The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-04-22
A WARM PROTEST.
The Board of Education Accused o.
Violating the Law.
The Builders and Traders Exchange
Threaten Injunction Procecdings-Must
Erect Buildings by Contract.

The Builders and Traders exchange of
Salt Lake city are up in arms. They de-
clare that the board of education has been
violating the law right along in the letting
OF contracts and the prosecution OF work
on the school buildings, and think it is
time to call halt.
This declaration of hostilities was pre-
cipitated by the action of the board at its
last meeting, when it was decided that
all Oquirrh building bids should be re-
jected and the foundation laid by the
board, under the direction of the build
ing perintendent.
A special meeting of the exchange was
called for last night to consider this mat
ter, at which there was a very full at
tendance. After brief discussion, dur
ing the course of which some very warm
remarks were made, the following reso-
luGions were adopted:
PROTEST AND THREAT.
Whereas, the board of education has
authorized work to be commenced on the
Oquirrh school by the superintendent in
direct violation of the school law of Utah,
which requires all work to be advertised
twenty days and let to the lowest respon-
sible bidder.
Resolved, that the Builders and Trades
exchange protests against this Illegal ac-
ton of the board of education, and here
by notifies that body that it will take
legal proceedings to stop said work if
commenced as authorized by the board Of
education at its meeting of April 20.
MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS.
eIf the board attempts to carry out it's
resolution we will take the matter into
!, - 80,
said Treasurer Redfield of the exchange.
Another officer of the exchange warmly
criticised the course of the board in hand
ling the Oquirrh matter from the begin
ming. When the bids were first called
for, he said, the lowest bid was S53, 400,
made by the Salt Lake Building company.
The building committee held the matter
in obeyance four months and
then decided to readvertise, under
the amended specifications. The
lowest bid under the second
call was SOL 52. The board advertised
but five days for these bids, whereas the
law requires twenty days advertising.
Again, the superintendent altered the
specifications and two bids were received
and opened without any advertising at
all, the lowest being S5S, 450. At the last
meeting of the boardsthe building COM
mittee recommended that the bids be re-
jected, and the building superintendent
was instructed to put in a concrete foun-
dalton.
s'This action is illegal, - said Mr.. Red.
field, Gas the law requires that all build
ing shall be done by contract. The law
is very clear on this point. Think the
idea of the board is to erect the whole
building themselves. They can Just as
well build all as part OF it,
The builders ridicule the idea that the
school board can do the work for less than
it would cost by contract, and declare
that all contracts on the new buildings
have been from % 600 to 30, 900 too low.
None of the contractors had been making
anything on the work.
The builders further allege that the
board of education has been violating the
law right along in the matter of extra
work on school buildings, which has been
given out to favorites, without Offering
an opportunity for bids or competition.
The exchange also decided last night to
hle protest with Treasurer Duke OF the
school board, against the payment of the
claim of the Taylor, Romney, Armstrong
company for extra work done on the First
and Fifteenth ward buildings, which
should have been done, they say, by the
contractors.
WILL OBSERVE THE LAW.
President Nelson of the school board,
when informed Of the action OF the build
ers' exchange, stated that he had not ex-
amined the law on the subject, but if the
proposed work was violation of the
statutes, the board would not do it. One
reason why the board had thought