The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-11-12
i. Similar letters were offered from

mer petition in favor OF asphalt and in
dorsng vitrifed brick. petition was
also read from several property owners
who had recon sidered their petitions in
| favor of asphalt, but expressed no prefer
ence as to the material to be used Mr..
Lawrence said that many persons VINO mad
! signed for asphalt were to withdraw their
names simply because OF the fact that they
did not wish to change.
The bid of the Virginia Paving Company
| at SLIGO per square yard, including pitch-
| ing the joints and offering 10 keep the
paving in repair for twenty years at 3
cents per square yard per annum was
! read. The company gave no nVe-year
! guarantee. This bid was amended by
| adding q guarantee to keep in repair for
| five years without cost to the city. WITH
out the five-year guarantee and the
contract 10 keen in repair for twenty
years, the company offered to take the
contract for $3.50 per square yard. rms
was a heavy cut on the former bid ana
surprised the Tennessee people, who mad
not anticipated such cut.
Judge MacDonell held that the Warren
Scharf Company is monopoly, the as
phalt companies having divided the couh-
try among themselves, thus doing away
with competition and no independent
competing company being able 10 secure
asphalt from Trinidad. The more streets
that Savannah payes with asphalt' ne SAID
the more the city binds itself to the TAR
baby. the Warren-Scharf Asphalt Com
pany, which has a monopoly OF asphall
paving In this section. Instead Of doing TINS.
he said. the council should show its WIS
dom by settling upon system OF paving
for the city which can be continued lndeh-
nitely for years without endangerlng the
clty's interests by putting it in the power
of monopoly. The present asphalt pave
ments, he pointed out, are already IN pad
condition and are certain to rot out IN
time These, he said, are the best asphat
pavements and not the $1.95 pavement
which 1t Is proposed to put on South
Broad street. Judge MacDonelIs argument
was a strong one throughout ana doupt-
less had its effect in the decision OF coun-
ell. ,.
Judge A. II. MacDonel spoke in behalf
of the Virginia Paving Brick Company
He indorsed everything that mad peen
said on the subject by Messrs. Cam ana
Lawrence, and made the point that as
the law requires an ordinace TO be adopted
by a vote of two-thirds of the board IN
order to levy the assessments against the
property owners, a two-thirds' vote would
he required in order TO change to any
other material. He read a strong indorse-
ment of brick paVements by the city en-
gineer of Chicago. While new to Savan-
nah, there are over 400 cities in the united
States having brick pavements, ne salo.
Judge MacDonell quoted the figures or
the Warren-Scharf Asphalt Company Tor
making repairs after water and gas con-
nections and said that experience showed
that the cost of making such connec-
ton on asphalt streets is about $40. be
told the story of the rabbit and the tar
baby and said that if Savannah continued
to put down asphalt she would soon be
in the position of the rabbit, which was
stuck head, feet and tail to the tar baby.
Capt Cam wanted to offer an amend
ment to the bid of the Tennessee Paving
Brick Company, saying that 1t had not
understood the permission to amend the
bids at the beginning of the meeting.
This caused some discussion Col. Gar
rard argued that Tire question before coun-
ell was the use OF Vltrihed brick or as
phalt, and If the council should decide
upon brick, be believed 1t should invite
bids from all brick companies, for the
purpose of securing the lowest possible
bid By vote of to 5, Alderman Tiede-
mans motion not to receive any further
amendments was adopted.
Mr. Jacob Gazan presented the merits
of asphalt blocks, manufactured by the
Hastings Paving Company of New York.
He said that his company was in the
unique position of being able to claim all
the advantages which had been claimed
for both street asphalt and vitrified brick.
The block paving has all the convenience
and facility of brick and all the smooth
ness and noiselessness of the asphalt, and
is more durable than either The blocks
being composed of Trinidad lake asphalt,
and trap rock are harder and more dura-
BILE than asphalt
Mr. Gazan referred to the square of as
phalt block in front of the city exchange
which has been there about thirteen
years, the only difference from the new
pavement being that the composition
of these blocks was limestone rock and
asDhalt while now the blocks are manu-
featured of hard rock and asphalt The
city of Baltimore has this pavement on
several streets, among others being the
well-known Eutaw place The best price
| at which the company could furnish the
| block, he said, is SCI. per 1000 or 81 So
| per square yard, and, consequently, II
| could not compete with brick. The cost
| to the city of laying the block would be
| about 20 cents a square yard, he thought.
Mr.. Gazan made good argument IN be-
| half of the block. If the city had any
! idea of using asphalt his company was
| distinctly in the field.
| Col. A. r. Lawton made an argument In
| behalf of a number of property owners
| on South Broad street desiring asphalt.
| He argued that asphalt is pre-eminently
| the modern pavement, and, consequently,
the only pavement to be used upon Sa-
| vannah's most beautiful thoroughfare.
| Col Lawtons argument was brief, but
| effective, and was favorably commented
upon.
This ended the discussion of the subject
and Mayor Myers announced that the
| committee would go into executive session
to consider the question. This was at 10 :5(
o'clock. The session lasted fifty minutes.
| At 11:40 o'clock the doors were thrown
open, and the council was convened In
open session. 1t was soon apparent that
| the brick people had lost. Alderman
Garrard's amendment to the South Broad
street paving ordinance, substituting as
phalt for brick. introduced at a previous
meeting, was taken from the table Al
aye and nay vote was taken according tC
the rules. Alderman Falligants was the
first named called. He explained it bS
saying that if 1t were merely a question
between asphalt and vitrihed brick. hi
would DE willing to leave ii to the decis
ion of the property owners on the street
but as he believed a much cheaper mater.
ial, which would answer every purpose
could be secured he felt constrained t
vote no.
All the others, including Mayor Myers
voted aye, with the exception of Alderman
Kolshorn, who voted no. All the member.