Los Angeles herald., 1905-09-15
Markell HOLDS
CANAL ONTRACT
AWARD FOR FEEDING MEN IS
CONFIRMED
DECISION OF THE PRESIDENT
Roosevelt Authorizes Publication of
Report Of Mr.. shonts Regarding
Protest of Two Unsuc-
cessfuI Bidders
DECISION OF THE PRESIDENT
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
OYSTER BAY, Sept. IA contract
for the hotel and subsistence concession
on the Panama canal zone awarded to
Jacob E. Markell of Omaha by Presi-
dent Theodore P. Shonts Of the Pana-
ma Railroad company will stand.
This in effect, is the decision Of Pres
ident Roosevelt, who today approved
report on the subject made to him by
Mr.. Shonts.
The contract amounts in the aggre-
gate to many millions of dollars, but
Mr.. Shonts' report indicates that it may
be abrogated at the will of the govern
ment, which actually will own the per-
manent plant used by Mr.. Markell in
filling the terms of his contract.
The president today authorized the
publication Of report he had received
from Mr.. Shonts as president of the
Panama Railroad company regarding
the protest recently received by him
from Hudgins & Dumas and H. Balfe
of New York against the award of the
contract to Mr.. Markell.
The protest forwarded to the presi-
dent by Hudgins & Dumas and H.
Balfe alleged that they had not been
accorded fair treatment by President
Shonts, and through a leak In Mr.
Shonts office Mr.. Markell had been in
formed of the nature of their proposal,
and had been enabled thereby to in
Il ~ i Frr1i Oh
Hudgins & Dumas had submitted.
In this letter to the president Mr.
Shonts says that on his arrival at the
isthmus on July 26 he found most
pressing necessity for immediate ar
rangements for feeding the employees,
and that it was determined by Gov
ernor Magoon, Mr. Stevens and himself
that this matter should be handled by
the Panama railroad, and not by the
isthmian canal commission, as the COM
missary department was also in charge
of the railroad company and that COM
pany was already operating one hotel
at Colon. Continuing, he says:
IT found Jacob E. Markell on the
isthmus, he having gone down at the
instance Of Mr.. Wallace to study the
situation. 1t was decided while on the
isthmus that the railroad company
should furnish the plant, including the
buildings and equipment; that it should
maintain the buildings and the con-
tractor maintain the equipment, so that
in the event Of it becoming necessary
for the railroad to cancel the contract
we should control the entire plant. Be-
fore Mr.. Markell left the isthmus we
had told him we expected to take this
step upon our return, and would like
to have him make a proposal when we
got ready to submit specifications. We
later received a communications from
Messrs. Hudgins & Dumas, and Mr..
Balfe, asking for opportunity to make
proposals. AS soon as the speciflca-
tions were drafted we mailed to Mr..
Markell, to Hudgins & Dumas and to
Mr.. Bale each copy in the same form
and invited proposals. We did not ad
vertise, because of the railroad, and be-
cause of the urgency Of the case"
Mr.. Shonts states that he held con-
ference with the prospective bidders
and at the suggestion of Hudgins &
Dumas included weekly menu in the
specifications.
He continues:
when the proposals were received
found that Mr.. Balfes was 50 per
cent. higher than Mr. Markets in some
items and that Hudgins & Dumas were
so much under either of the others that
I felt there was some misunderstand-
ing on their part as to the meaning of
the specifications. I thereupon wrote
them letter amplifying the specif1-
cations, and I gave them an opportun-
ity df they did not understand the spe-
cifications) to amend their proposals" /"