The Washington times., 1895-03-01
CROOKED WORK CHARGED
Alleged Irregular Construction of
a School Building.
LABOR MAKES THE COMPLAINT
Specified Violations of Contract and speci-
fcations in the Use of Inferior Material
and Incompetent Labor on the Southeast
Washington School -house-An Investiga-
ton Will Probably Be Ordered.

Charges of gross violation of the CON
| tract and specifications drawn for the con
struction of the new school building on E
street southeast, between Thirteenth and
| Fourteenth streets, have been filed with
the District Commissioners by commit
| tee of the Federation of Labor. If the
allegations made prove to be true it is not
| improbable that the greater part of the
structure will have to be torn down and
rebuilt.
| ALLEGED VIOLATIONS SPECIFIED.
| report OF the alleged faulty construc-
tion having been communicated to the FEEDER
| alton, a committee was appointed to make
an investigation That committee, COM
| posed of George o. Cook, Thomas E.
| Webster, and Columbus NJ Barnes, re-
! ported in substance the following alleged
! facts: First, the contract and specifica-
tions are violated in workmanship and
material; second, the brickwork is executed
in the worst possible manner, the walls being
neither plumb, straight, or level; third,
that salmon brick have been used in the
walls above grade line, and that the walls
are built hollow 10 the extent that admits
mans hand between the bricks; fourth,
! the joints IN the select brickwork are of
extra thickness and are out of plumb; fifth,
| that the jolsts are sappy, bark edge, and
| knotty, ard leveled UP 10 the walls with
i from two to three courses of dry brick and
upon wooden blocks; and finally, that
! the work as u whole is a libel to skilled
labor
These allegations, with statement OF
| particulars each from George o. Cook,
| Charles s. Dougherty, and Thomas f.
| Webster, were forwarded yesterday to the
| Commissioners, with the request upon the
| part of the organization that thorough
examination be made of both work and
material, and, should the charges be sub
! stantiated, that the building be ordered
| to be taken down and rebuilt in an honest
and workmanlike manner.
WHEN CONTRACT WAS AWARDED.
The contract for the construction of this
building was awarded to Charles r. Mon
roe upon his bid OF S24, ,4I4, on the 9TH day
of October last His bid was not the lowest
but owing to the fatal informalities in the
| proposal Of the man who would otherwise
have received it, Building Inspector En-
| twisle submitted Monroes proposition,
With the following Endorsement:
The proposal OF Lynch & Leathers was
lle IONtSb maui, DuI was lUlOIIHdi. Inc
! next lowest is that of c. L. Monroe. There
| can be no question as to his reliability, but
being in the brick business il is a question,
under the construction OF the first para
| graph of instructions TO bidders, whether
| he is regularly himself in the business of a
builder, that being one Oft the requirements. y
Beneath the building inspectors indorse
ment was the following Satisfactory
evidence has been presented that Monroe
| is a practical builder" and this was
| initiated by Commissioners Ross and Trues-
| dell
The satisfactory evidence consisted Of
two affidavits, one signed by Mr.. Monroe
and the other by George White, in which
the former was shown to have been for a
| number of years in the business.
| 1t is alleged that Mr.. Monroe sublet the
contract to practical builder named
Anderson, but that for some reason he
| annulled the agreement with Anderson
and relet the work TO Mr. Kirby, Monroe s
| brother-in-law, and that ever since the
construction began incompetent workmen
andindifferentm material have been employed.
INSPECTOR BRADY NOTIFIED.
Mr.. George o. Cook, of the committee
above named, called upon Inspector Brady
ON Saturday and communicated TO him in
part what is contained in the formulated
charges since prepared. Mr.. Brady
| promptly tulOiilltu illl1 llldl IL uC MOulu
make a written statement OF his allega-
tions and address il 10 the Commissioners
the matter would doubtless be referred to
his office, in which case there would be a
! rigid investig alton made of the whole
matter, and this is what may now be an
ticipated.
Its known that about the 7th of February
Inspector Brady visited partly constructed
buildings and that whilemaking anexamina-
ton of the premises he found quantity of
salmon bricks on the ground. He demanded
to know OF Supt. Cox if any such had been
used in the structure. The reply he received
will no doubt appear later, but Mr.. Brady
peTemptorily ordered the bricks removed,
and notified Mr.. Cox to permit no more to
be brought there. Two weeks later, it is al
legged, Mr.. Brady paid a second visit to
the building and discovered salmon bricks
not only upon the ground about the scene
OF construction, but upon the scaffolding
at the top of the unfinished wall.
The scene that ensued was not exactly
stormy, but the Inspector required the OBJ
jectionble material TO be at once removed
and demanded written report to be made
by Supt. Cox of the fact that it had been
taken away and disposition made OF it,.
That report, il is understood, Mr Brady
has now in his possession.
HOW HOLLOW WALLS MAY BE FOUND.
The truth of the allegations as to the
hollow walls can only be demonstrated by
! plugging, and other means that builders
employ to demonstrate such defects in
structure, but itissaid there will be no trouble
The walls of the building are now up to
a height of probably fifteen feet above the
location of the alleged hollow walls.
When asked yesterday afternoon as to
whether or not the board had yet received
the charges made by the Federation com
mttee, Commissioner Ross said he had not
yet seen them, though they might have
reached the office without his knowledge.
He had seen a reference to the matter in
The Times OF Sunday. but had no personal
or official knowledge of the alleged irregu-
larities, nor that charges were to be made.
Building Inspector Brady stated the mat
ter had been brought to his knowledge by
Mr. Cook, and that he had also seen the
reference TO it in The Times of Sunday
He declined to discuss it for publication
but said he should not hesitate to act upon
charges that might be preferred through
the proper channels. He very properly
preferred that the Commissioners should
be the first to take up the question, but
said that he should deal with that as