Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1900-01-05
10 coHr i !! gAR - !! !, |.
City Council FailS to CIT Together on ths
u Broadway Bridge Question Saturday N
81 XXI Evening. S M

- gTtf
The Broadway bridge! matteris
still an unsettled problem. A meet
Ing Of the city council was to have
been held Saturday evening for the
purpose Of receiving bids and award
Ing the contract for repairing the
bridge but At that meeting there
was not a. quorum present, so moth
ing was done IN IN the matter. s$ !,
i The members present were Martin.
Peterson and Carlson, q Aldermen
Hill and Moeglein are out OF the city,
and although Aldermen Lane and
Mecusker were in the city they We're
not present. ! t Il. * A.. zs:.S
Four bids-two on the repairing
OF the bridge and two on the work
OF handling the water pipe were
handed to the city clerk, Lars NJ.
Anderson handed in bid on both
jobs A. y. Harrison putin a Ibid
on che bridge. repairs and Geo.
Schroeder hadSa bid in on handling
the water pipe ~ L.: y + n
As there was not sufficient mum.
Der Of the councilmen to act on these
bids they were returned unopened.
There wasqnite large number OF
spectators present, and among them
We're the seven representatives Of
bridge concerns WHO had come here
to bid on the work, but none OF them
would even attempt to bid under the
specifications furnished. AN Of them
expressed dissatisfaction with the
action OF the council in advertising
for bids under such specifications.
They criticised the specifications
freely, and the following are some IT
the remarks made by some OF the
would, be bidders from out side the
city. = H.. "tv r. =.
L. NJ. Hewett, representing the z.
NJ. Hewe TT bridge company, Mime
apolis-2tI may be treading upon
the toes of someone present. but I
don't care, those specifications are
about the crudest I ever saw. They
must have been brought in from the
back woods somewhere. No man
who does not know who the engi-
neer is to be and what he would do
could safely bid on them. have ex-.
amined the bridge and I believe that
ii the. council would hire a conpe-.
tent bridge engineer to furnish speci-
tications,: the bridge could DE re.
paired so that it would last several
years, as long as the people here
would want tito, fora gree 'a al.
less money than anyone cun repair
II Tor under those specific ions. d:
T.. w. Rutler, representing the w.
s. Hewett Bridge company, Mtnne--
apolis-''No,2 I could not hid on that
work under the specifications: 1t
was limited to me. that those specifi-
cations were gotout in that manner
purposely to shut out us outside
bidders. OF that, ofcourse,1 cannot
cay, butt know that none of them
that are here will bid. The bridge
can be repaired for much less money
than the amount OF the bid could
afford to put IN under those specifii-
cations, &C.,. a.. =
J, M. Nc ul|om, representing Gillette
lHerzogt & Co.-Those specifications
bar me from bidding and J. think
they VIII bar anyone from bidding
anywhere near the an, omit the work
could; necessary could be donetfor.
Under those specifications the engi-
ineer can do -as he pleases. : You
;would have to figure on the limit Of
cost to make yourself safe, and II
you did your bid would be,so high
that the council would not entertain
tittfor a minute. 1EfHSz. ii 5s%5 II r
= b. d. Miner. Of the. Joliet Bridge
Co, was another outside CONT actor
who wan herel land who, after exana--:
lining the cificat,ons, decided III
was impossible to make 9 reasonable
bid under them. He now has charge
or the construction for his firm, Of
the bridge across the Mississippi ut
Rices, and a steel bridge Of two
spans OF 156 feet each IL being built
upon steel piers fora total cost of
Sc, 1000. He said from his examination
Of the present bridge it would seem
poor policy to make expensive I'm
.provements. At small cost it could
be made to last d while, even If it
was now unsafe which he was not
prepared to state. He said q decis-
ivestest, by placing aload upon the
bridge, could now be< make very
cheaply. as ice was within q few feet.
.of tire structure. He estimates that
q new steel bridge, straight across.
on Broadway, passing over the
tracks, could be built complete for
SIS. 600 or $50, 900. f. it'd Y @
All the other outside contractors
expressed themselves in about the.
.gy 4 Il