Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1905-11-03
CITY HAS LOST
$6,33O,OOO 0
ENGINEERS REPORT AS TO WORK
DONE FOR PHILADELPHIA BY
CERTAIN CONTRACTORS.
ALL OF THEM ARE
PROMINENT POLITICIANS
Among the Men implicated In the
Charges of Fraud Are "Boss" Dur
ham and State Senators Nc
Nichol and Vare-Expos-
ure Of Big Steal.

Philadelphia. Oct. 30.-The report
of the board of investigating engineers
appointed last July by Mayor Weaver
to examine the filtration system of the
city and the Northeast and Southern
boulevards now under construction,
which report was submitted to the
mayor Saturday, was made public yes
terday. 1t is signed by Maj Cassius
e. Gillette, of the United States engi-
neer corps, who investigated the Sa-
vannah harbor Frauds and John Mac
Lennon, of Washington, d. C. The re-
port shows that up to date the city has
lost through excessive costs, collusive
bids, illegal advertising and in other
ways the sum Of $6,330,000.
The contractors who received most
of the more than S1S,000,000 that have
been expended on improvements are
d. ]. McNichol e Co., James ]. Ryan
and John A. Kelley, and Ware Broth
ers. The members of the McNichol
firm are Israel w. Durham, leader of
the local republican organization;
State Senator ]. P. McNichol, also
city leader, and the latters brother
| Daniel. The Ware firm is made up of
| State Senator George Ware and Edwin
H. Ware. Their brother, William S.
Ware, is recorder of deeds, an elective
office.
The officials held responsible by the
report for some of the conditions In
connection with the filtration system
are William c.. Haddock, who was di-
rector of public works under Mayor
Ashbridge; Peter E. Costello director
of public works under Mayor Weaver
until last May, when the mayor dis
missed him, and John w. Hill, former
chief of the bureau of filtration, who
is awaiting trial on charges of fraud
and Justification of records in connec-
tion with the construction of the fl
tration system.
The report says: "Omitting from
construction all small contracts-say
under S30,000-we find for the filtra-
ton work and the two boulevards as
| constructed up to date, the city has
paid or pledged S1S,761, ,541. First
class work under the specifications
| should not have cost over 2,430,000
which includes an allowance of 90 per
cent. or $2,075,20S for legitimate con-
tractors profits. The difference is
| SG,330,000. In other words, $1S,760,000
| in round numbers has been paid for
work costing the contractors S10,356,-
| 600.
"Of the SG,330,00O excessive cost
there has gone to the contractors who
/ worked under the name of d. ]. Nc
Nichol $5,OG5,122, similarly to Ryan
and Kelley $543,S90 and to Ware
Brothers SS9.128.
Some OF these contracts are in
| complete; the estimated cost of com
pletion of the existing filtration con-
! tracts at contract prices is about ST.
| GS5,000. A fair price, allowing 20 per
cent. profit, would be $1,21S,000. The
| difference the city will lose if these
contracts are completed.
"The price paid for the three quar-
ters of mile of Northeast boulevard
already constructed is $552,348, on
which there was loss to the city of
| S273,217 There are nine and half
miles more of it laid out on the maps.
If completed at contract prices, the
| additional cost to the city will be
about $G,500,000 and the additional loss
at least S2,250000. On the Southern
boulevard the amount paid to date is
$2S6,3S9, on which the loss on the one
and quarter miles built has been
$S9,12S. To complete at contract
prices would cost $350,51G, and the ad-
ditional loss would be $S5,555. In
other words the total cost of both
boulevards as planned at contract
prices would have been $7,G9G,00O and
the total loss to the city S2,750,000."
"Much of the work done by Ryan
and Kelley and d. ]. McNichol is not
first class. The parts which show
we'll done; the parts that can be ex-
amined with little trouble are dis
tinctly second class and not up to the
specifications.
The report says the filtration sys-
tenn ought to have been complet-
ed on January /, 1904; that since
| June G, 1904, when the West Phil
adelphia district began receiving fill
tered water, there have been only ten
deaths from typhoid fever out of a
population of 1000. At the same pro-
portional rate, the deaths froS ty-
phoid fever in the whole city since
January /, 1904, when the filtered
| water system ouSnt 10 nave Deen COM
pleted, should have been 81 or less,
whereas 1,257 have died from that dis
ease. Since January l, 1904, the total
number of cases of typhoid, including
deaths, was 1876. The difference be-
tween 81 and 1887, the report says,
represents the loss of life due to the
methods that have been employed in
conducting the filtration work.
Togo EuIogized Departed Comrades.
Toxic. Oct. 30.-The Shinto rites in
memory of the naval officers and men
who were killed during the war were
held Sunday at Ayomya cemetery. Ad-
mirai Togo addressed the departed
| aDirits oulogizinp their deeds in battle