The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-11-20
WAS THERE A JOB?
Mayor Baskin's Exposure of the
Sewer Pump Bids.
s. v Trent, of Frazer & Chalmers, Turns
More ght on the Secret Contracts
of the Council.

One of the barriers to corruption which
the organic acts of most states throw in
the way of the venality of city councilmen
is TO require that all public work must be
advertised and let to the lowest RESPONSE
BILE bidders.
The same precaution is extended TO the
purchase of all materials and machinery
required By the city.
Mayor Baszin, in his veto of the bid of
Jones and Jacobs, carried the suggestion
that members of the council had used IN
usual diligence in keeping other firms in
the dark with view to accommodate their
favorites.
The mayor let the council down very
lightly by simply referring to attached
communications" w.
These informatory letters came from re-
sponsible firms who desired to bid on the
prODosed work, but, for reasons best
known to the committee in charge, they
were not considered as entitled to com
petitive show with the picked set of mu-
nicipal providers.
To learn still further particulars of this
interesting bit of mayoralty information, a
HERALD reporter called at the Office Of
Frazer & Chalmers yesterday afternoon.
s. V. Trent, the assistant manager of
invitation, though he seemed all along to
be on his guard lest he might drop some
word that might reflect against the alder
manicl integrity Of the pump dealers in the
city board.
He confessed that they had been shut
out of the competition both by a combined
desire on the part of members OF the COM
mittee to buy particular style OF a pump
and by not receiving any invitation to put
IN bid.
1.-The only persons,n he said, "that the
committee communicated with were three
or four agents of steam pumps. The only
advantage of these are low first cost, but
that is more than offset by the low cost of
fuel for the high action pumps.
ave were prepared to put in PROPOSE
ton that we would perform the pumping
one half the boiler capacity of what they
are considering at present.
ssThe question of efficiency is an essen
tiRl one in any public enterprise. The
machine has to run day and night and it is
very essential that it shall perform it's
work satisfactorily and without any delays
and with the greatest economy.
eve can cite you an instance where the
cost of fuel was reduced from sixteen cords
of wood in twenty-four hours to two and a
half cords. The fuel consumption of the
Ontario mine for portion of its pumping
was reduced to less than one-half by su-
preceding steam pumps with high duty
pump"
"But did you make an effort to see the
committee!'
II went TO them and was told that the
matter was in allegiance.
1.-The next thing I heard was that q bid
had been made by another concern. and its
adoption recommended by the committee. p"
els not this very unusual thinga"
cit is always customary to advertise for
city WORK and it is an extraordinary thing
to make a private contract for such work.
Before the present pump was put in they
advertised for bids, and all dealers had an
opportunity to compete for the work"
''Do you believe there was any Doodle in
this matter!'
ssI would make no reflection on any men,
Der of the council, but this method of dong
business leaves scope for all kinds of COM
binations.n