The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-03-18

The contracts awarded by the board
OF public works for street sprinkling
were approved by the committee on
streets from the assembly yesterday
afternoon.
The matter came before the commit
tee owing to statements having been
made that the work in each of the
eleven districts was not awarded to
the lowest bidder. Nicholas Feyen
was given the contract in eight districts
by the board of public works, but in
the asphalt paved streets district.
Fielding & Shepley were given the con-
tract, although the bid was about ~
cents per 100 feet per week higher than
that of Feyen.
President Copeland. of the board Of
public works, informed the committee
that Feyen had been awarded contracts
in eight districts, and the board had
decided that was about all he could
properly care for.
Fielding & Shepley had done the
work last year in good shape, and as
the district needed more attention than
all the Others the board had consider
ed the firm the lowest responsible bid
der.
Assemblyman Kirke could not under
stand why if Feyen was the lowest
responsible bidder in eight districts,
trict, and the contract awarded to
Fielding & Shepley, whose bid was not
the lowest.
L. D. OBrien, who appeared for Mr..
Feyen, denied that there had been any
agreement reached between his client
and Fielding & Shepley. Bids, Mr..
O'Brien said, had been advertised for
for sprinkling about 116 miles Of streets.
OF this mileage 10 had been awarded
to Mr.. Feyen and six miles to Fielding
G. Shepley. His client did not care to
fall out with the city officials nor to
start a contest in the council as against
the board Of public works.
1t was discovered by the committee
that the award from the board Of pub
lie works stated that the contract had
been awarded to Fielding & Shepley
as the most reliable and responsible
bidder, the word lowest having been
stricken out and most substituted.
President Copeland said this was a
clerical error and the award was taken
back to the board rooms to have the
mistake rectified. a#
While this wes being done w. j.
Preston declared that he had bid on
several of the districts, and if the plan
was to award contracts to any but the
lowest bidders, he wanted one of the
contracts given to him. He had spent
81 500 last year in securing carts and
appliances, and if no attention was to
be paid to the lowest bids, he did not
want to be overlooked.
The committee could not hear Mr..
Preston, and as President Copeland re-
turned with the award amended so as
to read the lowest reliable and respon-
sible bidder, the discussion as to Wheth-
er Feyen or Fielding & Shepley should
be awarded the contract was resumed.
T. D. O'Brien said in the interests of
harmony Mr.. Feyen did not desire to
make any protest. While it was rather
remarkable that the board Of public
works should consider Mr.. Feyen re-
sponsible for eight districts and then
decide he was not responsible for one
more, still he was rea(Y to take what
he could get rather than fight for the
one district.
Mr.. Kirke inquired whether, If Mr..
Feyen was awarded the contract in the
| asphalt paved streets district he would
accept.
Mr. O'Brien said he would.
Commissioner Justus, Of the board of
public works, explained that the reason
the board gave the contract to Fielding
& Shepley was that the firm would
probably do better work than a con-
tractor who had eight other districts
the asphalt streets be well sprinkled
and the board decided the firm al
though a trifie higher, was the best
one to award the contract to.
Assemblyman Reardon was Of the
opinion that the board has no right
to approve and award eight contracts
to Feyen on the ground that he was
the lowest responsible bidder and then
throw out his bid in one other district.
President Copeland said the question
was on the bonds presented by Mr..
Feyen. The bondsmen in each district
| were the same, and the board had de-
| cided that while Mr.. Feyen was good
for eight districts he was not the lowest
| responsible bidder in one more. He
had no desire to explain this, but in
| justice to the action of the board,
| thought 1t should be known.
This settled the matter and the COM
| mittee unanimously concurred in the
awards as made by the board.