The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1894-10-24


Nashville to examine the plans
that bids must be made out on
forms furnished by the commits
sioner and architect. In all such
cases it is the custom, and it is abb
solutely necessary, that duplicate
plans, called blue prints, shall be
sent to all contractors desiring to
bid. To intelligently bid on a job
like this, costing million dollars,
it is necessary that each contractor
should have the plans whole
month. In this case, all the bidders
had to work in a heap and each
bidder could have the plans only a
small part of the time. The blue
prints could have been made fer a
few dollars and they would prob
ably have saved the state hundred
thousand dollars.
An advertisement purporting to
solicit bids could not be better
drawn were its purport to ward of
bidders. 1t does not indicate what
class of bidders are solicited, and
from it no one could CLEAN whether
the building is to be brick, stone or
wood, nor can one tell whether a
bid will be received on a part, or
the whole of the work. Presum-
ably the work would be one of
magnitude, yet only thirty days
are allowed for the advertise.
ment, response, examination of
plans, and preparation and presen-
tation of bids. No one desiring to
offer a proposal can tell, from the
advertisement, whether trip to
Nashville to examine the plans
would justify his pains.
The advertisement and form of
proposal certainly indicate a sue
cessful influence from some
quarter over the committee, to limit
the bidding to parties having
previous knowledge Of the plans,
or close at hand when they were
exposed.
Take it that general builder, in
response to the advertisement for
bids, went from some other city to
Nashville with a desire to examine
the plans, and bid on the work. He
could not have time within thirty
days, the limit, to make his esti-
mate, mi obtain the estimates OF
the various sub-bidders: masons
carpenters, plumbers, iron workers
excavators, and other trades and
occupations, whose services would
be necessary to complete the con-
tract.
The form of proposal also reveals
that no sub-bid will be received
all bids must be for the entire work
so that even if a brick-maker
stonecutter, plumbers, carpenters
and other tradesmen went to Nash
vile to bid on his particular line
he would not discover until his ar
rival that his estimate would not
be received, unless he bid on the
entire contract, manifest impos'
sibility, and he would be ever
barred from offering a sub-bid, fol
until the bids were opened, he
would not even know who the
general bidders were, unless they
themselves sought him, and SO in
formed him. The manifest injus
tice of this method of letting sucl
Il contract, is so palpable as to pre-
clude the anticipation of successful
explanation.
Diminishing the rights of th'
artisans of the state to present bic
on their several lines of work, thu
fact admits of no dispute that thu
method adopted by the committee
was the most extravagant tina
could possibly have been devised
for, even admitting the honest in
tentions of the committee, careful
forethought for the interests of tn,
state would have convinced then
that they could best be served By
allowing the several branches o
trade to deal direct, rather than b,
placing the general contractor be
tween them and the state.
The state is paying the commits
sion $4,000 per annum and travel
ing expenses, for the very purpos,
of examining and superintendent,
the work, yet by the means the,
have adopted they convert thei
positions into sinecures.
Several condolences excite at
, tention in the selection of site
the adoption of plans, and tn
award of the contract.
/ For many years previous to tn
, determination of the state to bull
a new prison, the people of David
: son county had clamored loud an
, long for the removal of the PEN
: Tertiary from their midst, and ad
: vanced many sound objections t
| its presence there, yet the commits
= sioners selected the new site rigt
: in Davidson county, and in
mediately contiguous to the city {
, Nashville, where the opposition