The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-06-30
$l,OOO FOR A JACKKNIFE
(Continued from First Page,)

submitted to the corporation counsel. It was signed the same night that it was let, and the bond was already. It usually takes four or five days to get them ready
 MT. Bushnell-'T regret exceedingly that have been brought into this mat ter, for it is a serious one for the city and for its citizens. This is a matter that cannot be laughed off. You all know my position on asphalt paving. There has been letter read here which l want to father. l am not ashamed of it. You all know that have been in favor of Trinidad asphalt. If you wish my reasons for being thus attached to Trinidad asphalt ask me. l am not a bulldo2er and never tried to bulldoze anyone. 1 went to MT, Hoyt because l had a right to go to him. l asked him how that pavement was coming on. Hoyt said All right, l guess ] said there is just one man that l am afraid of (Johnson) for I know that he is op- posed to asphalt pavement. l talked with City Engineer Kelly, and I want to say that if he had not been preju
 diced by the board of public works it woud have been all right. Now as to MT. Hoyt. As to my bulldozing him. l
 told him that 1 was interested In West
 Chapel street and I also told him that if a good asphalt was not ordered we
 would get out an injunction. l say so now. l have never had anyone ask me
 seriously if I was interested financially
 in it except by Commissioner Johnson,
 and that was in Heublein's. He asked
 me how much money there was in it
 for me in this asphalt business. He
 said that he was a brick man and l
 said all right I did not think any less
 of him for that. I say here now that
 I have not nor never had any interest
 in any asphalt company
 "The letter which MT. Johnson read I
 wish published"
 New Haven, Conn.,, Auril 30, 1896
 MT. Lyman H. Johnson, city,
 Dear sir: You of course know with
 out an explanation from me that I am
 interested that the new paving of West
 Chapel, Orange and Trumbull streets
 be started in the right direction and
 with the very best material, and the
 work done in such manner as not to
 be to expensive to the resident prop
 erty owners, that those on adjacent streets Will not be opposed to it. I have
 read over the plan and specifications
 given out by MT. Kelly, the engineer,
 and I fail to see why your committee
 should have put in a second edition;
 for the f1rst, in my opinion, was for what I should judge MT. Kelly thought to be for the best interests of the city of New Haven, and to be of the best quality, and he did not, as I could see, exclude any fellow from putting in bids, providing he had the best. or what he believed to be the best goods to offer. However, that is a matter for your people to decide. All I want is to have the best quality and the best work and have it done as cheaply as possible in order to get good work Your last spec ifications call only for bids of ten years and l presume your idea, is to let in any kind of pavement, as I have heard it remarked by one of your commits soners, that they might make it of mo- lasses and sand, if they wanted to, so long as they put up a satisfactory bond for a guarantee of ten years. You will forgive me if l say that I consider this
 a very unbusinesslike and inconsistent
 way to get at this matter, and would
 suggest that you allow bids to be
 offered for five and ten years with a
 proper guarantee that the pavements
 shall be as good at the end of the eX-
 piratiOn Of the contract as could be
 reasonably expected; and l sincerely
 hope that you will not let any contracts for over a five year guarantee, as it if +O "a nortIy owners, that the object for which this matter was started will meet with a very serious setback, if the property owners and the city are obliged to pay so large a percentage as would be necessary for them in order to get a ten or fifteen year bond. All the prop erty owners along the street where this is to J be laid have been led to believe (and upon pretty good authority) that the pavement would not cost over from SPAS to g. for the very best Pitch Lake asphalt with a five year guarantee, and I do not believe there will be much, if any faultfinding over that price; but when you come to put forty or fifty cents per square yard on top of that for a ten year guarantee, so you commissioners can feel you have done your duty, and will probably be out of office by that time, or if in office, can have the satis- faction of feeling you got a job done for ten years, by letting in anything that came along, because man put in a bid for something said to be just eX . actly as good, thereby shirling the re sponsibility for which you were elected, and making the property owners pay for it, is what I consider mighty poor business, and not worthy of the present board of public works. You gentlemen are ir a position to start this matter
 as it should be. New Haven people do not want any experimenting. Other cities have done all the experimenting necessary, and l would suggest that the proper thing for you commission CTS to do would be to ask for bids and specifications upon the first plans got 1 ten out by MT Kelly, which were un- questionably done honestly and with out any bias on his part, even if some other fellow does come and tell you that you are fostering @ monopoly by buy 1 ing the best We certainly cannot have to pay (under the same conditions) more than the city of Hartford, which | was less than $25O, with a five year guarantee You will excuse me if l say very plainly that what the public want Cthat is, the best citizens of New Ha- l ven) is the very best quality of pave ment and work, and will stand about