New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-06-02
with those which have prevailed during the
last few months
CANAL JUGGLERl.

LANdL VCN'bh'f'
Some more testimony of highly interesting
character was taken by the Canal Investigating
Commission at Rochester yesterday. Johh IT,
Little. division engineer, testified that he never
had any .dea that S900O000 would complete
the canal Improvement, and that the State En-
gineer and Surveyor ordered all estimates on
preliminary surveys cut down so rs 10 reduce
the estimated cost of the whole canal improve
ment Charles VI. GrannlS, who took the con-
tract for seventeen miles OF the Improvement
work. between Macedon and Pittsford. frankly
admitted that he bid 81 n yard for rock c1caVa-
ton and % cents a yard for earth excavation
believing that the State Engineers estimate or
che hundred yards Of rock in his section would
be exceeded He sublet his contract 10 WIS
consin firm Mt 81 a yard for rock and 1914 cents
for earth So It appeared that while his bid
was low IF the excavation was largely in earth.
II was exceedingly profitable If the high rate on
rock, which in the estimate appeared to amount
TO little. could be charged for n great quantity
of work secured on the strength Of the low bid
for earth.
The significance OF this testimony is illus
trated By the information which the Commits
sion secured the day before. Mr.. Grannis's
contract amounted 10 :'}Ns'ii 90 anu WI '''''
only $500 was for rock cutting The State has
already paid S267, 100 IT, and the total cost oil
the work under It will be S41A,49s 30 instead
of moving one hundred yards of rock his sec
ton is found to contain over thrtyfour thou
sand Yards. and the $500 which he was eN-
pectcd TO receive for this item Is swcllcd
10 100000 The average price Of rock on
cayatlon on the canal has been about 81 cube
yard, and one contractor on the western divl
sion is executing rock excavation for 40 cents
ward. II was. of course. perfectly plausible
for the officials TO give n contract TO man VINO
made a low bid for the bulk OF his work even
If he did put an eXtravagant price on an III
significant item. To save a quarter or n cent
on five hundred thousand yards Of earth excava-
ton the State could well afford TO pay n patry
5000 more than a fair price for moving one nun
dred yards Of rock. 1t was exceedingly pretty
in theory. In practice It cost the State SlOOooo
Was Il Just a mistake. an expensive ana
stupid mistake? Mr.. GrannIs says 1t was no
mistake on his part. He knew what he was
doing He was certain that there was more
rock 10 be cut in his section than the State In
cineer estimated, and he thought he could auord
to dredec mud at low rates for the profits on
have been right But how about the officials
who said that there were only one hundred
Yards OF rock in that section. and that there
was no use fussing over the price for eXcavatinS
that little bit? Ialbert T. Gillette an as
sistant engineer on Tuesday testhed that ne
had charge Of the preliminary surveys from
Macedon TO Pittsford. and that thousands OF
cubic feet OF rock were discovered lie put
his figures in book and sent thcm 10 INC divi-
sion engineers office at Rochester, ana there ne
found the book among others OF Ike charact'r
on the day he testified, and he submitted IL 70
the Commission Mr.. Little was much disturbed
and declared that there had been no such ooo.
In his Office but the next day he followed up
Mr.. Gillette's statement with his own ad'n's-
sion that ne knew the estimates were too low
and that they had been purposely cut down.