Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-06-19
WHO CHANGED
THAT CONTRAST!
City Council Holds Secret Ses-
sion to Investigate the Paw.
ing Contract.
Thought Perhaps Defect in First
Contract Was Intentionally
Concealed.
Members Arrive at Conclusion
That Trouble Does Not Lie
in City Hall.
Ii Erroa Had Not Been Discov.
cred Company Would Have
Guaranteed Nothing.

complish very much in open meetihs
but behind closed doors held session
that was OF intense interest. The coun-
ell set out to investigate the omission IN
the recent contract with the Barber
Asphalt Company, in which the word
seven" as referring to the number OF
years the company was to keep the
paving in repair was left out 1t was
animated to City Solicitor Van Law
and Mayor Jones that perhaps there
was an intentional cincealment o. the
defect of the contract. This phase OF
the question was carefully Investigated
in the secret session lasting ane and
one-half hours, in which both city
Clerk Egermayer and Deputy City
Clerk Mrs. Minnie Allen were witness
es The opinion of the council, after
the conclusion of the investigation, was
that the fault did not lie in the city hall,
vet at the same time the members feel
that there was some crooked work
somewhere in the contract matter.
Many indications point to crookedness,
but whether or not the truth can be
ferreted out is another question, yet to
be settled.
New Contract Approved.
In the open meeting and after first
caucus of half hour, Councilman Hen
~ made q! motion that the council ap-
prove the contract and bond of the
Barber Asphalt Company, and the may
or and city clerk be authorized tc sign
the contract 1t was found, after care
fully going over the three copies with
the city solicitor, that everything: was
in proper shape. The bonds for $4,000
is furnished by the National Surety
Company and signed by the resident
vice president and secretary at Des
Moines.
History of Contract Trouble.
The history of the trouble with the
first set Of contracts might remind one
c. the glucose contract with the city,
which, when returned to the council,
was minus an important clause con-
corning the maintenance of the Mar
snalltowll plant. In order to avoid any
similar complication in the paving mat
ter City Solicitor Van Law looked after
the matter personally and says he could
swear that the word seven" was in
each of the three triplicate contracts
when they left him. 1t was not in the
enc returned, the matter being discov-
cred first by Mrs. Allen, who was max
ing COPY for Mr.. c. NJ Carpenter, the
attorney.in-fact for the Barber people.
In the first place the contract was
prepared in triplicate, all blanks being
filled in with typewriter. The three
copies We're sent to Chicago last Friday
night for execution by the paving COM
pany, with blank bonds accomps nying
them for proper execution and return
to the council Monday evening for APP
prevail. About. twenty minutes before
the council convened City Solicitor Van
Law was handed the contract, with the
space lett for the number of years the
pavement was to be kept in repair was
blank. He called Mr.. Greene's attention
to the matter and the Third ward coun-
Gilman moved the deferring of consid-
Grafton until the meeting Wednesday
night. Tuesday afternoon the city So
licitor drew, anew in his own hand
writing, duplicate contracts and had
them sent to Des Moines to Mr.. Car
penter, where the contract, and bond,
could be duly executed. These were re-
turned Wednesday with the proper GER
tificates of authority of all parties; sign
ing them attached, and as a conse-
quence they We're approved.
Would Have Been Fatal Error.
The council fully realizes what the
error would have been had the first con-
tract with the missing word seven"
been approved. If the number OF years
had not been filled in there would have
been no guarantee whatever, en- the
part of the paving company, covering
the work that is to be done.
Error Was Discovered.
Monday afternoon ex-Mayor F. G.
Pierce, the local agent of the asphalt
company, and Mr.. Carpenter, the attor-
ney, called at the clerks office in the
city hall. Mr.. Carpenter had then only
one of the three copies of the contract
that ha6. been prepared and sent to Chi
cago. The bond had been executed by
the attorneyin fact of the National
Surety Company in Chicago, but there
was now power of attorney attached.
allowing the council to surmise that the
attorney-infact had no au-
thority to execute the bond for the Ma
tional Surety Company.
Mr. Van Law called Mr.. Carpenters
attention to this fact and the latter re-
plied that if the city insisted upon it he
would have the resident vice president
and secretary at Des Moines sign the
bonds. The solicitor gave him to I'M
Gerstard that it was insisted upon. Mr..
Carpenter then asked for another copy
o. the contract, to take to the sub-office
at Des Moines, and Mrs. Alien prepared
the copy. In doing this she came to the
blank space which should have con-
tanned a seven years guarantee on the
part of the company, and says she
called Mr. Egermayer's attention to it.
She also AYERS that Mr.. Egermayer re-
lpied to go ahead and make it exactly
as the original she was copying. Mr..
Egernayer, on the other hand, says his
attention was not called to the matter
until after the contract left tie office.
Mr. Carpenter took the copy made by
Mrs. Allen and went to Des Moines, and
ex- Mayor Pierce had the original copy
which was to go to the council. The
procedure was all SO strange ard uneX-