The oasis., 1899-07-29
TO
Saturday, July 2o, 1899.
From Messrs. Tritch and Butterheld.


 To TIE OAsIs:-U Under the heading of "The Last OASIS Sander" the vidette of last week printed the fol- lowing:
 EDITOR VIDETTE:-ln the last issue of THE OASIS is an article neaoeo "Au Illegal Contract" asserting uhav the board of supervisors let contract to county officer contrary to law, and without giving other persons wishing to bid on the same an oppor- tunity. The whole statement IS uC- terly false. MT. Flewelling was not county officer, but precinct con sta cle only. and today is not a county oi- ticer, being only a jaiier appointed oy the sheriff. By direction Of the whole board I was placed as committee lo invite all persons willing to 0id to do so. There being no time in which to advertise in newspapers-lhe Jaii ceiis being expected on the ground oy tue 10th of June-l accordingly caiieo on MT. Jos. Thompson and asked nm to make a bid he said he would do so, but never put in bid. also calieo on Mr. Buttertield and Mir. Tritch and asked them to put in bids, and left the specifications with MT. Trltch for over d week, they also never put in bids. 1 also spoke to MT. Case and MT. Otto Kroeger about bidding un the contract, and MT. Kroeger did put in a bid, but it was so very much higher than that of MT. Flewelling's, which, was therefore rightfllly and legally accented. Now, THE OASIS says MT. Thompson and MT Butter field have bids in writing offering tO do the work for less than Mir. Flew elling's contracts. If they have writ ten any such bids, which do not be. lieve anyway, seeing that il is stated only in TIE OASIS, it must have been lately written or matched up in that office. for they have certainly never been presented or seen in the office of the board of supervisors
 R. EKEY
 It is true that MT. Ekey presented us specifications and asked for bids or a iail building. But the specification. called for STONE building, not ar adobe building
 It is true that MT. Tritch had tht specifications week. He was i'll { good part of the time and was unable to work on them. Before he had : chance to write out his bid the cal for bids and specifications were with drawn.
 MT. Butterheld also figured to pu in a bid on stone building: but be fore he had completed his bid th' specifications were also withdrawn.
 Not word was said to either of u about bidding to erect an adobe build ing. The specifications on which W, figured called for a jail building witt two-foot stone walls. thirteen feel high. iailers office of adobe and ar outside wall of adobe. We calculated that such structure would cost about twelve hundred dollars. But as stated above, those speci ification: were withdrawn. Nothing was saiC to either of us about bidding on spe cificati0ns such as were included il the Flewelling contraction adobe throughout-an we dId not know that such contract was let until W, saw the walls going up.
 We will assure MT. Ekey that w. did submit statements in writing tha, we would duplicate Flewelliug's con tract for three hundred and seventy four dollars by Mir. Butter6eld, anC three hundred and tifty-five dollars b. Mr. Tritch. And Jos. Thompson ha informed us that he submitted such { proposition, putting his estimate a three hundred and sixty dollars Those three estimates in writing wer given District Attorney Harlow fo submission to the prand iurV If i