The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-08-28
FOR LIGHTING AND HEATING.
SEVERAL HOURS SPENT IN GOING
OVER FIGURES AND IN
ARGUMENT.
MIR. M'GEARf's BID WAS HIGHER
Than That of the Company, Was the
Conclusion Which IL Majority
Drew.

city hall and county jail for the en-
suing three years, beginning Jan. 1, 1898,
for the contract price of $12,9OO year.
Such was the decision of the joint
court house and city hall commission
shortly before midnight last night. 1t
was reached after a Wearisome session
of nearly four hours, which witnessed
the final rounds in a protracted contest
stubbornly fought for several weeks.
Had Mayor Doran been in the chair
mans seat instead of Acting Mayor
Bigelow, the result might have been
different. But the mayor was put off
at Buffalo the other day, and the joint
commission couldn't hear him at that
distance.
1t would take a whole page of the
G o e to quote half of the talk and
describe half of the figuring done at
last nights meeting, and an expert ac-
| countant to comprehend the figures
submitted. After F. w. M. Cutcheon
had spoken in behalf of the gas light
company, and Attorney Holland, in be-
half of James McGeary, the sole COM
petitive bidder, had exhausted every
possible argument and advanced all the
hgureS he possessed to rebut those of
the gas company, the commission
came to the conclusion that the bid of
| the ST.. Paul Gas Light company was
lower than that of Mr. McGeary and
awarded the contract accordingly. Mr..
/ McGearys bid was $4,000 a year on it's
face, $4,000 a year lower than the gas
company's, but when the expense of
installing, maintaining and repairing
a lighting plant and maintaining and
! repairing the boilers, pipes, radiators,
ETC., connected with the heating plant
| came to be estimated, a majority of
the commission concluded that the bid
OF the gas light company of $4,000,
Whlch included everything, was the
more economical
The expected report of the commit
tee OF experts on steam filling, boilers.
etc, dld not materialiZe. That was
because no such committee ever came
INTO evidence. The gas light company
appointed its man, r. B. Whitaker.
ana Mr.. McGeary selected his, Charles
morton. These two were to select a
thlrd man. Then Mr. Whitaker was
caIled away from the city, and Mr..
morton declined to serve The gas
company chose John Kilshaw, and Mr..
McGeary named his brother George M.
McGeary. The two got together yester-
day and spent several hours vainlv en-
At last they succeeded, only to have
thelr man decline. Mr.. Kilshaw. how
ever, prepared report, giving his esti-
mate OF the cost of maintaining and
repairing steam heating plant. This
report MT Cutcheon wanted to read to
the commission, but upon the objection
OF the McGeary men, he was not per-
mitted to do so.
linen there was some talk of adjourn
ing Tor day or two, but Mr.. Cutcheon
strenuously objected, unless the third
expert steam man was selected then
and there
Assemblyman Daily at last cut the
lengthy preliminary discussion short nv
moving that the bids of the st. Paul
Gas Light company and James Nc
Geary, be taken from the table The
vote on this motion showed how the
members of the commission stood.
Yeas-Messrs. DAILY, Kellerman, Nc
Carron, Chairman Bigelow. Nays-
Messrs. Dix, Lindahl, Moritz
| The two bids were then read, as well
| as the report of the committee of cleo
tr1cal experts, and the estimate of Al0
terrence Kenny of the expense of main
tanning and repairing the heating plant.
oollers, etc, all of which have been
published in the G e.
Then followed a tumble of figures
into which Aid. Bigelow waded I'D to
ms eyes, this being his first introduce
ton to them. When he emerged, two
hours later, after listening in the
meantime to Attorneys Cutcheon and
Hallam, who poured upon him an ava
lanche of conflicting estimates, Mr.
B1gelow decided that the gas compa-
nyS bid was the lower by some So. 900
Mr.. Cutcheon talked twenty minutes
Mr.. Hallam answered with a forty
minute effort and Mr.. Cutcheon replied
with speech of fifteen minutes. Mr.
~ q q ant 1,,,@
Mr.. Cutcheon denied himself the pleas
ure of surrejoinder
AS soon as the advocates ceased. Mr.
McCarron moved that the contract be
awarded to the ST. Paul Gas Light
company. But Chairman BigeloW was
figuring very hard and couldn't hear
the motion. At last, after considerable
more ciphering, Mr. Bigelow said that
he would vote at once if forced, though
he would prefer to adjourn until the
| next day to give Mr. McGeary an OBJ
portunity to submit more figures.
But at this juncture Mr.. Daily SUBJ
mitted a resolution to accept the gas
| company's proposal No. 1, to light with
electricity and heat the entire court
house building, including the library.
for three years for $4,000 a year. be-
ginning Jan. 1, $685. and to furnish the
power necessary to run the elevators
and to care for the same.
NIL blA was lno only member to
make any remarks. He still insisted that
he had not seen any figures that in
! duced him to change his mind as to
the relative economy of the two bids.
| He believed McGeary's bid was the
| lower.
| Then came the roll call on the reso-
luton, which resulted as follows: Yeas
DAILY, Kellerman, McCarron, Chairman
BIgelow. Nays-Dix, Lindahl, Moritz.
Before the result was announced Mr..
Mor1tz changed his vote to the affirm
ative, and then gave notice that at the
next meeting he would move to recon
slider the vote by which the resolution
was passed.
! Mr.. DAILY nipped this scheme in the
bud by moving to reconsider the vote
| then and there. The motion was lost
by the vote of to 3. Mr.. Moritz, not
withstanding, declared he would move
to reconsider at the regular meeting