The herald., 1894-10-04
THERE THREATENS TO Be A ROW
Style of Chemical Engines the
City Must Buy.
A Rumpus About a Quantity Of New
Machines.
All the Oeuucilmsn Receive Letters
From the Firm that Did
Not Gst the
Contract.

The city council by vote of five to
three has adopted the recommendation
OF the fire commission to buy three
Champion oombinstion chemical en-
gines, but the end 10 apparently not yet.
A vigorous kick has been made against
the awarding of the contract to the COM
pany which handles the Champion ma
chineF. The kick comes from the San
Francisco representative OF the Boston
Woven Hose and Rubber company.
This company presented bid which
was several hundred dollars lower than
the bid of the company which has re-
ceived the contract by the act OF the
council on Tuesday.
A personal letter has been received by
every member of the city council from
the Boston company which handles the
Holloway combination chemical engine
and hose wagon. The letter says:
DEAR SiR:-we understand that your board OF
fire commissioners in taking action upon the
proposition for furnishing your tre department
with these combination chemical engines and
hose wagons, has allowed the agents for the
Champion engine to change their bid, made in
hCCOrOdnce WIN your advertisement calling
for sealed prop osals opened June 1S, 1894, and
has allowed said agents to meet our price for
furnishing this apparatus and have awarded
them the contract. We understand that this
action has been taken by the com missioners
upon the representation of an e1-chiet of your
department., that the Champion, for which he
is agent is the best machine to purchase, and
is the most generally used. We are not in-
formed as TO the vouchers for the ability
of this party to pass as an expert upon the
apparatus known as combination wagon,
w II
the lower by several hunJred dollars and which
called for the furnishing of apparatus which is
should not be thrown aside upon the judgment
OF one whose knowledge of fire matters and fire
apparatus has been confined mostly to his ex
perience in The Los Angeles department, and
probably could not recognize one of our ma
chimes, were it placed before him, without
reading the name on the plate, and who per-
haps has never seen com bination wagon in
The Holloway combination chemical engine
and hose wagon is the latest improvement In
apparatus OF the kind, and az matter of cold,
hard fact III the one In most general use
throughout eastern departments. Combination
wagons OF any make have not yet been sold on
this coast. Our price for furnishing three Hol.
loway combination wagons ts $3.50, delivered
at Los Angeles. The price bid for furnishing
three Champion machines amounted to $5S32
on the cars at Chicago.
ing the Champion agent to change his
bid in this Irregular way is unfair,
and Illegal, ana is
a courSe of procedure against which we
desire to enter our formal protest. The wording
of your published advertisement calling for
admits of the rejection of any or all
bids, but does not admit of any party being al
lowed to change his bid without re- advertising.
We submitted our PROPOSAL and our certified
check in accordance with your advertisement
and in good faith. We ma ie you at the start q
proposition for furnishing the best goods n the
market at a proper price. We did not Mt first
m ke an exorbitant figure, with the idea that
h to rrln hat hpA h
cessfully we would take anything we could get
later on.
Under the circumstances, we submit that we
should be award ed the contract to furnish
these three pieces of apparatus, aud we respect
full ask for our proposition the favorable con-
sideration of your honorable body.
Yours very truly,
r. 8, CHAPMAN,
For Boston Woven Hose and Rubber Company
The contract will be ready for the
signatures of both partiea at the meet
ing of the city council today. 1t will
require the signatures of at least elk
members of the council to make the
contract good. The letter is no doubt
intended to knock out the Champion
proposition by inducing the council
men to think that the proceedings thus
far have not been legal.
The statement that the Boston COM
pany presents its formal protest would
look as il the Holloway people do not in
tend to let the matter pass without
struggle.