Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1890-10-23
4 Great Essential in the State
House PaYementS!
Contracts Which Seem to JUS
tify Governor CampbelI's

| NHO was tieCt6u Dy Ine people, anu III
ducting W. V. Marquis, who was de
feated by the people, a proceeding utter.
ly without a single redeeming feature
| indeed, deliberate case Of larceny.
| Those traits were further shown by
| the gerryma . der of the congressional
districts by which the same lenders ex.
| pect to secure TO a minority of voters
as against a majority, tie control OF
over three-fourths of the congressional
districts of the state
OF like character are the numerous
ripper bills by which Republican OIL
GERS were legislated out and Democrat. C
run in. One Of these foul birds-the
Cincinnati board of improvements-has
early come home to roost, and is giving
His Excellency" about these days most
dire distress. Not only do these in
stances illustrate the voracity of that
political organization for sp1ils, but
| they show that the leaders have no
political sense-in other words, that
| they don't know how to govern.
Equally incompetent are they in the
management of affairs of business. A
recent example of this is now attracting
attention at Columbus. The visitor at
! the capital within recent years might
have noticed that the walks about the
state house yard needed repairs. The
| asphaltum walks were in some places
| broken ard worn, and. in many
places, cracked. The stone walks
leading from the north and south
gates were worn out and needed
to be replaced with new. With
this done, and the asphaltum repaired,
where bro en-, and re-surfaced, the ap-
proaches to the state house would have
been better than new, and in every way
swell enough" At a liberal estimate
this should not have cost to exceed
s., 900 This was the situation, and
these were the needs. Now note how
the powers that be" have met this stu
alton. In the appropriation bill passed
by our Democratic legislature at its
late session (S7 Ohio Laws, p. SOD under
head of state house and grounds" is
the item: New walks and repairs,
SS,000.00." By custom these repairs
would have been made under the direc-
tion of the adjutant general. But, for
some occul: reason; that official couldn't
be trusted to build or even repair a
common sidewalk
So he was induced to request the
legislature to give him assistance in the
matter, and, ON the last day of the ses-
sion, resolution was adopted %. L. v
g., p. 648) providi G for the appoint
ment of committee of five to act with
the adjutant general in the matter
At the head of this paving commits
sion" was put Senator Van Cleaf, Of
Pickaway, now chairman of the Demo-
cratic state executive committee, and
under the lead of that enterprising
statesman the commission hasn't been
at all idle 1t is also well known to
some mem bers of the house that Repre-
sentative Cromley, now the Democratic
candidate for secretary of state, also
from Pickaway county, interested him
self very much in the appointment of
the house members of this joint COM
mittee. Of course all this machinery
didn't mean economy. 1t meant just
the opposite.
When this commission met in the
adjutant generals Office on the day the
legislature adjourned to organize, it did
just three things, viz: First, elect
Senator Van Cleaf chairman; second,
elect Adj. Gen. Hawkins secre-
tary; and last, but most important,
adopt motion that it would put down
only natural stone, and the secretary
was instructed to at once advertise for
bids. All this was done without making
any examination whatever as to the
merits of artificial stone, although it
was then well known by members of
the high joint commission that the
manufacturers of artificial stone de-
sired to be heard, and to compete for
the work. Their wishes finally pre-
vailed, but only after 80 strong show
ing had been made in favor of artificial
stone, at later meeting, that its merits
could not be utterly ignored. The COM
mission then consented to give the arti-
fetal stone men all the paving fronting
on High street, and at once proceeded
to call for bids for work involving the
tearing up of nearly all the asphaltum
walk and the substitution OF stone of
one kind or the other instead. Numer-
Gus bids we've put in.
The Acme Stone company, of Column
bus, manufacturers of artificial stone,
was the lowest bi Ter, and, if it could
guarantee good Job, was because of
that fact entitled to a contract for all
that was to be done. If it could not
not entitled to contract for even foot
of the paving. It's bid was fifteen cents
per square foot. After much higgling
q majority of the commission, with the
adjutant general. having inspected
work done by the Acme company in
different parts of the city, voted to
award it contract for about one-half
of all the paving that it was proposed
to have done, and the work is now un-
der way.
But to award the whole work to the
lowest bidder appears not to have been
the purpose of the august paving COM
mis- 7ion." To have all he walks laid in
artificial stone would never do por-
tion must be natural stone. And here
comes the richness of this affair.
For some reason or other, sufficient
in the minds of the commission the
stone to be used must be Elyria stone.
Berea stone. which, it is matter OF
common knowledge, is of the same
grade and general quality Of that of
Elyria, and which has been used for
years all over northern Ohio, in Colum-
bus, and most everywhere else, some
way wouldn't do.
So, although there was good bid in
for Berea. at twenty-four cents the
square foot, and although tine common
price in Columbus is twenty-five cents,
excavation, filing and all. this prudent
paving commission" proceeded to ig-
more these facts the plaiuest provisions
of statutory law, and of common busi-
ness sense and decency. and make
contract at thirty eight cents a foot, for
30 900 square feet, making S eA0O in all
if the number of square feet is correct
ly reported, or So, 400 more for this part
of the job alone than the whole appro
priation for the entire work and more
Improvements" are still to be made
than those originally contemplated
Do you ask why? Well, listen, and
you shall hear. This contract was
made with Desbach, Decker & Fullen
Who are these lucky contractors?
Desbach & Decker are st nemen Of
Sandusky. But Fullen? Well. he is
Sam. Fullen, saloon keeper of Cir.
cleville, Pickaway county, a Demo
cratic hustler all the time, and fast |
friend of the aforesaid senator, Hon. A. |
K. Van Cleaf, also from Pickaway, and |
chairman of the present Democratic |
state executive committee. fullen has |
credit for running big saloon and the |
local Democratic machine with marked |
snccess, but hasn't heretofore been |
suspected of profound knowledge of the |
stone or paving business. 1t would |
seem that the milk in the "home rule"
cocoanut has been fully accounted for |
SO, as a business spectacle, if the