Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-13
ANSWERTOCOMPL
Question of Marble for New
Municipal Building.
SIDE OF COM MISSION
WHOLE QUESTION EXPLAINED IN
SOME DETAIL.
Not Required to Advertise for Bids for
Furnishing Stone-Reductions
Made by Bidders.

The story published exclusively in The
Star yesterday concerning the protest of
the Blue Ridge Marble Company against
the award by the municipal building COM
mission of the contract for stone for the
proposed structure has caused much COM
ment at the District building. The commits
sion is composed of the Secretary of the
Treasury and the three District Commis-
sioners, and from interviews with some of
the members the following may be said to
be the answer of the commission to the
charges or allegations of the Blue Ridge
Company:
THE commission was not required by law
to advertise for bids, but did SO. reserving
the right to reject any or all bids. 1t has
accepted the stone which it considered the
best that could be had within the amount
available for stone, estimated at $3.50, COO
1t did not want the cheapest, but the best
that could be had. The three stones finally
considered were the Hardwick white gran
ite original bid sS72. 500; South Dover mar
BILE, original bid $776, 800; Cherokee marble,
original bid $4,000, ,rhese bids represent
the relative market values Of he Stones.
LAS all were above the amount available,
the commission asked each of the
three bidders to make all the reduction
possible and to suggest such modiiica tions
in the plans might be necessary to meet
such reductions in the cost All three
bidders had the same opportunity and
each knew that the others were working
on the proposition. Each gave the COM
mission what the commission supposed to
be the lowest possible figure, including all
notifications that could be suggested in
the plan The Hardwick white granite was
reduced from $S72,000 to 100000, a reduc-
ton of $172, 600 but even this did not bring
it within the amount available, S6ooooo,
and moreover, required such extensive
notifications of the plan as 10 make IL
impracticable.
''rhe South Dover marble was reduced
from s775OOO to $645,000, reduction OF
sl3O coo and with such notifications in the
plans as was entirely feasible. The Chero-
kee marble was reduced from $6150OO to
100000, a reduction of S6o0o0, or just half
the reduction made on the South Dover
marble, and less than half Of that made on
the Hardwick white granite
Notifications Practicable.
1.-The notifications in the plan suggested
were also practicable in this case. Even if
the reduction which it is now stated the
representative of the Cherokee marble the
Blue Ridge Marble Company, would have
made if it had been suggested the same
notifications in the plans as the South Do
yer marble representative suggested, had
been made, 1t would have amounted to only
$114,O00, as against 100000 reduction in the
case of the South Dover marble. IT would
not have been as advantageous, therefore,
as the offer of the South Dover marble rep
resentative. The commission rejected orig
inal bids which were lower than the lowest
amount proposed by the Cherokee marble
representative because they were for diff
ferent stones of cheaper grade, which the
commission did not want to put in such
monumental building.
THE commission chose the most expensive
stone that could be obtained within the
amount available for the purchase of stone.
In so doing it secured the marble pre-
ferred by Cope & Stewardson. the archi-
tects of the building. and which had just
been accepted for the House of Repre-
sentatives' Office building.
LAS to the proposition for setting the
stone, the commission received offers from
the representatives of the three stones
specially considered. including the Blue
Ridge Marble Company, representing the
Cherokee marble, and all these offers were
practically for the same amount, namely.
50.000, differing only as to whether the
commission or the contractor would fur
nish the cement. 1t was supposed by the
commission that these Offers were made
as low as possible. but upon investigation
1t has discovered that the work can be
done for $4,000 less than these Offers and
the commission will save this amount by