The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-09-08
NEW SCHOOL HOUSES
FAILURE TO COMPLETES THEM WILL
 COST CONTRACTORS MONEY.
Mayor Carr Expresses Opinion Ihs' Compnanee With Contracts VIII
 work Haraship Dut AdMats
 Inconysnineee to Patfons.S

The failure Of the cohtIdctofs tu
 complete the new school houses In course of construction for the city gov
 ernment may cost them considerable
 money. as the contracts provide that
 the city is to be indemnified if the
 buildings are not completed by Septem- ber 18th.
 There are four brick school houses in course of erection for the city and they will cost approximately $1b,0oO They are located in West End, at High land Park, in C1overdale and on Her. ron Street. The last named school house was destroyed by ire in Decem- Der and the insurance was adjusted very soon after the fire. The contractors for the new build ings are as follows:' Heron Street school, c. Y. Bogacki; West End school Hugger Bros; Highland Park school, Hugger Bros, sub-contracted to Graves and Anderson; Cloverdale school. the Riverside Brick Company. . These contracts were awarded at least i've months ago and after the City Council hat delayed the matter until it was pressed upon them by in- dignant citizens and the newspapers. All of the contracts are to be conn pleted by September IS. The con- tracts provide that for each day after September 18th the contractors shall pay the city s15 until October 1st when they shall pay the city s25 day until the buildings are ready for oc- supancy.
 It is said that MT. Bokacki is the
 only one of the contractors who will
 escape the penalty. The Heron Street
 school will be ready for the pupils at
 ho {vaa in
 tractors for the West End and the Highland Park schools will probably
 fall short ten days or two weeks and
 1t Is said that the Riverside Brick Company will not be able to complete
 the school building in Cloverdale before
 November 1st. If this should be true
 the brick company would be called
 upon to pay the city $975 as indemnity
 for its delay.
 Six weeks ago.T Advertiser point.
 ed out that the contractors were mak-
 ing slow progress with the school
 buildings and that there was a proba-
 bility they would fail to comply with
 their contracts. It was said that this
 condition was especially true of the
 building in Cloverdale. At that time
 Mayor Carr scoffed at the suggestion
 of failure on the part of the conr
 tractors saying that he had given his
 personal attention to the work and
 that he had assurance that the schools
 would be ready for occupancy when
 the school year began on September 26
 A. L. Davis, President of the River
 side Brick Company in an interview with a representative of The Advertis- CT at that time said that hfs company had been seriously hampered by fail-
 ure of brick manufacturers to deliver
 brick as provided for in his contract with them. He expressed the opin-
 ion. however, that his work would not be but few days behind the date
 specified In his contract, September
 15
 The Advertiser had prepared patrons of the schools for the announcement of delay on the work and the message of Mayor Carr to the Council Monday
 night in which he regretted the great delay was not a surprise. The mayor asked the Council to make a temporary
 provision for the pupils between Sep
 tember 26, and the date of opening of the schools, and the time when the new buildings would be completed. He failed to advise the Council or the public of reasons for this delay, or to
 intimate when the schools would be
 ready, or to inform the public of the fact that the city is indemnified for the failure on the part of the contrac- tors to complete their work as they
 had agreed.
 In an interview with representative
 of The Advertiser Mir. Carr said he
 doubted the propriety of requiring the contractors to pay the indemnity. He said he knew that they had striven faithfully to complete the work but they had been disappointed in securing
 materials with which to build tho houses
 :On every payment made to them
 said the Mayor the city has reserved ten per cent for the express purpose of collecting indemnity. but I am of the opinion that 1t would be a hard ship on them to require pay for fail- ure of which they are not entirely re- sponsible."
 Was not the clause put in the con- tract for that express purpose?" the Mayor was asked.
 Yes" he replied, but 1t was not contemplated that manufacturers of
 materials would disappoint them" Will it not cost the city considera- ble money to make temporary arrange
 ments for the pupils until the new
 buildings are completed?" he was asked.
 T doubt if it will cost as much as we might be able to collect in indem. nity from the contractors"
 Don't you think the contractors