The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-19
WHAT HAS BECOME OF THE GRAY.
Ell:
Question Concerning Which the
Commissioners Cannot Afford "a
Remain silent

A Question Concerning Which the
Commissioners Cannot Afford TO
Remain silent.
Editor Morning News: In your editorial
on Augusta gravel this morning you very
pertinently say that this material accord
ing to good authority, was first offered TO
the county at $1.1O per cubic yard, and
later at 1920 and ultimately, by some pro-
cess which has never been explained, the
cost was run up to $3.50 There are no
figures obtainable as to how many cubic
yards of the gravel have been purchased
by the county at the higher figures but
it has been stated by one of the county
commissioners that the county has paid
probably $4,000 more than should have
been paid for the material" Now, Mr.
Editor, are there any figures obtainabie
to show how many cubic yards of gravel
have been purchased by the county at
any price or prices for all the roads or
for any one of them? 1t seems these fig
ures have never been obtainab le-the pub
lie has never been informed-and it ap-
pears that the clerk declined to give even
a commissioner any information on the
subject without the permission of Mr..
Chaplin. If a commissioner cannot obtain
information concerning the county affairs
without the consent of Mr.. Chaplin, TO
the people it certainly appears, as you say,
to be public be id system of running
things on the part of the officials"
However, we have in the Savannah
Press of July 9 last the summary of a re-
port made by Superintendent Chaplin that
enables us to do some figuring which
brings out very surprising results. The
Press says 1T is the most interesting re-
port the superintendent has filed since he
has been in office, giving as it does, for
hn fret ipoA mob inf Nof a n
the cost of road building by
modern methods in Chatham county. The
report gives the exact cost CD of build
ing six and one-tenth miles of gravel road
to be $2l, 94079, or So. 1855 per mile. The re
port was made relative to the Waters road,
which, the superintendent announces, was
finished June 10. The cost of the road, in
Guiding Estll avenue, was for the amount
noted above divided as follows: Material,
ST. 4S5; hauling, $685.; rolling. Si65.75;
grading, $4l1.00 laying gravel $6O3.11 This
provides for every item of expense, includ-
ing cost of convict labor" 1t certainly
ought to and a great deal more, if the fig
ures given below are correct,
The cost of material for the six and one
tenth miles is given at $l7, 1880. At the
highest price alleged to have been paid for
gravel, $1.30, this amount would purchase
10, 450 cubic yards, and would give to each
mile, say, 2,205 cubic yards. Now coun-
ty official has ted that the gravel was
put down on this road to an average depth
of five inches-and this depth think, is
exaggerated-but assuming five inches to
be the correct average depth, the whole
six and one-tenth miles would have to be
covered with gravel for a width of over
twenty-seven feet TO this depth, in order
to use the number of cubic yards which
the amount reported to have been paid for
material would purchase at the highest
iG n
and one-tenth miles covered with gravel
to a width even approXimating, twenty
seven feet? A few weeks ago, from actual
measurements made in several places
along the four miles of road south of Es-
till avenue the width cover
ed with gravel was found to
average hardly IA feet, and the average
| from measurements made at two or three
| places north of Estill avenue was found
! to be about 16 feet. But assuming a lib
! eral average of Is feet in width of gravel
l. covering for the whole six and one-tenth
| miles and an average depth of inches,
the amount of gravel used ought not to
have been over, say, 1922 cubic yards per
mile, or 1862 cubic yards, altogether
| which is less than what the report seems
| to indicate was purchased by about $50
| cubic yards per mile, or 5,9941a cubic yards
| for the six and one-tenth miles. At $3.50
! per cubic yard this approXimates a dir
| ference of $7,795. If these figures are cor
| rect it would appear then that, taking even
the highest price alleged to have been
paid for, gIavel-$1.3 0-the statement of the
| county commissioner, THAT the county
| had paid probably $4,000 more than it
| should have paid for material would be
rather under than over the mark, as the
| above calculations refer only to Waters
road and Estill avenue. These calculations
made on all the roads and at lower prices,
! greater differences would, doubtless, ap,
| pear. What has become of the gravel?
| Savannah, Nov. IS, 1897. Citizen.