The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-11-21
QUEER BIDDING.
Dry Goods Contract Farce
Repeated Before the
Freeholders.
WHIFFS FROM A SALOON
A Disappointed Bidder Lets the
Cat Out Of the Bag-Nice
Revelations.
WHIFFS FROM A SALOON

tne Lowest, was produced yesterday al
ternoon in the office of the Board of
Freeholders before small but appre-
ciative audience. The dramatis personae
were: Ignatius Noonan.s Charles S.
Furst, C. T. Vincent, Director Heller,
Freeholders Bindernagle, Keating and
Piercy and Clerk Boyd. Other members
of the Board, with County Collector Du-
gan and several reporters, constituted
the audience.
The first act in the farce took place in
saloon located near the Court House,
two weeks ago tonight At the meeting
of the Board Of Freeholders, held that
afternoon. bids were received for the fur
nishing of supplies to the County. There
were four bids for furnishing dry goods.
as follows: C. T. Vincent, $6913.50; 1g-
natius Noonan. $780, Gilmore & o.
Keefe, sS,2 225. and Charles s. Furst. $500.
Vincent's bid was apparently the low
est but after the meeting of the Board.
several of the contractors met in the sa-
loon mentioned and there Noonan is al
legged to have offered to bet Vincent 500
that he (Noonan) would get the contract.
The story caused quite some com
ment and it was said that Noonan based
his assertion on the fact that he had
made an error in extending the totals
on his bid and that. when it was exam
ined by the Freeholders and corrected,
his bid would be the lowest.
This statement was found to be correct.
In the item calling for 5000 yards of
Kentucky jeans, the price was quoted at
two cents per yard and the amount
extended as $780, By making the amount
S160, which would be correct at two cents
per yard $500 would be chopped off Noon
ans bid Noonan also offered to supply
$500 yards of cheviot stripe at one cent
per yard. The one. however. was in the
dime column, although the extension,
$685. was all right.
So much fuss was made over the bids
for dry goods that the Committee to
whom the bids were referred decided to
invite all of the bidders to meet with
them and yesterday afternoon was the
date set for the meeting. When the
meeting opened. Mr.. Furst secured the
centre of the stage and held it for the
greater part of the time. Notwithstand-
ing the fact that his bid was highest OF
ALL Mr.. Furst had long tale of woe
to tell The principal reason he assigned
for not getting the contract was that he
was not popular.
Mr.. Furst asked to see Noonan's bid,
saying that he had not yet seen It. This
does not tally with the story told by
Director Heller and Clerk Boyd, who in
formed a News reporter that imme-
diately after the bids were received, they
made a copy of Noonans bid and gave
it to Mr.. Furst.
After looking at the bid, Mr.. Furst said
that the face of it showed that 1t had
been altered. He told of what he had
heard of the saloon incident and said
the corrected bid was not as Noonan
had said it would be. 1t was remarka-
BILE that cheviot was offered at one cent
4 ward. 1t was impossible for him to
saw whether the bid had been altered
since if was presented or before. He
had found it very difficult to as
certain Just what would be required
He had applied to several members OF
the Board for information, but was told
that the specifications had been revised
and everything in them would nave 10
he furnished He therefore prepared MS
hid strictly in accordance with the spec1-
ffcations.
LAST YEAR AND THIS.
Last year." said Mr.. Furst, the
specifications called for $500 yards OF
ward was ordered or supplied, yet it is
put down the same as usual this year.
Last year 1900 yards of blue derim
Piled. Noonan's bid for this was 10
cents. 1t was the same with 4S-inch
muslin Noonan bid ddo Il cents oecflna for thls
6 600 wards were ordered and supplied.
One of the items in last years speci-
fications was 5000 yards OF AmosKeag
55nIy geo was called for, and 1 have
no reason to believe that any more VIII
be wanted this year. ooo
.Noonan bid u cents a pair for l2OO
pairs of blankets last year not, one
was ordered although they were badly
needed. This year he bids 80 cents per
pair. Fifteen hunderea anie Due enl,on et;nns
Noonan offered to furnish them last
year at 1 cent piece. None Were 1ur-
nished." -
screpancies and said that a bidder who
knew all these things and knew Just
what he would be required d1tsr to fufnish urn
300 yards of India rubber hospital sheet.
ing was offered last year by Noonan at
FIVE cents yard None net, was ,ts Iurnlsnedd' ed
Another case was the furnishing OF
blankets. Noonan's bid last year was
slss each He supplies 1900 Of them at
that price. This year he offers to fur-
nish them for so cents a piece.
After going ali through this Mr.. Furst
stated that he began fifteen years ago
successful until 1890. when. after study
ing the bids Of the successful contractor
of the year previous, he got the con
tract. 1t proved lucrative one to him,
and 1891 he again got the contract. That
year he was not so popular and he was
called upon to furnish all Of the articles
that he had supposed would not be re-
qured. He therefore came out loser.
He was willing to admit that if the bid
ding in other cases was questionable,
it was so in his case, but that was the
only way that he could get the contract.
According to his opinion thE'e. was some
% per cent. below his bid it could not
be otherwise. If Noonan's bid was all
right the county was buying too cheap.
He spoke of different systems in other
cities relative to the bidding for and
furnishing of supplies, and said that
every article in the specifications should
be supplied.
Chairman Bindernagle here asked Mr.
Furst where he got all his information
and that gentleman blandly replied,
why, If you had told me you don't
suppose I'd let the Board know, do you?
Freeholder. Heating. remarked that it
was impossible for the Board to know
would be required. Mr.. Furst said that
if the Board found that it had 1000
yards of prison cloth on hand, for which
8Oc yard had been paid, 1t was not
necessary to put 1t on the specifications
and let Mr.. Nopnan offer to furnish it
for / cent q yard knowing that none
would be called for.
not fix the. prices. All we have to do is
to award the contract to the lowest bid
der, providing his bond Ia all right
Mr.. FurSt then said that of five of the
items were stricken from the list and
the contract then given to him. the