The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-12-02
THIS is FAIR.
The Melan Bridge Company Now
Makes a Proposition
To Build the Kaw River
Bridge
FOR S135,OOO COMPLETE
FurnishingAll Plans, Architects
Experts and Everything.
Saving ShawneeCounty$15,O 5000
of the Money Voted.
THIS Is GREAT LUCK.
No Such Favorable Proposition
Ever offered Topeka.
This Does Away with Last
Vestige for Complaint.

The Melan bridge company has made
a proposition to the county commits
sioners that ought to satisfy everybody.
The company has offered to build the
bridge complete for $4,000 less than the
county has voted! This will include the
cost Of the plans and all.
What more could the county ask?
Ordinarily, when money is voted for
public improvement the people expect
that whatever the amount voted, there
won't be a cent left; but in this case, we
shall have the bridge and $4,000 left in
the county treasury unless the commits
sioners choose to spend it over and above
what the bridge company asks.
In brief, W. II. Keepers, the represen-
tative of the Melan company has offered
to complete the bridge, pave the road
way with brick and construct cement
sidewalks. furnishing the plans and all
material for $135,000. He proposes to
is being built for $4,000 more: or the
commissioners may look after that mat
ter themselves.
This is better than the people had
hoped for. 1t was not thought that the
bridge would be built for less than the
amount voted and now they find that
they can have the kind of a bridge they
want for SIS, 900 less than they bargained
for.
This proposition was made because it
has been said that if the plans are pur-
chased the bridge cannot be built within
the amount voted for its construction at
the recent election.
The company did not ask that the con-
tract be given to them, but proposed to
furnish the plans so that competition
would be open to every contractor in To-
peka. Nothing could have been fairer
because the price asked for the plans
was not excessive. This is proved by the
fact that there is proposition on file in
the office of the county commissioners
from II. V. Hincklev in which he offered
to do the engineering for six and half
per cent, only one per cent less than is
asked by the Melan company.
This pro position of Mr.. Hinckley was
made on September 10, before the prop
osition was submitted to the people, and
on the Gath of the same month he
changed his proposition to per cent,
and the commissioners had virtually
agreed to give him the work at that
figure. Then they almost fell of their
chairs when their attention was called to
the fact that Mr.. Hinckley could not pre-
pare the plans. They were again thrown
into a state of CONSERVATION when the
Melan company asked ~ per cent for
furnishing the plans, and thu eatened to
declare the proposition TO build bridge
void. although Mr. Hinckley had asked
within per cent of what the Melan COM
pany asked.
The proposition submitted by the Melan
company is as follows
TOPEKA, KHNsAs, !
November 80, 1895.
To the Honorable Board of County Commits
sionerS of Shawnee county, Kansas:
=
sition to prepare plans and specifications
for the proposed Kansas avenue bridge
submitted TO you on the 9th inst, we
discover in the discussion that has fol
lowed since then that a wrong impress
sion prevails in some quarters:
First-As to the reasonableness and
fairness of that offer
Second-As to the cost of the bridge
being greater than you and the people
were led to believe it would be-
First, we desire to call your attention
to the fact that the per cent men
toned therein added to the cost of neces-
sary local inspections is less than is
usually charged for work of like charac-
ter, and th at it is much less than such
work is actually done for in this COM
munity, for it will be disclosed by a
reference to the records of the city of
Topeka that the cost for city work runs
from Ten 10 Hiteeu per CSut oA INC con
tract price. Indeed, in the five esti-
mates made for the construction of a
bridge at the same point by the city
engineer of Topeka, he allowed five
per cent for engineering on much more
expensive plans, and the engineering in
that case would have been more or less
general only, and no contractor could
have bid upon the plans except one who
was possessed of considerable skill in
designing sufficient to enable him to
prepare detailed plans upon which 20
make his estimates of cost, and it is safe
to say that you would have no bid from
any citizen of Shawnee county upon
that work. The services we offered
10 perform for seven and
half per cent of the contract
price, mot of s150.OOOO0) was to pre-
pare plans and specifications so complete
and specific in every detail, giving all
dimensions, as well as the quality and
quantity of the different materials used,
that any contractor, even though not an
engineer. could compete in bidding for
| the structure and without doubt there are
at least half dozen Shawnee county