The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-06-24
CRITICISM
 OF ENGINEERS Aldermen Engage in a
 Heated Debate AS TO EXPERT ADVICE Contract for Standpipe Award
 ed to MT. Hartley. Committee on waterworks Admits Mis- take Was Made--Iaesoiution to
 Regulate washinstoa Park Cars Adopted.

standpipe contemplated in the water works extension. The contract price is The contract was awarded after a | lengthy debate in which a number or | the Aldermen sharply criticised Con | sulting Engineer B. B. Smith Of the | water works extension, and City Ensi- 1t will be remembered that at the l last regular meeting of the Council notwithstandins the the fact ot that the ,esa esa | than those of its competitors. the Did was largely in excess of the sum esti- mated by engineers Smith and Ford
 The Water Works Committee ascribed | this fact in part to the increase in the price of steel between the time when | the estimate was made and the time | the bids were submitted. The increase ! was about s4 per ton. The engineers, | however, failed to consider the freight on the steel to Montgomery, which
 Sy t3 the ss psh who sa | asked for the price of steel to be de- | livered f. o. b. at Montgomery The steel people instead quoted them the l Criticism of Engineers.
 and Strauss that the engineers were ppommttee pana tU nSw eould nss not be Expected to keep up with every detail but that the | Aldermen depended on the engineers ::
 nen hst the too had Vastly timated the weight of the steel requir- ed. and he was borne out in his opinion by the lowest bidder, Alderman-eiect Hartley, who was in the lobby. Alderman Sullivan also took fall out of the engineers and criticised them in general terms. was called to order at S:15 o'clock. Vice. President Forbes presiding. The following Aldermen were present; Roemer, Griffith, Ryan. Sullivan. Holio- | way. Thompson. Kohn, Teague,
 The call was read for reports from the Committee on Water Works, the Privileges and Streets and the Com mittee on Fire Department
 Alderman Lobman merely made an Committee on Water Works. giving the amount required to build the standpipe and moved that the he report awansdii,ng noi,ng{ As soon as Chairman Forbes had put the question, Alderman Sullivan began to speak in thunderous tones for delay | He criticised the Council for not re- | fusing all bids instead of rejecting all | but the lowest and then holding that | the members of the Council had been | severely criticised by citizens and he moved that the Hartley bid be rejected | His motion met with no second | Alderman Lobman said that if h, thought there was any chance to ge | a lower~bid he would cheerfully agre
 a dsbsy b Sp h the hf ey oPOGGa PMoHa eSes Ses p
 Alderman. Kohn said that he ha, | spoken on the subject at length at !
 previous meeting and that he onl! on | should have been correctly infOrme, 1 by engineers to whom the city Is pay
 ing s!,Soo for ,..ss,.i advice; ;p-o.o.,.,on.. | Alderman Sullivan grasped a chanc | to speak of the acting Mayors veto 0
 the ordinance creating. day ieuten I had not enough money to pay a lieu
 tenant of police, but it did have enougl I money to pay a Consulting Enginee
 He Said that the proposition. was tn
 Council, which was putting 1t prett'
 Alderman Forbes called Alderman
 himself in behalf of the report. H
 said that the Committee on Water
 done It's work thoroughly and tha
 twenty-six firms received specification for the standpipe and six of them sub 1 mitted bids. He admitted the mIstalx
 of the engineers, but said that 1t wa | an honest one. He did not believe tha
 the city could have another bid a
 cheap as the one of the Hartley Boiie
 Alderman Strauss criticised the en 1 gineers.
 that the second ward Alderman hal already spoken twice. Alderman Sul | livan had already spoken three time
 and his point .a was oyerrTied oercrtsd t,. | tion to refuse all bids. He said he be
 lieved that the committee had done it
 york well. but that the sngInee5Ss S.Ins hst | was of the opinion that only 3S5.0Ot l pounds of steel were required, where as the specifications called for ovel
 Alderman Kohn thought that tn, | Water Committee had done It's .work well and favored accepting the bid.
 mittee was was perfectly Wiling to have all bids rejected, If the Council thought that the work could ever be done
 cheaper but the committee. did not turning down the Hartley bid.
 Aldermen Strauss and Sullivan each made another talk.
 of the report was withdrawn; The Sullivan motion to reject all bids was again introduced and Alderman Strauss the Hartley Boiler Works be accepted.
 Hartley Bid Accepted.
 The substitute prevailed by the fol-
 XYes-Aidermen Forbes. Grihath. Strauss. Thompson-s:
 Nay5-AlQerInen LODHldH, Au.lHp 0ul- 1ivan, Teague-4
 The Fire Committee reported favor- ably on the petition of Ike Levystein to erect bay windows in his store on Court Square. now occupied by Knabe Brothers. The report was adopted.
 Alderman Ruth secured Unanimous consent to introduce a resolLA'on. in- strncting the chief of police to see that .rowdy crowds were not allowed on Washington Park cars after mid in reference to the seating of white passengers. The resolution was adopt ed and the Council adjourned at 9:30 o'clock.
 Casino matinee today, 10 and zoe.