The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-06-15

Cornelius Comegys, attorney for City
Controller Howell and the Alcatraz
Paving company, yesterday presented
a petition to Judge Gunster for an In
junction restraining City Controller
Howell, the Barber Asphalt company
and the city of Scranton from taking
any further action under the asphalt
repair ordinance. II. Campbell and
William Farrell. of the West Side, are
named as petitioners. The body of the
petition is typewriter; the names OF
the petitioners are inserted with a pen.
After reviewing the legislation and
litigation in the case up to date, the
petition goes on to show that the con-
tract is Illegal because the Barber bid
did not follow the language OF the or
dinance or the published notice calling
for proposals; the resolution awarding
the contract attempted to repeal ana
modify the ordinance: the Barber bid
did not conform to the specifications;
the much confusion and uncertainty
was produced among all active and
possible bidders by the discrepancies
and differences existing between the
terms of the ordinance, the published
notice and the specifications; the or"
dinance originated with the Barber
Asphalt company and was prepared,
passed and approved in their interest
| fraudulently and by the action of coun-
cilmen and others directly and unlaw-
| fully interested by business relations
| or through the actual receipt of money.
TERM Of THE CONTRACT.
The ordinance is unreasonable, un-
| lawful and void, it is further alleged.
because it Is not within the power OF
| city of the third class to provide by
| ordinance, or otherwise. for the repair
of the public streets. by private con-
| tractor. for a period of ten years, and
| that it attempted to Confide to the judg-
ment and integrity of the Barber COM
! pany and the city engineer the power
| to determine when and where and to
| what extent new concrete is necessary,
| a delegation of authority by the
| municipal government not only dan
| gerous, but beyond its power as well.
The three-year repair -Of-repairs con-
| tract with the Barber company, it Is
| claimed, prohibits that company from
| becoming a bidder for the repair of
| pavements, because a large portion Of
the streets to be paved is covered by
| the rcpair-Of-repairs contract.
Other reasons are:
| THE ordinance provided for the be-
| ginning of the repair work prior to
| May 1, 1899. and the lapse of time has
! rendered the contract impossible of full
| fillment.
| For some reason, on January 81, 1899,
another contract was entered into and
| this was lost, or was said to have been
lost, and was not in the proper custody
and control of the municipal author
tiles until May Is. 1899 when it was
| presented by the attorney of the Bar
Der company for certifcation.
NO APPROPRIATION MADE.
"No appropriation existed on Janu-
airy ~, 1899. to meet the demands OF
the contract; nor does there appear in
its terms any designation of the item
Of appropriation upon which it is
founded.
"'The ordinance as a whole was never
printed for the use of the members, nor
| referred to any committee before its
final passage, the specifications having
been kept in the office of the city en-
gineer or city clerk, unseen and un-
read as your orator is informed and
believes. by the great majority of those
whose votes and signatures were nee
essary to dispose of other peoples
| money
"No bond has been given by the Bar
her company to secure the proper per-
Torrance Of the terms of said last exc
Cuted contract; and there has been no
sufficient appropriation to meet the re-
quirements of said contract
"A thrd-cass city can not make a
ten-year contract such as the ordinance
contemplates."
Judge Gunster fixed Saturday next al
8 o'clock a. m. as the time for hearing
| arguments.
Most of these allegations were con-
tanned in the petition in the previous
suit instituted against the Barber com
pany by f.. Morris. The charge that
! the contract originated with the Bar
| Der company and was fraudulently Sc
cured was not even mentioned by tn,
plaintiffs when the case came up fOl
| argument.
|