The San Francisco call., 1897-09-08

board, when the Pacific Pine Lumber
Company first objected to the board pay
ing the bills, amounting to several thou
sand dollars for July and August, pre-
sen;ed by the J. E. Slade Lum ber Com
pany, which holds the current contract
for lum Der supplies with the board.
The Pacific Pine Lumber Company had
submitted one of the four unsuccessful
bids rejected on March 8 last and the mat
ter recurred before the board in the early
reading of the formal protest OF the Paci-
fic Pine Lum Der Company TO the auditing
of the pending bills OF the J. e. Slade
Lumber Company.
The opinion OF Attorney Ford was read.
1t was 10 the effect that the board was
bound 10 pay current market prices for
the lum Der it bought whatever those
prices might be and that those rrices were
to be discovered by the board.
The Pacific Pine Lum ber Company was
present by both Manager Stewart and its
| attorney. w. S. Jordan, and these gentle
me9 proceeded TO warm things up. When
| the further formal protest of the Pacific
| Pine Lum ber Company was read Attorney
! 10 rdan made a speech, the gist of which
was that the original bid of the Pacific
| Pine Lumber Company, though rejected.
was still on file. and until Withdrawn was
| effective as an offer to supply Ium ber for
at lea thirty days at 81 40 The inier-
! ence was that if the b1ard would assume
that the old offer of March began TO
operate on July l, when the price OF lum-
| Der went UP, it would follow that the
board should not paw more than 81 40 a
thousand until the BID, though rejected
on March 8, was formally Withdrawn.
President Colnon took a very active
! part in the TWO hours debate ovar the
| lumber fight. and as often q could get in
he asserted that the Pacific Pine Lum be- r
Company was triing with the board !;
that its protest was simply an attem pt to
cinch successful competitor with whom
| 1t was at war, and that irrespective Of any
moral or other grounds the board was
| legally bound to pay current market
prices" Whatever they might have been
after July !.
The representative of the Slade Lumber
Company was asked by Mr.. Conon if he
could speedily produce com pe tent testi-
mony that the ruling prices of lum be r
during July and August agreed with his
| bills. and nine minutes alter he put on
| his hat he came back with representa- iives
of five big wholesale lum ber firms W.T. o
eagerly testified in succession that during
July and August the jobbing p-ice of
lum ber was $40 a thousand, and all of
them asserted thar they themselves had
bought at that price OF the Pacific Pine
Lumber Company. .--st
The upsbot OF the wrange was that the
lumber bills were approved, and the pro-
test was Ignored by being filed" on the
grounc that 1t was insincere and a mere
old-fashioned contractors row.
The monthly report OF Architect E. r.
Swain on the progress of the ferry build
ing showed that the erection had bee N
carried on continuously during the month.
The Risdon Iron Works have com amen ced
and nearly completed the steel work on
the front portion of the southerly wing of
the building 1t will take about week
to finish it, and this will complete the
structural steel work except sIaircases. etc.
The masonry work is proceeding
rapidly. The stone work is almost
finished ION the central bay and granite
bases and sandstone work for the front
portion of the southerly end of the build.
ing. The progress of the roofing and gal.
vanized work is satisfactory. The rear
gallery is two-thirds covered. The easterly
slope of the roof over the waiting-rooms is
entirely completed. the roofing over the
grand nave is about half oom pleted, and
over the front portion is com peted as far
as it is possible TO go. Glass for the roof
ing h as not arrived from the East. Tae
painters have force putting on tie first
coat OF paint.