The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-08-07
STAND TWO AND THO
COMMITTEE EQUALLY DIVIDED ON
THE BIDS FOR LIGHTING
CITY HALL.
s-s~+7
BIDDERS. APPEAR BY COUNSEL
GAS COMPANY,S REPRESENTATIV
MAKES A STRONG ARGUMENT
For THEIR OFFER.
CLAIM IN is CHEAPER IN THE END.
Question Referred tO the Entire
Commission, Which Was Not
Ready to Act Last Night.

An adjourned meeting of the court
house and city hall commission was
| held last evening for the purpose. or
passing on the question of heating ana
lightning the court house and jail for
a period of three years, commencing
Jan. 1 next. All the members of the
| commission. with the exception of May
or Doran, were present, and Mr.. Dix
acted as chairman, in the absence or
the mayor Mr.. Daily, chairman of the
| subcommittee to which the bids had
/ been referred, stated that in view OF
| the fact that the committee had not a
report ready to submit, he would sug-
gest an adjournment until next Tues
day evening Mr.. Kellermann second
| ed the motion for an adjournment. MIR.
MoritZ objected, and said the members
of the subcommittee had heard the bids
thoroughly discussed and he, for one,
was ready to act at once. Mr.. Lindahl
favored an adjournment. 1t was true
that the subcommittee had been in ses-
sion during the day for over three
hours, but as all that time had been
taken up in the discussion by attorneys,
the members were not able to consider
the matter. The motion to adjourn
was then put and carried.
At the meeting of the subcommittee
held yesterday afternoon, F. w. NJ.
Cutcheon, representing the gas compa-
ny, and Oscar Hallam, appearing for
James McGeary, argued at length as to
the duty of the committee and why
| it would be to the best interests of the
| City and county that the contract
| should be awarded. The legal repre-
| sentatives talked from $50. to $3.50
| o'clock, and when they had finished an
| informal vote was taken, which re-
I suited in a tie, Messrs. DAILY and Nc
| Carron favoring the gas company, and
Messrs. Lindahl and Moritz the bid Of
McGeary and the RIdgeway Dynamo
I company.
| Chairman DAILY, as soon as the COM
mittee had been called to order, stated
| that the gas company had agreed to
| light and heat the court house, includ-
| ing the library and county Jail, for
| three years, at a cost of $39, 500. James
| McGeary had agreed TO do the same
! for $32,700, but in order to accept Nc
! Geary's bid it would be necessary for
| the commission to purchase two en-
|
Dynamo company had proposed to fur
nish at a cost of $4,153. Under the Nc
| Geary bid it would cost $500 addi-
tional to light and heat the jail and
! $3.50 to place the present heating plant
in condition. An additional 5000 would
| he necessary to he expended by. the
| commission for repairs, which were es-
| tfnated at 5000 per year. This brought
! the McGeary bid for the three, years,
| including everything except the, inter-
est on the investment and the depre-
citation Of the plant up to $39, 400 Mr..
Moritz asked both Mr. Cutcheon and
Mr.. McGeary if their propositions in
| Guided the taking care of the elevators,
! for which the gas company now charg-
! ed $500 per year. Both gentlemen
stated that their figures included this
service. Mr.. Cutcheon being called
upon to say what he desired in sup
| port of the proposition of the gas COM
pany, made a lengthy argument, in the
course of which he said:
The question before the committee
was whether the city and county in
| tended to own its own plant. Mr. Nc
| Geary had contemplated the city and
| county spending about $4,000 to put
! in engines and dynamos. The COM
mittee would, he said, make mistake
! by putting in inferior machines. He
| called attention to the Ridgeway en-
| gines put in the Minneapolis court
| house, and by the Bohn Manufacture
| ing company, Of ST. Paul, and said
they had not given satisfaction. The
! engines and dynamos offered by the
| Ridgeway company, and which would
be used by McGeary, if his bid was
/ accepted. were not sufficient to light
the building. To light the Jail and
! court house it would require. Is, 900 six
| teen-candle power lights. The ma
! chinery offered by the Ridgeway COM
| pany would not do the work which
was expected, including the running of
/ the elevators.
/ Mr.. Cutcheon read a letter from
| CaSs Gilbert, architect for the North
ern Pacific Railway company, stating
| that plant in its building had cost
! So 900, and the Northern Pacific build
| ing had less lighting to do than in the
| court house. Mr.. Cutcheon figured it
! out that in order to put in a plant
such as was needed. and one that
would give satisfaction, including
everything which was necessary,
would cost $43,243 which would in
| clude SO, 800 for the plant and $32, 700 to
McGeary. This, was $4,503 more than
the gas company's bid. Assuming
that the Ridgeway bid was accepted
and the figures which McGeary Of
fered to do the work of fitting up and
keeping in repair the plant, the cost,
| Mr.. Cutcheen said, would still be sew
eral hundred dollars more than the
bid of the gas company.
Mr.. Cutcheon read an estimate from
Mr., Hawthorne, engineer at the New
York Life building, which stated that
it has cost $4,000 to run the building
for a year. The estimate made also
! included the cost of the investment
| for putting in plant at $4,000.
! Mr.. McGeary said he would like to
| have some detailed explanation from
| Mr.. Hawthorne, who had prepared the
estimate just read. He asked if Mr..
/ Hawthorne could be present, but was
told by Mr.. Cutcheon that possibly he
might. Mr.. Cutcheon argued that Nc
Geary would, If given the bid, have
to use the greatest economy in rum
ming the plant, and the result would
be that the heat and light would be
turned off whenever possible.
! On the other hand the gas COMPANY
would give just as good satisfaction
as it had in the past. The question
of damages arising from accidents
1-p5a1- tho aonanto,,oa of Tho