The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-01-29
Goes TO HUNT { C0NNELL
They Obtain Contract for Heating and
Ventilating New High School.
THE VOTE WAS TEN TO ELEVEN
A Majority and Minority Report Were
Presented the Members of the High
School COmmittec-Thc Latter
Adopted by the Board.

night awarded the contract for heating
and vetilating the new high school
building. Every member of the board
was in his seat when Chairman Won
Storch's gavel sounded the call to or
der, and the lobby of the meeting room
was occupied with numbers Of interest
ed citizens What attracted them was
the fact that the above named contract
would be let; and that there was a
spirited rivalry for the job between the
firm that got it and Gaylord & Eta
penc of Binghamton.
George Mitchell, when that order of
business was reached, walked forward
to the secretary's desk and handed one
report, the majority one of the high
school committee to Mr. Fellows. The
report was signed by C. II. Won Storch,
w. j. Welsh. Il. j. Jennings and George
Mitchell, and recommended the award
ing Of the contract to Gaylord & Eta
penc for the sum of $24540. Mr.. Worm
ser followed next with minority re-
port from the committee signed by Mr..
Wormser, w. S. Langstaff and W. G.
O'Malley, recommending the awarding
of the contract to Hunt & Connell for
the sum of $29,67S. The full bid of Gay
lord K Eitapenc was $2S,973 and the
recommendation of the majority report
giving them the contract for $24, $40
came about by the dropping off of TWO
items, one for the refrigerator, the 9TH
er for marble partitions in the closets.
Mr.. Mitchel's Remarks.
Mr.. Mitchell arose to speak in sup
port of the report which he presented.
He said the members as public servants
should do their duty in business-like
manner. There 'was no reason why
Hunt & Connell should get the contract
because they are Il home firm, since
their bid was higher than that of Gay
lord & Eitapenc.
The bids were advertised in out of
town papers and out of town contrac-
tors were invited to go to the trouble
of preparing their bids. This was no
better than farce, because when the
bids are read it has been the disposition
OF the members to favor home bidders.
Mr.. Mitchell did not believe in this and
said that if his own brother had been
in the place of Hunt g. Connell, he
"oulu Nole against MN.
Mr.. Wormser followed and attacked
the argument of Mr.. Mitchell on the
assumption that in a job calling for
the expenditure of a $29, 900 contract,
only $500 would be spent for labor.
Such statement, Mr.. Wormser said,
was absurd on the face of it,
There are some kinds of economy that
UO not pcDnnmivp NIr
could not see that it would be a very
great benefit to the taxpayers at large
to give the Binghamton firm the work
just because their bid was sos lower.
The public would be accorded a much
greater return by the employment of
home citizens in doing the work. And
Furthermore, the committee had recon-
mended that an engine instead of an
electric motor should be put in, and the
location of 1t was transferred from the
cellar to the attic. Both of these
| changes would result in cheapening the
| contract several hundred dollars and
the contract of Hunt & Connell by this
| would be the lowest after ALL
A Vote Called for.
Mr. Jennings said he is always in line
"IIli lit VI piOlctllllS nome Dlu-
derS, but the committee refused to
listen to him when he suggested some
changes in the plans. He made up his
mind that he would vote for the lowest
bidder. Mr.. Notz had few words to
say on the subject and Mr. Wormser
called for vote on the adoption of the
| minority report. 1t would take a
prophet to tell how the result was on
the viva voce vote, but the suspense
was soon over and the roll call disclosed
that the contract was awarded to Hunt
& Connell by the following vote:
Ayes - Evans, Devanney, Wormser,
| Watrous, O'Boyle, Schriefer, Barker
Coar, Notz, O'Malley, Langstaff. Total
Nays-aIitchen. Won storch. II, +
| OMalley, Carson, Mahon Welsh, Jacobs
Jennings, Williams. Total, TO-
Mr. Williams, of the finance commit
tee, reported the annual list of exonera-
tions of delinquent tax collectors and
the report was approved. A communi-
cation was read from Solicitor II. A..
| Knapp about the title of three lots of
land on West Market street, owned by
\ +. O'Boyle and William II. OMalley,
which the board is looking to pur-
| chase. The communication was in ref
erence to the title To the land and the
matter was referred to the finance com
mttee i'm conjunction with the attorney.
Mr.. Wormser said that the teachers
committee had done nothing because of
the Illness of Superintendent Phillips,
but that he expected as Mr.. Phillips is
! reported as much improved that the
committee will get to work right away.
The payroll of the salaries Of the Of
ficers of the board was approved and
the meeting adjourned,
| Buy the Weber