The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-08
Mr.. HORST IS RIGHT
HE HAD NO CONTRACT WITH THE
SCHOOL BOARD TO FURNISH
BR0OMS.
HAD ONE FOR STEP LADDERS
TO FILL, BEING A CITY Of
FICIAL.
GOOD BARGAIN FOR THE CITY
Made Before He Was Elected and
the Board VIII Hold Him
to- 1t.

City Treasurer G. L. Horst has writ
ten the G l o b in reference to an ar
ticle that appeared in this paper
Wednesday morning. in which it was
stated that Mr.. Horst was in difficulty
with the board of education regarding
a contract for the furnishing of brooms
to the board. 1t was also stated in
the article that Mr.. Horst had the con-
tract and that he had since refused
to fulfill it's obligations, and that the
board was dissatisfied with the quail
ity of the brooms which Mr.. Horst had
already furnished. Mr.. Horst, In his
communication to the G l o b denies
most emphatically that he ever had
contract to furnish the school board
with brooms, but acknowledges he had
contract ITO furnish wash basins,
cotton mop heads, step ladders, ETC."
The G o b was in error and with
that spirit of fairness characteristic
of all truly good newspapers, hastens
to assure waiting public that Mr.
Horst never had a contract to furnish
brooms to the school board, and that
Mr.. Horst has never had any difficulty
with the school board about such a
trivial matter
But Mr.. Horst has had difficulty with
the school board on the matter Of step
ladders, and it is limited that he is try
ing to evade his responsibility in the
premises by pleading that as a member
of the city administration he is not
qualified to fulfill the terms Of his con-
tract
DOR1IT10T1tS
comptroller's office show that c. L.
Horst was awarded a contract to fur
nish step ladders of a certain make to
the school board at the following fig
ures: Six-foot, 80 cents; eight-foot.
$1.10; ten-foot, $1.35. The next lowest
bidder offered to furnish the articles
for $1.85, $2.75 and SO for the three
sizes respectively. Each bidder was
shown a sample of the ladder the
board desired the bids upon ~- When
ladders were ordered from Mr.. Horst
he sent quality unknown to the
board, and they say not the kind upon
which bids were made and which the
board desired. One of Mr. Horst's lad
ders was sent to the Humboldt school.
but Supt. Gerlach refused to allow the
janitor to use it, saying it was not
strong enough and that if the janitor
or any one using 1t should fall and sus-
tain injuries the city would be respon-
S1ble for such damages as might be
adjudged in favor of the injured per-
son. One of these ladders in use at the
Jackson school collapsed, and the jan
itor received injuries that laid him up
for some time. .4t
When Mr.. Horst's attention was
called to the fact that he was not liv-
ing up to the terms of his contract, he
said he was furnishing the kind of
ladders he bid upon Some members
of the board are of the opinion that
Mr.. Horst made a mistake, but insists
that the successful bidder carry out
his part of the contract
Now comes Mr.. Horst, who SAYS he
is a city official and he is forbidden by
the charter to furnish material of any
description to the city-brooms or step
ladders, or cotton mop heads-under
contract. But the school board people
are of the opinion that as Mr. Horst's
contract was entered into with the city
before his election to the office of city
treasurer, and as he put up a good and
sufficient bond with approved bonds
men to fulfill his obligation to the city.
his election does not permit him to
| repudiate his contract, and that
| further, If he does not comply with the
demand of the school board within the
| thirty days after demand prescribed
by law, the city attorney will be in
structed to bring suit against the re-
calcitrant bidder and his bondsmen
In the meantime the school. board
wants step ladders worse than small
boy ever wanted a circus ticket = But
until this difficulty with Mr. Horst is
settled the work of renovating' the va
rious school houses of the city is Sc
| riously delayed because the board can
not go elsewhere to purchase the par
ticular kind of ladders needed and Mr..
Horst will not furnish them. When
the matter is finally adjudged-that is,
when Mr.. Horst, thirty days after de-
mand, refuses to fulfill his obligations
| to the board-then the board can go
into open market, buy the ladders,
and then sue Mr.. Horst to recover the
difference between the cost to the
board and the price made on the same
articles by Contractor Horst.