Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-12
DISTRICT BUILDING
Protest Filed Against Award
ing the Stone Contract.
THE CLAIMS M MADE
CHARGED THAT PLANS WERE
SECRETLY MODIFIED.
Bids Were Really Nearly 100000
Apart - Total Cost of
Building.
THE CLAIMS MADE

|
| Trouble has broken out over the contracts
for the new District building and today a
| protest filed with the commission,
| which consists of the Secretary of the
| Treasury and the three District Commits
| sioners, by the Blue Ridge Marble Com
pany protesting against the awarding OF
| the stone contract to the South Dover Com
| pany. Ever since the awarding of the
! stone contract was made there have been
| rumors. ana some open talk. criticlsing the
| methods in conducting the arrangements
for the new building. The present protest
is on the stone contract itself. although
that is not the only subject about which
criticism Is lowering. At the time the COM
mission met and awarded the stone con-
| tract to the South Dover people there were
| two other stones being considered gran
| ite and what is known as the Cherokee
| stone, controlled by the Blue Ridge Marble
Company.
When the award was made 10 the South
| Dover it was stated that its bid was about
$55Go higher than the Cherokee. but the
startling statement is now made that the
South Dover bid, which showed a cut of
over $lo0o0 on its original proposition,
was made on radical notifications of tho
had submitted propositions. and in their
| protest filed today the Blue Ridge Com
pany makes a statement that on the same
notifications their bid would have been
over $4,000 less than the South Dover
Ii is said that while the proposals were
for the stone, itself only that the COM
mission has awarded a contract to the
South Dover people. not only for the stone
work, but for the setting of the stone. giv
| ing them a sum of $4,000 for this latter
work without any competitive bid what
ever.
The Protest
The protest of the Blue Ridge Marble
Company copy of which was placed in
the hands of each member of the commits
sion. is follows:
WASHINGTON. ID c AnrfI II 1ao5
10 Hon. Leslie NJ. Shaw Secretary of the
treasury; Hon. Henry b. f. Mcfarland
Hon. Henry l.. West and Col. John Biddle
Commissioners of the District of CoInr1.
bla, acting Jointly as the municipal build
ing commissions:
Gentlemen-On or about the 2Tth day of
Oc'oper, 1914, pursuant to and in accord
ance with an advertisement, Instructions to
bidders and certain plans and specifica-
tions, heretofore publicly promulgated by
your honorable commission, the Blue Ridge
Marble Company among others. submitted
Tor your consideration its certain bid or
proposal for furnishing the material de-
| Scribed and required in said advertisement.
instructions to bidders and said plans and
specifications. The said bid or proposal was
duly accepted by ysu as regular and in
proper form for your consideration. and
consideration thereof was duly and formally
| proceeded with by your honorable commits
sion until the 2Sth day of March, I9u5 upon
| which date, We are advised, your hunora BILE
commission awarded or siEnihed your in
| tention to award or accept a certain
secret modified bid or proposal SUD-
mitted by one of said competing bid
ders, based upon radical changes and
| notifications in the aforesaid plans
and specifications, necessarily Heretofore
adopted by your honorable commission as
your modif cations and changes of said orig
inal plans and specifications, and of which
We, as competitive bidders, had no knowl-
edge and no opportunity afforded US by
your honorable commission to enter into a
fair and equitable competition with the bid
or proposal submitted awarded or ac-
cepted, aforesaid.
We further advised that In making the
award, or IN accepting the bid or proposal
aforesaid, you have taken into considera-
ton new propositions submitted by the
aforesaid bidder, which are entirely foreign
to said original advertisement instructions
to bidders plans and specifications and
which will entail an additional expenditure
not contemplated in said original adver-
tisement, instructions to bidders, plans and
specifications Of upward of fifty thousand
dollars of the public money, and that Won
intend TO include said new propositions in
said award and in any contract arising
The Blue Ridge Marble Company. feeling
itself aggrieved and damaged in that its
equitable and legal rights have been ig-
nored in the premises, hereby enters its ex-
ceptlons and objections to your aforesaid
proceedings and to said award or accept
ance of said modified bid or proposal and
respectfully protests against your honorable
commission entering into, signing or in any
form or manner executing any contract or
contracts for the purpose of carrying said
award or acceptance into effect, for the rea-
dit,oyS IL,
are contrary 20 the statutes governing and
controlling the expenditure of public
money and to the laws regulating and con-
trolling the construction of pubic build
lngs and to the law authorizing the con-
strGctlon Of said municipal building; that
your proceedings are contrary TO the let
ter and spirit of the advertisement, instruc-
uons TO bidders, plans and specifca tions
promulgated by you, and that they are con-
trary to the rules and established custom
and laws regulating and controlling the
award or acceptance of competitive bids or
proposals.
In conclusion we desire to call your at
tention to the fact that since the award
or acceptance herein complained of we
have been accorded-through the courtesy
of your honorable commiSsion-opportu-
nifty to ascertain the extent and character
of the notifications and changes upon
which said accepted proposal and award
was made, and beg to inform you that if
given opportunity to submit a proposal or
bid based on said notifications and
changes, our proposal or bid hereunder
would be S561 900 bid lower by $4,000
than the bid or proposal accepted or in
tended to be accepted by you. and if the
setting proposition be included bN
would be more than $91,000 lower than
said accepted bid. Very respectfully,
THE BLUE RIDGE MARBLE CO,
BY John p. Carrothers, its Attorney.
Other Criticisms.
1t is not certain what further steps the
protesting marble company intends to take.
altb it ic cafd ba wi