The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-07-11
H 6 onduct which violates the affecotlot 7, \
S5t a the heart Or dictates OF the corr ~,
science, however L may lead TO I'm as Z s
mediate success, lie q fatal tai error 9! I,
Why Hunt & Company

Why Hunt & Company?
isSTherc are In richmond some %, 900
males over twenty-one years old WHO v no
M are assessed for taxes. Il. P crhnps an i'd
Rational thousand females who pay taxes
jain their own names nre In tho city; 80
there are $4,000 citizens upon i'll whose,
shoulders the burdenIof all public Inv
SRprroyements must full, II TIE Council. re-
presenting these citizens and those who ''1t'
enjoy the benefits Without paying tho
taxes has decided, after full conslderal--
NJ lion III e rehabilitate #the Gas Works. 4 SO
II far SO good. Certainly the Gas Works l
# cannot continue IN tho present state Of
#sdnpldat ton to furnish the demands OF
the City, ana physical betternlcnt Of
the whole plant is urgently and im lln.
5dintely demanded u And what has been
done towards meeting this cond ton 3}}i$B
$ fter three months deliberation the
58ioint committee has decided to ask Tor
8Splans from Messrs. r.. w. Hunt = COM
s SSpaany, and In making this selectlon&i,t ~
docs not appear what motives really
GUIDED those who voted for this choice
Certainly those who voted against this
proposal on Monday evening, and gave
s@as their reason that they desired more more
light, we're acting with discretion and
wisdom, N1essrs r. w. Hunt d Com
many many may DO the best gas experts N
America, but their supporters could SHOW
mo such belief II may be that tii nv
;S1irm5of engineers has proven BY the 81
&ule construction of q gns holder that IT.
IA thoroughly competent to design. build
8and superintcnd the much more compli- y
8cated construction OF complete gas
8Srant. This capacity, however, II 1t seX-
lists was only evidenced by the unsup-
ported statements of Messrs. r. w Hunt ltll
$8&I Company, and was not tested or tried
8SDy any Of tho usual methods for arriving
at a Just conclusion which are used by
men OF ordinary business experience. ~
81 number OF members voted for Messrs. Il.
W. Hunt & Company, because, as they
~ sald,5it was better to make beginning
and spend s2,t00 or 81, 900 for plans than,
ITO longer delay, ana yet these same
@ gentlemen admitted. under close questions
Ing. that they were not competent to say
B3 whether tho plans for which they were
~ SO willing to spend a large sum Of money
would be in any way suited to the work
Mn hand.
3$3 TO The Times-Dispatch 1t seems that
the committee, 4aving sought, for rea ca
" sons best knewns't6 itself, to give the
n contract to Messrs, Il. w, Hunt & CONF.
pany, fell into a panic at the last mo-
3s ment and rushed blindly forward with
tout completing necessary preliminarics.
ANY ordinary business man who felt
Il himself unskilled In such a serious qtlest
ton as the erection OF ~ gas works would
assuredly have secured the services OF
s3ta competent expert before he began, and
S. such business man would have been
ADJ able TO give clear-cut, definite reason
81 for the choice he had made. If the Coun-
A{ Gil sees AT to accept Messrs. r. w. HAnt
III e. Company as the engineers to construct
"A; and supervise this work, this paper has
Enothing TO say In opposition, provided
III that the Council will make more intel-
&ijllgent investigation than was made by
q tho Joint Committee on Finance ana
Light. To build a gas works costing from
8I $500. 900 to 100000 means that every
3 tax payer OF Richmond Will be assessed
s from $40 to $S5 to carry out this work.
~ Tho tnx.payers arc really shar.r-ol1,rs In
8's a municipal corporation, md the Council
lis really a board OF directors. and II
ri needs no argument to prove that, In all
@ business OF similar magnitude. before Tho
stockholders would submit to an assess-
lnent OF some twenty-five dollars per
capita, they would demand OF their al
rectors an explicit intelligent, unblased
8 and conclusive statement OF the capacity
s ana reputation Of tho engineers under
whosc direction such sums wero to be
NJ expended II tho Council finds that
B Mcssrs, Hunt & Company measure III
s IL these requirements, by all means lei
5gi Siessrs. Hunt 6. Company carry out thu
work; but, II not. rho Council should I'M
nedtately choose some expert, after I
ia ysul!er investigation than that made by
the Joint Committee on Finance ant
M Light.
The Pollard resolution can hardly. b.
any construction, be made to mean tina
$8the Council shall not pass on the quail
4 Geations OF the engineer TO be chosen. 70
# Tie Miner resolution adopted Aionda,
night specially provided that Messrs. II
S W. IIuat & Company should ne RECON-
y AiENpEp to the Council. II. npon in
8 yestigatYon by the Council. Messrs II
va Nv. Hunt e Company prove 70 be a
8s That could be desired. II WIN not be III
s, result Of any personal attention on II
ssia nsrt az the Joint committees, Dir. laine