The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-04-08
CONTRACT FOR BONDS.
It Has Been Signed, Sealed and
Delivered.
THE QUiBBLE AS TO THE DATE.
How the Apparent Conflict Arose Be-
tween Two Council Revolutions
Opinion as to the Sale.

The contract between the city of Seattle
and Blair & Co., of New York, for the deliy-
cry to the latter of 81 ,265 900 bonds was sign
ed by the mayor yesterday, sealed by the
city clerk and delivered There will be
1,265 bonds of 81 900 each, to which will be
attached forty coupons, each representing
semi-annual interest payments for twenty
years. Blair & Co. have telegraphed II.
c. Barroll, their agent, that the bonds
will be in Seattle about May 2, ready for
signature. As some complication might
arise by the change of comptroller the
understanding has been reached that the
new incumbent shall not qualify until the
bonds have been signed, so that C. W.
Ferris Will have the honor of signing the
bonds.
No legal proceedings have been filed by
way of injunction or in any way question:
ing the bonds or the contract. The only
question that has arisen is as to resolution
of the city council known as joint resolu-
ton No. 10Y, which was alleged to have
made the date of opening bids April Ii
instead of April 4, and as to the amount of
the certified check required with each bid.
The question is the merest bubble, and
is due to the interested Misrepresentation
of unsuccessful bidders.
When the time was approaching for the
publication of call for bids, Comptroller
Ferris laid the matter before Mayor Hall,
Alderman Pontius and Delegate Kittinger,
who were the chairmen of the two finance
committees of the city council. They di-
rected him to prepare the necessary pa
pers, and agreed to have resolution Civ
ing authority for the publication passed. A
resolution known as joint resolution No.
1O5, was, on February 49, adopted by
the council, directing the mayor,
comptroller and finance committees
of the two houses to take all necessary
steps toward securing bids for the bonds.
They prepared a statement calling for bids
to be opened at 2 O'Clock on Monday,
April 4, the bids to be accompanied by
certified checks of 5000. On March II,
printed copies of the statement were
mailed to thirty of the leading bond brok-
ers OF the United States, and on March IS
copies were mailed to every bank in Sc
attic.
The following notice was also published
in the official newspapers, beginning
March % and continuing until the morn
ing of April 4:
GALE OF BONDS-SEALED BIDS WILL BE
seattle on or before Monday. April, T. 1892, at 2
O'Clock p. m, for the purchase OF the issues of
bonds:
Seattle funding bonds. ...................$ $4,000
Seattle judgment bonds ................. 275.000
Seattle condemnation bonds. 100000
Seattle general bonds Observation-Disclosures. 24o,0O0
Seattle water works bonds. ............. 205,000
Seattle sewer bonds .."...."..-."...... 100000
Hl.Z
Bids will DE received for the whole or any one of
the above issues, certified check for s. 900 to &C.
he city reserve the right to reject any and all
bids and TO retain such an amount Of the condem-
March %, 1892. Comptroller.
No other notice or call of any kind was
ever issued.
Meantime, Thomas r. Shepard, Of
Burke, Shepard & Woods. who had been
employed by the city to draft the bond or
dinance, considered it his duty to draw up
a resolution calling for bids. He sent in
typewriter form, wherein the date was
printed April and the amount S. 900 for
checks. 1t also passed the board of alder
men, but during the discussion Mr..
Shepard wrote in some interlinea-
tions of technical character in
lead pencil. He also changed the date
in pencil to April IL. because one of the
members expressed the opinion that the
4th was too early. The amendment was
not put. When the resolution went to the
house of delegates the subject of the date
was not raised, but the question of the
amount of the check was, and it was
raised by amendment to $4,000 and so
passed, but by an oversight the resolution
was not returned to the board of aldermen
for their concurrence in the amendment,
and it therefore became entirely abortive.
Two days afterward, when City Clerk
Miller was preparing documents for the
mayors signature, he noticed the pen
cilled alterations, and referred to the
records to see which were carried. He
found that several amendments had been
made. and those he wrote in ink over the
pencil marks He found that the date had
not been amended, and concluded, there
fore, that the pencilled amendment as to
the 18th had not been adopted, which
was true, and accordingly assumed that
the original date, the 4th, was the correct
one. In order to make sure, he inquired
of Comptroller Ferris which was the cor
rect date, and learning that the 4th was
the one decided upon, and that the
notices had already been sent out, was
confirmed in his opinion that the 18th
was not adopted.
Although there is evidence that the
house decided to make the amount of the
checks $4,000, the necessary amendment
was not made in the resolution, and SUBJ
sequent inquiry developing that the no
tees were out and that the amendment
had not been confirmed by the aldermen,
the resolution, No. 107, was seen to be
wholly unnecessary even if it had been
legal act.
There is no doubt that Thomas r.
Shepard made the changes in the resolu-
ton, but it is equally certain that they
were not legally confirmed, and the orig
inal resolution remained in full force.
II. C. Barroll left Seattle last night. He
says Judge Dillon is so far satisfied of the
legality of all proceedings that it is very
improbable recourse will be h ad to the
supreme court OF Washington for judicial
confirmation.
q. W. T. Riley. who was the second
highest bidder, said last night that, al
though defeated, he was satisfied with the
regularity of all material proceedings.
Seattle has reason" he added, "to be
very well satisfied with the result. Her
hopIs ,,av va haan sold at the highest prina