The record-union., 1896-03-30

SAN FRANCISCO, March 29.-John
w. Mcdonald of the City Front I'm
provement Company was asked to-day
whether there was any truth in the
statement telegraphed from Sacra-
mento this city with reference to the bid
of James Touhey of Sacramento to btu
minize the streets fronting on the Capt.
tol Park for 1899 96.
Mr. Mcdonald denounced as abso-
lutely false the intimation that there
was a combination among the dealers
and contractors in bituminous rock.
Mr.. Touhey could get all the bituminous
rock he wanted at the market price
from the Santa Cruz mines, represented
by Mr.. Mcdonald, or from the San Luis
Obispo mines, represented by Mr. Per-
rine or from a half-dozen other sources.
The facts of the case, according to the
version of Mr. Mcdonald, are that the
City Trustees of Sacramento and the
State Bureau of Highways neglected to
notify the bidding contractors from San
Francisco of the fact that the slate
rcck-crushing plant at Folsom would be
In readiness to deliver rock for the con-
crete at 80 cents per ton, delivered in
Sacramento. Not being aware of this
highly important fact, the outside con-
tractors bid on the estimate that the
rock for the concrete would have to be
purchased from private sources at 81 90
per ton. This made a difference of
81 900 in the contract.
Mcdonald says James Touhey, the
Sacramento contractor, had the tip on
this, and underbid him CMcDonald) in
the aggregate 50, 100 on the three con-
fra pf QaUnrticQd IN Of
tracts, aggregating $27,0O0 he under
bid him (McDonald) only 5000 in round
numbers. On the morning on which the
bids were opened, r. c. Irvine, one of
the members of the State Bureau of
Highways, announced that the plant at
Folsom would furnish broken rock for
the work at 90 cents per ton delivered
in Sacramento. Then Mr.. Mcdonald
and the representative of N. p. Perrine,
who were the principal bidders on the
work, saw that they had been captured
by joker. They protested against
what they claim as unfair treatment
which was designed to cinch the prop
eFty-owners and the State out of at least
$4,000, the difference between the price
of the State rock and the private rock
on which the San Francisco contractors
1AdO Old DQl lAcy were liOl GlioWGu W
change their bids, and Touhey got the
contract.
81 think that City Trustee Kent has
placed himself in an indehcate position
by appearing before the Commissioners
as the advocate of Contractor Touhey,"
added Mr. Mcdonald. ''Mr. Kent, as
a member of the Trustees and the Street
Committee, will have to pass upon Mr..
Touhey's work and upon his bills"
Mr.. Mcdonald followed this with a
statement to the effect that, on motion
of Kent, some time last year the City
Council of Sacramento was induced to
give to Contractor Touhey for $40 or
some such nominal sum lot of cobble-
stones for which Mr. Mcdonald had Of
fered Trustee Kent $3.50. Trustee Kent
informed the council at the time he
made the motion that the sum offered
by Touhey was all that could be OBJ
tained for the cobbles; that the city had
no use for them, and no place to store
them.
Mr.. Mcdonald knew nothing as to the
truth of Kent's story of an offered
bribe.
r. c. Mattingly, the representative of
Perrine, corroborated Mr.. McDonald's
statement for the most Of the case, and
emphatically denied that any combine
existed among the dealers or contract
OrS in bituminOuS rock