San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-02-06
Ghe Guilty Eight.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, '95
THAT Sewer Contract"

Uu5luSeSlIhS way tnutdNOl W al
swer same. AS is well known, loni
before said contract was adver
tised, and even before the tax
payers were called upon to vot,
the money therefor, the Council
in businesslike manner, sough
for expert and reliable information
as to the probable cost, the kind o
sewerage to construct, etc.
In this line Mr.. Gray, civil en-
gineer Of national reputation, anC
than whom no man was ever bet
ter endorsed or recommended tC
any people both as to capacity as
well as to his sterling integrity,
was selected, came to our
city, spent weeks in making thor
ough Typographical survey Of our
city, then after months Of careful
computation in connection with
our city engineer, the plans and
specifications were ready, bids for
the contract were advertised, and
in every way to gain for the
city the best results in the
letting Of the same, they were
advertised freely and all who
wished to bid on the same were
furnished all the data and specifi-
cations, no favoritism or partiality
being shown in smallest particu.
lar. The time arrived, all bids
that were formal having been
carefully computed and tabu-
lated, everything being done
in connection Herewith open
and above board and the coun-
Gil was called to open, con-
slider the bids and award the con-
tract. The city in its advertise.
ments following the old and well
recognized rule OF reserving "the
right to reject any or all bids"
The council met on the afternoon
Of Dece mber 3lst, and after some
consultation the seven lowest
bidders were advised to remain, for
consideration OF their bids, and the
council adjourned over until jan
aary End, ali 6. tie said seven
lowest bidders having been requir-
ed to come in their order before
said meeting and answer such
questions as the council might
wish to PROFOUND to them con-
corning their bids, their ability
to do the work, give bond,
etc. This eventful day having
arrived and everything in read
mess, after some prelimina.
ry work by the council, Mr..
Stratiord, one Of the firm of lowest
bidders, was called before the couu-
Gil, all other contractors or bidders
being asked to retire, that all
might be fair. The writer was i'm
pressed with two answers given
by Mr.. Strattford to questions as
follows: How many hours work
per day per man, and how many
cubic yards Of dirt did you figure
on one man eXcavating per day?
His answer was, 10 hours
for a days work and from
II to y cubic yards per day for
each man. When asked what
wages he expected to pay, said,
"from $l.25 up" but would be gov
erned by the market for labor, and
was not willing to bind himself in
his contract to pay minimum of
$l.25 per day for his labor. When
asked how soon he could or would
furnish bond said, in about ten
days; nothing more definite as to
bond would he say. About this time
Alderman Albert Beckmann, one
Of the most active and conscien-
tious Of our aldermen, arose and
said that he had had long expert
ence in excavating in this soil and
that no man could excavate
more than five or six cubic
yards per diem in this soil.
There let me say up to this point
and ever after, l was strongly in
favor OF giving the contract to the
lowest bidder and take the chances.
But others were called, and when
the present contractor was ques.
toned as to cubic yards, he said 5
to Z per day, and as to wages he
expected to pay $3.50 per day, and
although it was no part Of the
specifications, he said he felt salts
fed Mr.. Hindry would be even
willing to put the $3.50 per
day clause in the con-
tract. Then came Mr.. Gray
with his report and advice, and in
a plain, concise and business man
ner reported to the council his es-
innate Of the cost of an honest job
to be $4,000, some $1,000 above
the contract as let. Mr.. Gray gave
good and valid reasons for his es-
innate and told the council in plain
words that the lowest bid was not
ALWAYS the hnSt ond that tho far