The San Francisco call., 1899-07-07
CALIFORNIA;
GRANITE IS AS
GOOD As ANY
To Be Used in Post
office Buildin 6.
STIPULATED IN CONTRACT
SUCCESSFUL BIDDER WILL USE
THE RAYMOND STONE.
The Treasury Department Acts I'm
tho of
STIPULATED IN CONTRACT
SUCCESSFUL BIDDER WILL USE
THE RAYMOND STONE.
The Treasury Department Acts I'm
mediately Upon the Receipt of
the Report of the Van
derlip Commission.

The announcement in the telegraphic
dispatches from Washington that the con-
tract for the stOnewOrk on the new Post
Office building in this city had been
awarded TO the Bentley Construction
Company of Milwaukee for $500, 500 puts an
end to speculation as to who the success
full bidder might be. 1t is generally re-
gretted in local building circles, as is but
natural, that the contract was not award
ed to a California firm, but the stipula-
tion that the material used shall be Ray
mond granite furnishes food for COngrat-
ulation, as that brand of granite is CAL
ifornia product, quarried in MADEIRA 'Coun-
ty Superintendent Roberts, who has
charge of the construction of the Post
office building, says there has been no
intention a any time to use any stone not
produced in this State, and that all the
talk about such a possibility was based
upon a false understanding of the facts in
the case.
The action of the Treasury Department
officials in making the award was un-
doubtedly largely Influenced by the re-
port telegraphed to Washington a Few
days ago by the commission, consisting OF
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury van an
derlip, DR.. Whitehead, chemist of the de-
partment, and superintendent Roberts,
which was appointed to visit the Callfor-
MIA quarries and report on the quanty OF
quarreS at ROCklin and those at KAY
mond. and it's report was to the effect that
California produces as fine quallty OF
stone as any State in the Union.
F. e Knowles, who is mentioned in the
Washington dispatches as having MADE
the second most favorable bid, is the
president of the Raymond Granite Com
pany and the owner of the Raymond
granite quarries. Right here is one point
in connection with the letting of the con-
tract on which information is lacking.
~ S11pCpSGfU1 bidders TO furnish
Raymond granite, but that does not nee
essarily mean that they are to get their
product from the Knowles quarries, al
though the latter are generally known as
the 'RaVmOnd' QuarrieS. 1t is the gen
eral opinion among local builders that the
Bentley Company will secure its stone
from the MacLennan quarries, which are
also located at Raymond. The MacLennan
granite Is of fine quality but somewhat
coarse-grained and Of a darker hue than
the Knowles granite.
Among the other bidders from this State
were the California Construction Com
panV and Thomas c. Butler. W. II. Ellis
of Cincinnati was one of the most aggres-
sive seekers after the contract. and he
proposed to get his material from the
duarries a ROcklin. Mr.. Ellis bid is said
10 have been the lowest, but it was de-
cided that the Raymond granite was bet
ter adapted for the purposes of the Gov
ernment.
The contract for the stonework on the
PoStoffice building will take twenty-four
months to complete The Bentley Construc-
ton Company also has the contract for
the stonework, etc. on the Federal build
ing at Portland. Or, and Is now engaged
that work