The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1905-11-08
NOT SUFFICIENTLY ADVERTISED.

NOT SUFFICIENTLY ADVERTISED.
A0y=rCise ments for biCs for the
construction Of the northeast boule
vsr6 we're published fourteen days
before the ordinance authorizing the
advertisements was approved and the
bids were opened three days before
Uhe ordinance was approved.
d careful analysis Of al filtration
aGvertising,' the report continues,
Indicates that everything possible was
dcse 20 avoid any real publicity with
out letting that fsc5 appear tco pro-
clinently in the records. The bu-
reau's preliminary estimates, instead
II being freely furnished to bidders
we're vigorously guarded secrets so far
IS the general bidder was concerned,
except that they were furnished in
the specifications for flaering materi,
ais, where they were very little need
ed. The specifications in many par
ticulars were unfair to bidders, and
gave excessive and unnecessary power
TO the city officials In short, the
oecifcations were SO drawn that the
engineer in charge could harass an un.
welcome contractor to an almost un
limited extent without the contractor
being able to prevent it or secure
legal redress"
CONTRACTS FOR FAVORED BIDDERS
Tho report. which makes more than
twelve Thousand words, goes into &c
tails to show how contracts were let
to favored bidders, and how other
methods were used to help favored
tractors. 4 III quently used
method OF guiding contracts into the
desired hands. the report says, was to
readVertise them whenever others
were the lowest bidders. In some
cases contracts were let to the firm
Hhich promised to do the work in the
shortest time and not to the lowest
bidder. The McNichol bids always
proposed strikingly short periods for
the completion Ct contracts, aud il
one case notice to begin work was
gwen to McNicbol Il ur months after
ae started the operation, so that the
6rn would have four more month IL
which TO complete the contract. In
many instances, the proposed time
"ss exceeded by from 10 to 200 per
cent In tie aggregate, the report
says, McNichol could have been as
sessed for Eouidated damages for over
time about S532,000 BE was actu-
ally assessed IS, 255.
We have received testimony from
many contractors, the report says In
c connection with favored contractors,
that the conditions described kept
them from bidding We have also
received statements that city officials
directly discouraged bidders from
-uhmittiag bios. This field hss no,
yet been fully explored. !"
The report says the filtration sys-
TEN ought to have been completed o.
January l, 1904; that stree June
1904, when the West Philadelphia
district began receiving filtered water
there have been only ten deaths from
typhoid fever out OF a population OF
forty one thousand. At the same
proportional rate the deaths from
typhoid fever in the whole city since
January /, 1904, when the filtered
wafer system ought to have been com
pleted, should have been fifty seven
or less, whereas .257 have died FROM
tie disease. Since January /, 1904,
the total nunb ber OF cases OF typhoid,
Including deaths, was II 97s The
difference between 81 and l,257, the
report says, represents the loss OF life
due to the methods that have been
in conducting the filtration
works.