The San Francisco call., 1899-03-26
WAY DECLARE
LAKE MERRITT
CONTRACT VOID
Dredging Work May
Be Stopped Soon.
CONTRACTOR WANTS HIS PAY
CITY CHARTER DOES NOT AL
! LOW PARTIAL PAYMENTS.
Judge Greene Intimates That There
r Have Been Many Grave Irreg-
=. ularities TO Impair the
5. Contract.
CONTRACTOR WANTS HIS PAY
CITY CHARTER DOES NOT AL
LOW PARTIAL PAYMENTS.
Qakland Omce San Francisco Can,


* 90S Broadway, March %.
The contract for the dredging Of Lake
Merritt, awarded by the city TO Q. P.
johnson last November, may be declared
iavaid and the work stopped. Such at
ssast was the serious inJimation given by
Judge Greene late this afternoon in the
-1uandamus suit instituted by Contractor
yohnson TO compel City Treasurer Gilpin
10 pay the first partial payment for the
dredging
=. The demurrer of City Treasurer Gilpin,
setting forth that the proceedings DeLore
.rhe City Council and Board OF Public
Works in awarding the contract were not
regular, was up before Judge Greene Tor
FARTHER argument to-day, il having been
argued last Wednesday by Attorney J.
4. Bates, in Intervention Tor r w. Ru-
pert who originally sought an injunction.
Both City Attorney Dow and Attorney
Jfeorge DeGoua on behalf OF Contractor
y Ghnson are seeking 10 have the denur-
Ter. Overruled- Thus, Wnlle II apReelS RT ,
on the face TO be a three-cornered legal
battle, the merits and dement's OF the
contract and all proceedings tAdI leu ny
10 Il were discussed -
Attorney Bates contended that under
section So OF the city charter no peI IIdt
*Hgvrnents are permitted in the case at
:Gsr and further, that no plans were ever
adopted on which bids Tor the work were
invited; also that changes IN the contract
were made after the award; ana that Ihe
hid OF Johnson never was accepted nor
the contract awarded within twenty days
after the opening Of the bids, as also re-
Judge Greene, though announcing that
he would hear further arguments one
week from next Monday, said IN summing
I'D the contentious advanced thus lar;
LAS TO partial payments IN this case,
K YOU make them you must disregard the
latter part of section So OF the city chat-
ter. which provides that If such payments
are made the contract Is VOID ana the con-
tractor receive nothing. Now, suppose,
however. partial payments are mace ana
the contract never completed, what rene
dy has the city,
on October II. 1898. bids were opened
and on November / following the board
met again and passed resolutions. reject
ing the Quinby bid and awarding the con-
tract to johnson, who had presented two
bids Now. under which was the contract
awarded? In reality Johnson's bid was
Judge Greene was also inclined to re
gard the lapse of twenty days after
opening of bids before the award as
being serious; also the fact that no
plans had been previously adopted The
. changes made in the specifications subse-
ouent 10 the award he regarded as serl-
ously impairing the contract
Judge Greene in conclusion said that ne
would Withhold his decision until further
argument had been offered.
Attorney de Cola remarked that he de-
sired an early ruling. If we have no
:. right TO go ahead We want TO stop work
; on. the lake" said the attorney But
Judge Greene could not be hastened. I
never decide a case in hurry said his
Honor, ''and I never consider whose pock-
ct Us involved" The matter accordingly
went over until AprfI g.