Los Angeles herald., 1906-06-03


tion apparently are in danger of becom-
ing involved in a lively row started by
competing machinery concerns over the
manner of calling for and awarding
contracts for the equipment of the
Polytechnic high school.
The point has been reached where
some of these machinery men are pro-
testing openly and loudly against what
they term evidences of favoritism on
the part of certain members of the
board, md hints of an Investigation of
the relations which these members
bear to certain machinery house repre-
sentatives are made 1t is only fair to
the members of the board to say how
ever, that any evidence along this line
which so far has developed Is OF a
purely circumstantial nature, and they
say they are willing that the most
searching inquiry Of any of their acts
which have been complained Of be
made.
Nevertheless the protesting machinery
men arc indignant and declare they
will keep UP the fight they have begun.
In their opinion no sufficient eXplana-
tion has yet been made of the ap-
parent disposition of some of the NOM
bers of the board frequently to prepare
specifications for supplies and material
which practically shut out open COM
petition, and also at times to favor the
purchase of material at a price con-
siderably above that of the lowest re-
sponsible bid.
Bids Readvertised
Trouble over the Polytechnic con-
tracts started about three months ago,
or soon after the Machinery and l1lec-
trioal company was awarded the con-
tract for the installation of a ther-
mostat system in the school. Conditions
made it necessary that the thermostat
be install before the heating appara-
tus was put in. and consequently when
bids for the heating plant were called
the Machinery and Electrical company
prepared plans which should apply to
the thermostat already established
When this matter came before the
board objection was raised to the plans
on the ground that the specifications as
called for shut out certain makes Of
boiler, and after some discussion 1t was
decided to readvertse and to change
the specifications so as to provide for
more open competition.
In accordance with this new set of
plans for the heating plant was pre-
pared by local architect, which the
Machinery and Electrical company
'CIdl1nS so nearly COIloIIllGu Will llS
original plans that it was able to make
a bid on it, and as a matter of fact it
obtained the contract for this part of
the work apparently without much
further trouble.
This concern, however, also put in
bid for the boiler, and it was here that
the first serious trouble arose. The
company claims that Notwithstanding
the fact that its bid was the lowest
,.E vi. fn hQV
firm on the ground that the type of
boiler which the Machinery and Elec-
trical company agreed to furnish was
not the most advantageous.
Board Appoints Engineers
The Machinery and Electrical COM
pany protested. that it could furnish an
equally good boiler as the one adopted
and at a lower price, but its protest
was of no avail The boiler contract
went to the Sterling company, and the
Machinery and Electrical company was
compelled to be content with the con-
tract for the heating plant.
Soon after this the board advertiser
for bids for an engine, and this gave
rise to further trouble. The specifica-
tions called for what is known as a
side crank engine, and while the Ma
chinery and Electrical company put in
q bid for this type of machine, 1t called
the attention Of the board when the
matter came before it to what it claim
ed were superior advantages possessed
by another type, and as a result the
board finally decided to readvertise for
bids under a new set of specifications.
The controversy over the respective
merits of the various types of engines
finally became so spirited, and promised
to cause so much trouble, that a board,
in order to settle the matter, appointed
a board of three expert engineers to in
vestigate and make a report.
Affair Becomes Complicated
According to the report made to the
board by the committee in charge of
the matter, the conclusions of these eX-
pert engineers favored the purchase Of
an engine offered by one of the competi-
tors of the Machinery and Electrical
company, but on the other hand, the
latter concern insists that at least one
of the members of the board of en-
gineers urged strongly against that
course. At any rate, instead Of clearing
up the situation for the members of the
board with regard to the technical
points involved, the office seems to have
become more complicated than ever, for
il was then decided to draft still an
other set of specifications. and Superin-
tendent Mulholland of the water de-
partment was asked to do this work
This is the shape the affair is in a;
present, and the indications are that the
board will have to go through another
lively period before the controversy
ever the engines finally is settled
In connection with the installation oi
the heating plant, however, an interest
ing point is raised. The board called fol
bids for vacuum system; that is, ma
chinery for pumping the condensed
steam and water back from the pipes
and for this the Machinery and Illectri-
cal company offered two systems. One
of these is known as the Paul system
and the other as the Webster Boil
are regarded as excellent systems, but
1t is claimed that the efficiency of eacI
depends altogether on the conditions
with which II Is surrounded.
Says Money Was Wasted
When this question camo before the
board a representative of the Machinery
and Electrical company explained thai
this concern was prepared to furnish
either system but stated that in his
opinion the Paul system would be fount