Perth Amboy evening news., 1905-08-10
PUBLIC OPINION.
Editor Evening News:

Editor Evening News:
Recognizing your w%atchfulness in
all matters pertaining to the welfare
of the City of Perth Amboy, and
knowing your influence in city, coun-
ty, state and national affairs to be
of no miscroscopic proportions, I am
sorry to see SO faithful a Watchdog
(pardon me for using the expression)
of the people, being put on the wrong
track, but | am positively sure you
are barking up the wrong tree this
time; being not SO much a fault of
yours (the best of hounds can be
fooled) as it is the work of some sly
fox, who hung up, an old dried piece
of coon skin Tin former misleading
statements) no doubt to detract your
attention from watching some APP
nest (the city treasury. Keep an
eye on the fox. Enough as an intro
duction to the subject, which is you
taking exception to the action of the
water board employing an expert to
prepare plans and specification for
oil OBVVO,UVO bdllOA CuPiClLg pump
To set you right in this matter, it
is necessary to go back to the be-
ginning of pumplore as far as the
history of the waterboard goes. When
the said water board took hold of
the management of the city water
works, they found at the Runyon
Plant two pumps, the Snow pump in
good condition, reliable, never fail
ed, and the Loretz unserviceable
and from data gathered by commits
sioners at no time since its installa-
ton a reliable machine.
The subject of repairing said Lor-
etz pump were duly discussed and
considered, the advice of engineers
were asked, and all agreed that to
repair same would be money foolish
ly spent, instead the board decided
to buy a new reliable pump of ample
capacity, an 100000 gallon was
thought in view of the city's rapid
growth to the right size, the consent
of the council to issue bonds to pay
for same was asked and given and
the engineer was instructed to pre-
pare specifications for said pump and
the clerk instructed to advertise for
bids, when receiving said bids the
board found prices ranging from
$1S,7O0O.O0 to $43,050.00 and in
dimensions of plungers, stroke, PTS
ton speed, and weight, as much, il
not more difference, and all bid on
an 100000 gallon capacity pump
consider that fact and tell me, dc
you still think 1t a simple matter te
buy an ordinary pump, as you cal,
1t?
There is a vast difference between
an individual OIL private company
buying machinery and the city do
ing said buying, an individual car
invite bids and after receiving same
look the different machines over ther
decide which will be to his advan'
tage to buy, not so with the city, il
must do the deciding first n it is
restricted by law to buy from the
lowest bidder. hence the advisable
ity of employing a hydraulic engineer
In consultation, and to prepare spec.
lliCdIiOhS anu DiduS ~ 40 " 6uote
the city against getting inferior OF
doubtful machines You may say thu
bonds entered into will protect thu
city, it will for the six months q
being usual to ask six months guar
antee) the builder guarantees to re
pair said machine, after that the city
runs 1t own risks and a pump should
last at least twenty-five years no
six months or six years.
In the last lott Of bids submitted
by pump-builders the lowest bid was
from a firm which had built but one
pump and that 9f a smaller capacity
then the one asked for, Same was
not completed hnd Installed same
was built for odle 6f the members O
the firm submitting the bid: said firm
had a pump (designed Pr the design
er lof said Company but built at
different plaht} SGT up and = lol
exhibition Purposes AZ tAe plant fhal
seemed to (mp az anEiHe'4f 3t*H|