The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1894-08-24
MR.. HANNAY EXPLAINS.

opinion that Mr.. Gerlach gave suffi-
cient explanation for the award of
the contract for heating the new jail.
But criticism still continues, so with
your permission 1 will offer a few
words on the subject.
If anyone is to blame in this mat
ter it is the county board. If there
was certain knowledge that we did
not have that was needful, it belong
ed to us to search thoroughly and find
it. | am sorry for my part that the
plan for taking the matter into court
has fallen through. If we are wrong
we will thank the court to set us
right. | am sure this business was
transacted in entire good faith. We
invited outside parties to come to US,
and give us plans and prices. They
did so. Are we not then in honor
bound to place them on an equal foot
ing with home parties? What shall
we do with them? Please tell us.
From what has been said it would
seem that the price governs every
thing. The price is important. We
have no money to give away or throw
away but there are some things about
this matter that stand ahead of few
dollars. Good heat is cheap at high
price-pOOr heat is dear at low price.
We have for instance learned the
fact that the position and setting Of
the boiler is an important point in
this heating business. 1t may be set
so as to be an everlasting grievance to
those who use it. 1t should be placed
SO as to be convenient for cleaning,
firing and to get fuel to it. Mr..
Nepils plans and ideas in this regard
suited all Of US. The run of the
pipes where they cut through walls
and partitions is something to look
after. a large amount of radiation
we are certain is needful for quick
and thorough heating. Mr.. Wicker
sham to our mind did not provide
enough.
We asked bidders to submit to us
plans and specifications. Now, SO far
as specifications are concerned we got
very little from Mr.. Wickersham. If
you could make comparison of his
specifications with others you would
see great difference. Are we to have
a boiler with full front or half-front or
no front at all? He does not say; but
it is important that he should say.
What thickness of iron will he use to
connect the boiler with the chimney?
He ought to say, but he don't.
And SO it goes. Under Jl;rln
stances we could not give him that
WOr OF, even though
his price had been lower still.
Five or six years ago this firm
lWickersham & Co.. with others put
in bid for heating the court house.
We were at once patriotic to their
bid, and gave it the preference, until
we were compelled to set it aside after
impartial experts, pointed out its de-
fectS.
If you are so wonderfully endowed
with patriotism for home dealers, why
did you not open your mouth when
they put the heating plant into your
High school building? What was the
matter with your school board that
they did not listen to Mr.. Wicker
sham? 1t strikes me that you should
go for them now. How could they
ignore home parties and let the job to
a Minneapolis Co? | am told they did
not get good job, either.
How was it with the heating appa-
ratus at The Saulpaugh hotel, the
City hotel and the Stahl house? Mr..
Wickersham has heretofore done some
work for the county, and l think none
of US are well suited with it. | refer
to the heating apparatus at the poor
farm. We were trying to let it pass
and forget it, but this brings it fully
into our minds again. | can assure
him that there was something in this
that stood against him in the heating
business at the new jail. There is
something that counts besides dollars
and cents.
Since have been on the county
board there has not been an Instance
of letting contract but that home
parties stood first in our minds, pro-
vided what was proposed could be
honorably done, and for the best in
terests of the county. There is nothing
high in Mr.. Nepil's price, and it is my
opinion, when we consider the whole
thing, he is unQuestionably the lowest
bidder.
Two members of the board, Messrs.
Graf and Hughes, have been using
steam boilers and machinery run by
steam from boyhood. For my part l
depended somewhat upon them. We
called in Mr., Burke, the superintend-
ent OF the new jail building, and he is
an expert in steam boilers. We knew
AlNsNA :. NJ