The San Francisco call., 1895-07-18
HOW THE VAN NESS AVENUE JOB WAS DONE

Office. He would find ample public sup
port, for the temper of the people Is ripe
for general clearing up.
with regard to this Van Ness avenue
contract, 1 not only think the price to be
more than excessive, the method OF pro-
cedure wholly irregular, but when done
do not think under the specifications 1t
will be good well-paved street. 1t does
not seem possible that it should be. EX-
perts in these matters tell me 1t cannot be.
Van Ness avenue was macadamlZed some
years ago and the surface is thoroughly
impacted. 1t is full of hills and hollows,
but the hills and hollows are equally tlrm.
"The specifications require that the sur
face be loosened and the hollowS filled up
with new macadam and the hills trimmed
down. Over this 212 inches of bitumnous
rock is to be spread. is it reasonable tnat
the rock spread over the new macadam
can stand as firm as that over the old I'M
pacted surface? In a few weeks the sur
face of the bituminous rock will take on
the hills and hollows that are represented
under it. So much for that. have not
determined what action / shall finally take
in the matter of the resolution. OF this
there is a certainty, however" he added,
significantly, "that the authorization of
pavment for the work is not valid until /
have signed it,"
So it appears that Van Ness avenue is
not to be well paved after all, notwith
standing the value of good work is to be
paid for twice over. That is the result in
six cases out of twelve, at least, with these
private contracts
Is this Van Ness avenue Job unusual of
its kind?
1t is unusual only in that the City agrees
to pay certain sum "as half the cost" of
the entire work, when that cost has not
been ascertained, as it should have been,
by public call for bids. The Superin-
tendent of Streets is directed to enter into
a contract with two contractors who have
before been immensely favored.
1t is also known that the same sort OF
job stood ready to be perpetrated on Mar
ket street so soon as public funds might
warrant it.
But the evil of the private contract does
not confine itself to any street. but roams
at large throughout the City and burdens
the people with excessive cost of pave
ments, bars the general contractor from
the field of City work, confining it to the
favored and pliable few. That is the evil
of the private contract on public work,
with all its possibilities of corruption,
wrong and injustice.
That is the reason why whole page of
the official paper is to-day devoted to the
publication of resolutions which direct
that the Superintendent of Streets center
into private contract with such and
such" OF the favored contractors.
The method of bringing this about is the
same as in the case of Van Ness avenue.
The property-owners along a street want
it improved. They are visited by the rep
resentative of these contractors who in
duce them to sign petitions to the board;
a resolution of intention is published, the
contractor negotiates with the property
owners, secures pledges for their own
figure and then the final resolution is run
through by the majority of the board in
favor of the contractor. By this means the
property-owner is robbed of the benefits of
the competition that is designated by the
law. Such are the high figures obtained
IN many caseS--as property-owners in few
instances have any knowledge of what the
prices should be-that many men. who
are not contractors make an excellent
livelihood by securing these contracts or
pledges from property-owners and selling
them out to the contractors who have the
''pulr' with the majority of the board.
1t was this evil at which the little reso-
luton was directed, which was offered by
Supervisor Spreckels, chairman of the
Street Committee, and which slipped
through in the lassitude of atmosphere of
general assent which prevailed at the
last meeting of the board.
Here is the resolution:
~
IL Resolved, That from and after this date no con-
tract for street work shall be entered into for the
City unless rst subjected TO bids to be rendered 10
this board.
It is designed to work a complete cure of
this evil if the Solid Eight does not over
ride it. 1t has been formally adopted, not
by rollcall, but because no objection was
raised to it.
Under this resolution the private snap"
is dead. There can be no more favoritism.
All contractors will stand on an equal foot
ing, and the man who bids lowest will get
the work. This will bring good many
men into active business life who have
been hitherto barred out by the ring. 1t
will be interesting to see how far and how
long.
This is so much in the right direction.
1t is, indeed, great deal.
ATa AID oil TIlEln 6IIlRaHa