The San Francisco call., 1898-03-15

Tn every department of the ferry building, so far as investigated, there has been found fraud. In some cases the fraud has been so palpable, wonder grows that the perpetrators had the hardihood to even hope to escape de- lection They either did not try to cover up the evidence of their guilt or they thought the public stupider than 1t is From the minute-boo Of the Commissioners and from inspection or the work the guilt of the criminals ana the manner of their crime is plain But the facts, boldly as they stand out now may yet be brought into more startling relief.
 It has been demonstrated that the contractors have made the Commls- sioners propositions which could have no other design than the swindllng or the State. Whether the gentlemen failed to see this, or had purpose m permitting the State to be swindled, IS a matter to be looked into blythe Grand Jury. The contractors have been al lowed to use cheaper materials than called for in the specifications upon which contracts had been based, and to employ cheaper methods, but the pay has not been reduced. and in more cases than one it has been increased. In other words, the contractors have been made presents of public money under circumstances which would have permitted them with profit to have made a considerable gift to the State.
 The State pays for one sort of stone
 Gy,o1 1lIr adopted was offered at thousands of dollars less th-n the stone it replaced. There was no reduction in the figure when the cheaper grade was adopted.
 It pays for one sort of floor and gets another which cost nearly forty thou sand dollars less to construct than would have been the case had specifi- cations been followed. It not only gets no reduction, but actually donates the contractor a gratuity for his kindness in accepting an increased and unwar- ranted gain. It pays for white glazed brick and gets marble, Concerning the relative expense to the contractor there is some question. Others who have figured on the work say the marble is cheaper by fifteen cents a foot. But above the marble, the change having been authorized at the time the marble was substituted, there has been used a quality of brick so distinctly inferior to the style originally contracted for as to mar the whole effect.
 It pays for Roman pressed brick, worth S75 per thousand, to be used at the outer ends, and gets common brick which, laid in the wall, represent $14 8 thousand.
 These are incidents. Where is the money which has been "saved"? In a general way the answer is easy; there has been no money saved.
 When the Commissioners decided to use pine instead of oak in the interior finish it might have been supposed that this would inure to the benefit of the people, but it didn't. Such benefit as there may have been found it's way into other channels. When Bateman Bros. made a bid, which was accepted, for finishing the interior in oak it may be assumed they knew what they were doing. When it is remembered that oak costs about $S5 a thousand and pine only SIS, the assumption is fair that a contractor having permission to put in pine at oak figures would have good enough thing without asking ah addi- tion. But the Batemans asked the ad- ditional pay, and got it. They put in a bid for doing the work with pine. It was an increase of more than 5000. To give them this would have been an in- formality, as bids must be advertised for on contracts of this magnitude. So they cut down their figures by $500. bringing them to s2995, and so retained the work. Now, people want to know why, instead of getting more. these contractors should not have received substantially less.
 It is true that by the new arrange ment there was provided the building of certain partitions not intended in the first place, but there were left out 8 large number of partitions that had been planned. By letting the meZza- nine story stand incomplete there has been saved to the contractors (not to the State) 1875. Of this, as the tabu- lated statement shows, a large propor- tfon Is in the wood contract Here is the table as compiled by an architect entirely familiar with the work: