The San Francisco call., 1898-03-15


 In addition to the above there were to have been 240 lineal feet of oak par titions separating the waiting rooms on the second floor. They were to have been twelve and half feet high. In in their place will appear metal grill work, which is quite apart from the Batemans' contract to use pine where there was to have been oak. Of the partitions which the artistic eye of the commission has not abolishe[ there re- main in the first and second stories, once of oak, now of pine, upward of 2000 lineal feet.
 Supposing, for the sake of argument that the Batemans, from their exten- sive dealings, could have secured their oak at three times the price of pine the change would still have been money in their purses. There seems every req son to believe that they could have carried out their contract without forcing the Commissioners into the pe- culiar position of paying them extra for doing it. This is virtually what the deal amounts to. There is abso- lutely nothing to show that the Com missioners had any right or any proper reason for thus favoring them. They seem to have been unduly favored by the simple circumstance that the change in material was made.
 Not the least interesting chapter in the history of the wholesale robbery that has characterized the actions of the men responsible for the construc- tion of the ferry building is that which covers the seemingly insionificant item of fitting the building with doors. The doors, which are of the kind that raise and lower like the top of an office desk, have been put in by a contractor, who has received the sum of $5570 for his work. Contradictorv as the statement may seem to be, 1t is nevertheless a fact that these same. doors represent to the State an expenditure of something over 5000. The extra 5000 and odd dollars have been divided up between the men who are reaping profit from their manipulation of the building con- tracts This fact will doubtless appear in due time.
 According to the original plans and specifications, the doors for the various entrances and exits to the ferry build ing were to be constructed of the best steel, besides being fitted with proper counter weights and other necessary fittings. The doors now in position, in stead of being fire-proof, are built of Oregon pine. The official sleight-of hand by which this change was brought about will no doubt prove interesting reading to taxpayers and others.
 The contract for all of the iron and steel work in the ferry building was se- cured by the Risdon Iron Works, the contract price being something less than $200,0 The item of steel doors was included in this blanket contract The. Risdon Iron Works does not manu- fracture steel doors of the kind called for in the original specifications, so, in order to put in an intelligent and profit able bid on this particular item, the firm asked for and received bids for the work from firms that make a speciality of that style of work. By this means the Risdon Iron Works people ascer- tained that the doors could be con- structed and put in at a cost, to them, of about $8000. This amount, plus cer- tain percentage of profit, formed one of the items that went to make up the sum total of their bid for all of the iron work.
 After the contract had been let the Harbor Commissioners, for reasons known only to themselves, conceived the idea of changing the style of the doors from steel to wood. Satisfactory plans were submitted by Edward B. Hinds of All Mission street, and he was finally awarded a contract to put the new style wooden doors in at a cost of s5570. Negotiations were then opened with the Risdon Iron Works, with the following result: In consideration that the firm was released from the neces- sity of constructing the doors as per the original contract the firm agreed to deduct S4000 from the sum of the