The San Francisco call., 1898-11-08
CITY GARBAGE CONTRACT HAS
 A NEW ASPECT
Supervisors Adopt a
 Juggled Report.
The Supervisors Finally Approve g Resolution Making the Even ing Post the Official
 Paper.

The Board of Supervisors awarded the garbage contract yesterday and gave the city printing for period of two years to the evening organ of the Southern Pa cffic Railroad.
 The action taken on the garbage matter was, to say the least, peculiar. Several | days ago the Supervisors Committee on Health and Police agreed to make a re- port to the board in favor of awarding a contract to the Sanitary Reduction Com pany for burning the garbage at the rate of 20 cents per cubic yard, and providing that the collection of the refuse should be left to the scavengers, who should agree to return to the reduced scale of prices charged householders prior to the time when the crematory was estab- lished A report to this effect was drawn tip by the committee and was to have been presented yesterday. In the mean time, however, Captain Delany took the trouble to alter the report on his own responsibility, tearing off the first page and substituting certain notifications to suit himself.
 The amended report, as presented yes terday, gave the contract to the crema- tory at the agreed price of 20 cents, but omitted all reference to a reduction in the prices charged by the scavengers for the collection of garbage, thus leaving the latter free to collect on the present
 
 fit. The Supervisors passed the resolu- tion as presented, although several of them claimed later that they did not know that the report had been altered.
 The effect of the action is to empower the Committee on Health and Police to contract with the Sanitary Reduction out advertising for bids. This action is regarded as of doubtful validity by some of the best posted authorities about the city buildings, inasmuch as the law re> quires that bids shall be advertised for in all cases before contracts are let.
 The Sanitary Reduction Company will thus be left loophole through which to crawl out of the agreement at any time in the future should it desire to do so, while on the other hand any citizen who objects to the contract will have the chance to enter the courts to stop pay ment of the bills of the Sanitary Com pany.
 visor Delany for his surprising action in changing the report of the Committee on Health and Police so as to favor the scavengers. The city will now pay for the incineration of garbage, while the householders may receive no direct ben eft.
 handled in a very odd manner. The Printing Committee had reported in favor of rejecting the bids of the Journal of Commerce, the Report and the Post but this did not suit the views of ma jority of the board. Numerous futile at tempts were made to knock out the com mittee's report. which were finally suc- cessful Then Supervisor Sheehan made a motion that the contract be awarded to the Evening Post. This was also voted down. Again the committees report came to the front. Supervisor Britt took occasion to say that the whole system of public printing was wrong, and that the board ought to advertise for new bids based upon prices for each kind of work to be done, instead of letting matters run along in the loose manner now in vogue, and allowing the official paper to make such excessive charges to citizens as it might see fit.
 On a reconsideration the contract was finally awarded to the Evening Post.