The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-06
FIGURING ON THE DRAINAGE.
VII Miles, & Bradt's Delayed Bid BE
Considered

Considered
The house drainage work in Savannah
Dc f,H Of perplexing problems, the latest
,,,.irr arisen since the bids for complet-
t,g t5e system were opened last Thurs
5sv The bid of Miles & Bradt came in
,,,. from Atlanta. The question now is
a.. ~ the Justice of considering this bid.
mich it is said was mailed in time to
have reached here, had it not been for
the z.orm interrupting the carrying of The
MALE
Nyavor Meldrm's attention was called
IN the circumstances which caused the de-
law and feeling that the firm should be
Flowed to file its bid, since the failure
WIS from unforeseen causes, he requested
pa drainage committee TO withhold
f1rtb,r action until the matter of con-
eidering the bid had been fully thought
over. Acting on the request, The COM
,rrtee has taken no action, but the in
si.4t.ous are thai some hing will be done
soon possibly at a meeting tomorrow
afternoon.
The question as to whether the bid of
Miles & I3radt should be accepted" said
a member of the drainage committee yes
taniay and upon which it is desired The
committee make some recommendation TO
Councn is not one for the committee 10
decide it is for Council to decide, and
I am unwilling to make any recommenda-
ton on the subject, one way or the other
The matter should be discussed by the
committee of the whole, l think, and let
whatever responsibility there is fail on the
entire board and not on the committee.
"Whne l am not Interested otherwise
than that the best bidder get the contract
etll l confess 1 cannot see any reason
for again opening the bids TO let in some
one else We advertised that the oids
H. al, rat arff h. 81
when that time came we proceeded to
open them in the regular way. All the
bidders had representa- tives on the ground,
except the firm that now complains ON
count of being late. l desire to be fair
end Just in the city's dealings with those
who seek contracts, but l see no reason
for bending the willow to admit anybody
after The bids have not only been closed,
but also audited
The general sentiment is not altogether
this way, but the objections to again open
ing the bids are numerous. Among those
who favor giving the delayed bidders a
chance is Mayor Meldrim, who Is actuated
by the conviction that all should be treat
ed fairly and justly, applying these terms
In their most liberal sense.
The mere fact that the bid of Miles &,
Bradt IS the lowest" said the Mayor, lis
no reason why they should be allowed to
file their bid on an equal footing with
all others. While the interest of property
owners is paramount to all others
in the eyes of officials but there is a sense
Of fairness and justice which must he
adhered tc. look at the case
as 1 do at law suit, where
Judgment is taken by default on account
of the party being providentialy kept
away from court If prevented by a storm
from answering a summons, judgment by
default may be taken but the case can
be reopened on motion and tried on its
merits. This should be the case with the
house drainage bids, il seems, Messrs.
Miles and Bradt's inability 10 bid was not
due to neglect, but to the partial destruc-
ton of the railroads, which kept them
from delivering the mails
This sentiment is shared by others, who
believe The bid should be considered. AS
stated in the Morning News the bid is
5000, under the lowest of those filed, so
that the city is considerably interested
from pecuniary standpoint An effort
VIII be made by Crawford & Co., the
present lowest bidders, to oppose any
move by the city looking 10 the recogni-
ton of the Miles and Bradt bid. 1t is
claimed they do this to protect their in
terest, as they now claim TO have rights
which cannot be set aside unless
the committee resorts to extraordinary
action in rejecting ali bids which it has
rsht to do, solely for the purpose of let
ing Miles & Bradt into the deal The lib
eIal policy il seems the intention of the
committee to show all who desired to bid
would be to give the firm chance.
mere IS no certainty how the matter
viii end, but 1t is pretty certain Council
VIII have to dispose of it, and not the
drainage committee. A thorough discussion
OF every feature Of the question is in pros
pect however, and the decision reached is
sure to be deliberate one.