished for the
corporation when the several parts ofthe said WORK shan
$1,000 the same shall be contracted under such
regulations concerning It as shall be established
by ordinance OF the Common Council, excepting
such works now in progress authorized by law or
ordinance to be done otherwise than by eontraot
tnreo-fouTths Of the members elected TO TIE
Common Council and all eoqtraets ot shall 20
and shall, except herein otherwise provided, 10
with pnSc s notice duly aGPeTsd in TSe CO 3eeord
SAID notice to Pe published at enertr,eni Least ten
snail not deem Il for the Interest Of the city to reject ali
bids he shall, without the consent approval OF any
the contract to the lowest bidder of whose
tract shall be settled by the counsel TO the corporation
posa and who shall give security the faithful per
fOmance Of his In the manner prescribed and
Of hs seery ha IN I addition q tie an3
acknowledgement be approved by the controller"
THE SYSTEM OF UNBALANCED BIDS.
Until tie passage of this act appears by decisions Of
the courts that the head Of the Department had dis
erection Withhold the giving of the contract to thelo lowest
bidder and the system pursued by the Department IN re-
atOn to work done under contracts resulted In number
of instances to the disadvantage of the city.
The necessity under these decisions OF accepting FOR
any particular work. not a bid which guaranteed the
lowest price for the complete job but one the rate for the
separate Items OF which. calculated the estimates OF
the surveyors employed by the Department aggregated
the lowest brought about the practice OF what are Known
as " unbalanced bids"
In the unbalanced bid the contractor relying upon the
correctness OF his estimate Of the quantities IN ths
specifications and relying upon the incorrectness OF ts
inal for certain Items the quantities OF which have
believes, been overesmaed by the surveyors, and
an excessive rate for the remaining items the Quantities
Of which he believes to have been underestimated.
In certain OF the contracts considered the faith OF ths
contractors In the accuracy OF their own cacua1ons
and in the ignorance negligence Of the city surveyors
was shown TO have been justified By the results
ENORMOUS PRICES PAID FOR EARTH EXCAVATION
Instances have been found during 1881, 1882 and
1888 of contracts based these unbiased bids, which,
the material advantages OF the contractors and tho
corresponding detrimeut OF the city, cost when com
peted from so per TO 800 per cent than the
amount of the outlay called for by the estimates OF the
engineers of the department based the calculations Of
the official surveyors An example OF this class was
foundin contract for grading and opening street. in
which the city paid, under the head Of excavang S5 50
per cubic yard for removing from the surface OF the
loose earth and rubbish which had been dumped
there the making of the survey on which tbs con
tract was based, the contract having been
awarded on the basis Of survey made
the fact that quantities Of e5rta 6ai been
dumped the bidders the contracts as IS
evident from the nature of their BIDS well Informed,
while the officials of the department appear to have beea
ignorant Of It,
In another contract not yet completed, find that
much - per cubic yard has been paid for earth ekc
vaon and the amount Of earth to be excavated having
very largely exceeded the estimates Of the surveyor the
total cost 10 the city will i now estimated be more
than three times the amount first estimated ny the de
partmen based on the calculations VI tue ohclh suVef
The fury is Of opinion that the system undo which pre-
hmnUry surveys for contracts are made y surveyors
who are appointed by an authority outside OF the Depl
ment is an undesirable one The Department ought Dos
TO be in any measure responsible for tho WORK o nea
appointment and operations does not controsnd
ought not to be Obliged base important business con
tracts on the calculations or any but its employees.
tied to select certain number Of surveyors whose
should be borne on the lists OF its own empl0yes and i
the fathfuluess and accuracy OF whose wOIk II coud
properly be held responsible.
FAILURE TO PROTECT THE cITY's INTERESTS.
1t does not appear that the different heads of tho
Department of Public Works, where this system OF unba
anced bids had prevailed for more than six years ha'e
ever called attention IN their reports TO the difficulty or
to have suggested any modification OF the laws which
would enable the Department in these TO protect
the interests OF the city against designing contraeofs
The evil OF the system have been known, and the
Department should have found 6y persistent effort rem
edy which would protect the city from such practices
Ia fact there Is a tendency 10 show that II was nes
until four months after the passage OF the Consolidation
act that the present Commissioner knew that the pro-
visions OF the gave him the power to reject MI es
which he might deem disadvantageous to the interests az
the city, and during that time bids were rejected by
him under this authority .
In giving consideration to the results OF The 363 con.
December 1888 and executed by the department dd1eS
1881 1882 and 1888 we find that 1876 were Tor pSsns.
for the construction OF sewers, and 00 Tor regulating
and grading streets The reduction In tho nusl cos; OF
certain OF these as COMPARED M Win te ~ %
final cost Of these previously referred 10 tha taxing 700
three together the net excess OF cost over the az
regae amount OF the accepted bids has been nconsider
able.
crepancy between the rst estimates and the ta eoss
must of necessity be very slight.
OF the sewer contracts over 20 per cent wentysix
OF largely exceeded the estimated cost and OF o6
grading contracts more Than II per cent (nine out OF
tftysX) show large excess.
While the estimated cost OF the Ill sewer contracts ws
the OF $654967 g. the actual cost was s662 .c
OF less than two cent and the eStlinatd
OF the SO regulating and grading contracts was ths
OF S391394 6s, aud the actual cos twas si962l9 ~
am excess OF less than seven per cent; and In tho
the 1876 paving contracts the actual cost was es
than the estimated cost
The Jury are OF the opinion that under the pre- sent sys
tenn there risk the business OF putting In bds FOR
certain class of contracts FALLING entirely INTO the hands
of "A small group OF contractors who would tnen De ID
position 10 divide up the Jobs between themselves az
their own prices and excessive prOhis even