Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-07
BITULITHIC PAVING
PROBABLE THAT ALL BIDS WILL
BE REJECTED.
Hearing Before Commissioners Today
Open Market to Supply Material
for Experiments.

| From present indications it seems likely
| that the Commissioners will reject all bids
| recently received for laying 10000 square
| yards of pavement with "btulthic' ma
| ter4al, and that they will in open market
| let contracts to three or more companies
| for laying small areas of bituminous pave
| ment for experimental purposes This prob
| ability developed at the hearing held before
| the Commissioners in the board room at the
| District building this morning.
| Several days ago bids We're opened for
| paving 10,W0 square yards of street with
| 'bitnlithic" pavement. a patented material.
| There were three bidders, the Warren
! Brothers Company of Boston. the Barber
| Asphalt Paving Company of Philadelphia
and the Crawford Paving Company of
| Washington. The Warren Brothers, who
manufacture bitulithic pavement, bid 81 per
square yard for the pavement; the Barber
company bid S.S5 and the Crawford COM
| pany N.S' per square yard for laying a
! bitumious pavement claimed to be Just as
good" bituithic. since they could not
furnish the latter article, which is patented
and laid only by the Warren Brothers Com
pany.
| The Barber and Crawford companies ask
| ed for hearing before the Commissioners
| before they awarded the contract, and the
| hearing was granted by Commissioners
| West and Biddle this morning.
Unable to Submit Bid.
! Mr. j. r Draney. representing the Bar
| Der Asphalt Company. explained that his
| company was unable to submit a bid for
laying ''bitulithic' pavement, as that name
| is copyrighted. He said his company how
! ever, did submit a bid for laying btu
| minous pavement. which he claimed is bet
| ter than the other specified material. The
| bitulithic pavement. he explained, has coal
| tar as its bituminouS material. while the
| Barber company's product has asphaltum
as its bituminouS material.
Mr.. Draney argued that asphalt is SUI
| perior to the coal tar now manufactured.
| He said his company has laid consider
| able area of its bituminous pavement i'll u
| number of cities and it has proved salts
factory. He read a clipping from a New
port News paper commenting adversely
upon the bitulithic material. and he pro-
| duced photographs showing poor condition
| of that material in other cities. He de-
clared that in two cities the btuithic pave
ment became so soft that in two instances
| horses became stuck in the coal tar.
AIR. Draney Suggested that the Barber
| Crawford and Warren companies each be
| allowed to lay a small area of pavement
| in contiguous. localities where the condi-
| tons would be similar experiment
| so as to give the Commissioners an op
| portunity to determine the relative merits
| of the respective paVementS.
Col: Biddle then made statement to the
! effect that coal tar pavements were tried
! III NdSitiilStoi' many years ago, out tndl
| they proved of uncertain quality, some OF
the payementS lasting only Il short time
while other portions of the pavement are
| still in good condition after being used
| over twenty years. He said that two years
ago he took up the study of coal tar pave
ments and has inspected the bitulit4dc pave
| ment In several cities. and he was DESTROYS
| from his inspection of the pavement to ex-
| pertinent with it in Warrington.
Desired to Give Material a Trial
/ Col Biddle said when bids were called
| for the specifications asked for the btu
lithic pavement manufactured by Warren
| Brothers, and that he expected that com
| pany to submit a bid. He said that it Is
| not in his mind at all to place asphalt pave
| ment generally with bituminous pavement
| but he deemed it advisable to give the new
| paving material a trial
| Mr.. Draney mentioned that the btulthic
! pavement is slippery, but Col. Biddle de-
| clared that 1t is not so slippery asphalt,
| according to his personal observation.
| Mr.. J. II. Crawford, representing the
| Crawford company declared that the coal
tar manufactured now does not contain the
properties of the coal tar manufactured
years ago, and the modern product is in
| ferior.
Mr. Crawford declared that he is willing
to lay a small area of bitumnous pave
ment. together with the Barber and War
rem companies. in order to give the Com
| miSSioners an opportunity to ascertain the
| relative merits of the respective materials
| MI. Vests Suggestion.
| Commissioner West expressed a desire to
have the experiment with the three kinds
of pavement tried in the District, and he
suggested that about 5000 square yards OF
each kind of pavement would be sufficient
for the experiment.
In reply to a question of Commissioned
West. Mr.. Draney and Mr.. Crawford boil
stated that their companies would be will.
ing to lay 5000 square yards of pavement
for experimental PURPOSES at the price sub.
mtted in their respective bids.
| While no definite action was taken on this
| proposition today. ii is anticipated that the
Commissioners will likely agree to the
proposition, and each of the three compa
MES will be given contracts for laying small
areas of their pavement a trial.
|