Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-18
ROOT REJECTS BIDS
Secretary Of Wars Action on
Filtration Plant.
TO ADVERTISE AGAIN
NEW PROPOSALS WILL BE OPEN
ED MARCH 80.
Considers It Only Fair to Reopen the
Question to Another Gem
eral Competition.
TO ADVERTISE AGAIN

Another delay has occurred in the ex-
ment of the filtration plant in Washing
tOn..
Gen. Gillespie chief OF engineers. was
unable to settle the complications which
arose over the two sets Of bids received in
January and February last. He therefore
referred the matter to Assistant Secretary
Sanger. After three days consideration
of the subject Col. Sanger hesitated to
act and transferred the complication TO
Secretary Root. Secretary Root yesterday
gave a hearing to Senator Penrose Of
Pennsylvania and Col Mackenzie and Col.
Miller Of the engineer department. The
senator advocated the award Of the con-
tract TO Harmer & Quinn of Philadelphia
at their bid of $1.9s7. 1S3.
Wanted Work Divided.
Col Miller contended that 1t was to the
interest Of the government to divide the
work among several contractors specially
qualified to meet the requirements. One
advantage of the engineer plan was that 1t
would save the government about $4,000
on the work.
Harmer & Quinn insisted on having the
contract as the only bidders at the second
competition whose bid was within the limit
vigorously against the plan of dividing the
work, as recommended by Col. Miller
A protest against the award on either OF
the two lines indicated was made by the
New York Continental Jewell Filtration
Company. That company claimed to be en-
titled to the contract for the entire work
on the ground that its bid submitted at the
first competition, in January, was the low
est Of all, and. furthermore, that the COM
pany was better able to render the particu-
lar service required than any Of the other
competitors.
Root Rejects All Bids.
After considering the matter in all Its
details, over night, Secretary Root this
morning announced that he had decided to
reject all the bids received at both the first
and second competitions, and to call for
entirely new proposals.
1t is said that, while he recognized the
urgent necessity for prompt action in the
matter, he felt that 1t was only fair to
all interests concerned to reopen the ques-
ton to another general competition.
Under the terms Of the statutes, provtd-
ing the funds and fixing the limit Of cost
at So, 46S, 4O5 it is required that the plant
shall be complete and ready for operation
on or before December 1, 1904.
In order that there may be no more delay
than is absolutely necessary for the execu-
ton of the plan adopted by Secretary Root,
Col. Mackenzie, who is acting as chief of
engineers, today instructed Col. Miller, the
officer in charge of the District water sup
ply system, to advertise for new proposals
at once, fixing March 30 next as the date
for them to be opened. OF all the parties
In interest the Jewell Filtration Company
of New York is said to be the only one
satisfied with the departments decision to
have another competition.
Root Makes Statement.
Secretary Root this afternoon gave out
the following statement in aXplana ton of
his action:
"Bids for excavation, concrete masonry,
iron and steel pipe, etc., comprising the
bulk of this work, were invited under the
District Of Columbia appropriation act of
June 80, 1902. That act limited the cost of
the entire work to 50, res, 4O5.
ION the 2Sth of January number of
bids were received, but the prices bid were
such as would make the work exceed the
statutory limit. All the bids were rejected
and there was Reimbursement and Sec
ond bidding.
'"The bids received on the second occasion
were also at prices which would make the
work exceed the statutory limit.
mo action was taken upon the second set
of bids. Congress has since increased the
limit of cost to the extent of 500, 900, so
that several of the bids under both the first
and the second biddings would be within
the limit established since the bidding.
No Authority to Accept.
cit is clear that under the second as well
as the first bidding the engineers had no
authority to accept any bid. They must all
be deemed to have been rejected. On both
occasions the bidding was under the cost
Limitation Of the original statute.
mo one who was not willing to do the
work under that limit had any opportunity
to bid. Since the limit has been raised the
public interests require that such an oppor-
tunity should be given, and new bids must
be invited by due advertisement under the
present law.
of the very full information which all the
concerns engaged in such work already
have upon the subject, this advertisement
may be very brief, provided it is accom-
panied by special Information to all Of the
parties who have put in bids heretofore or
are known to have considered the subject"