Milford chronicle., 1905-11-03
PHILADELPHIA
LOST S6.330,OOO
Mayors Experts Maka Report on
Filtration and Boulevard Jobs.
FAVORED CONTRACTORS GOT IT

Philadelphia. Oct. 30.-The report of
!, he board OF Investigating engineers
r lppointed last July BY Mayor Weaver
20 examine the filtration system of the
city and the Northeast ana Southern
Boulevards now under construction,
which report was submitted to the
, mayor Saturday has been made pub
) lic It is signed by Major Cassius p.
, Gillette, of the United States Engineer
Corps, Who Investigated the Savannah
larbor frauds, and John Donald
Maclennon. OF Washington. D. C. The
/ report shows that up 10 date the city
has lost through excessive costs. col
lusiye bids, illegal advertising and in
other ways the sum of S6.330000. The
I contractors who received most of the
more than S1SO00.000 thas nave been
expended en- improvements are d. J.
4 McNIchol & Co., James A. Ryan and
John W. Kelly and Ware Brothers.
The officials held responsible by the
report for some Of the conditions in
/ connection with the filtration system
are John c. Haddock, who was direc-
tor 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, ana John W. Hill, former
chief of the bureau of filtration, who
is awaiting trial on charges of fraud
and Justification Of records in connec-
ton with the construction Of the fltra
ton system. Te report says:
"Omitting from construction all
small contracts-say under $4,000
we find that for the filtration work and
The two boulevards as constructed up !
% date, the city has paid or pledged /
B12,430,000 which includes an allow /
lnce of 20 per cent. or S2,075, ,20S for
legitimate contractors profits. The /
difference is $6,330000. In other words
$lS,760,000 in round numbers has been
paid for work costing the contractors
$1O,S56.0OO.
"Of the $6.3SOOOO excessive cost
there has gone to the contractors who
worked under the name of D. ]. Nc
Nichol s5,065,122; similarly to Ryan e
Kelley S54S, $50, and to Ware Brothers,
SS9,128 OF the s19,761,541 there re-
mains unpaid about S568, 600 to Nc
Nichol and $4,000 to Ryan & Kelley.
Some Of these contracts are in
the estimated cost of com
'ietlon of the existing filtration con
racts at contract pdices is about ST.
$4,000. At a fair price, allowing 20
'er cent. profit, would be S1,21S,000
The difference the city will lose if
hese contracts are completed.
The price paid for the three-quar- !
ars of mile of Northeast Boulevard t
lTeady constructed is S55234S, on '
-hich there was a loss to the city of i
27S,2l7. If completed at contract h
rices the additional cost to the city a
i'll be about S6,500,O00 and the addi- v
onal loss at least S2250,O0O On the b
outhern Boulevard amount paid to G.
lte is S286,SS9; the loss on the one fl
I'd quarter miles built has been IL
9,l2S. To complete at contract prices ii
ould cost $35O.516. and the additional IL
SIS would be sS5.555. In other words,
e total cost of both boulevards as
AIMED at contract prices would have
en- S1636OOO, and the total loss to a
e city $2,750OOO." w
The report then says much Of the an
'rk is not first class. One Of the rit
cans by which excessive profits were I'M
lde possible. the report says. was by va
permitting fair competition. The Sh
vertising was wholly inadequate; iir
freely more than pretense. sec