The Topeka state journal., 1906-05-08
HALF A VICTORY.
Price Of Curbing Goes Down
and Paving Up.
Grading Contracts Also Show a
Big Advance.
HINTS OF A COMBINE.
Bids All SuspiciousIy Close to
Estimates.
City Council Cleans Up Much
Routine Business.

The fight which Councilman Green in
stituted in behalf of unrestricted COM
petition in the curbing contracts re-
suited last night in the council award
ing the contract at the lowest price that
stone curbing has ever been let in the
history of paving in the city. 81 $40
cents per lineal foot. Webster & TuI-
loeh were the successful bidders. Fort
Scott blue sandstone, the material on
which Webster & Tulloch bid, once
reached as low as 40 cents but it has
hovered for the most part about so
cents. the price on which contracts
were awarded last year.
/ Councilman Green held out against
the paving petitions as first presented
this spring, wherein the Fort Scott
blue sandstone was specified for the
/ curbing. Mr.. Green maintained that
! the petitions We're Illegally drawn up
! The opinion of Judge Frank Doster was
secured and he upheld Mr.. Green's
I stand AS the result Of this new petit
tions were drawn up and presented
and the question of curbing was left
4 wide open. It resulted in spirited COM
petition. Last night two bids on Fort
! Scott blue sandstone were entered, one
! on Lyon county stone, one on Allen
county, four on cement and one on
| Pleasenton asphatum sandstone.
The saving which the city will effect
as the result of the reduction in the
price of curbing from so to 81 $40 cents
/ Will mean about s., 500
That opinion of Judge DOster's at
S100 was certainly we'll worth the price
wasn't it?" said one of the councilmen.
] Barring bid of 81 cents entered by
! Ed HaWes on cement eurbing, Webster
| & Tulloch We're the lowest bidders.
Hawes bid was thrown out by the
board Of tellers as being irregular and
not conforming with the requirements
for entered bids.
Whatever has been gained by the re-
duction in the price of curbing is more
than offset by the increase of the price
| of paving. AS predicted In the State
Journal several months ago the ad
| vance is 1919 cents a yard over last
year The paving contracts were let
last year for as low as $1.091z a square
! yard-competitiOn between the two
! brick companies was pretty fierce them
/ The differences have been iFoned out
somewhat since and an understanding
| arrived at in consequence of which the
successful bid this year was $1.22
Hanley Ritchies again demonstra-
/ ted last night that they had the inside
! track to the paving contracts in To-
peka by pulling away the contract for
4 the "a blocks at $1.22 from Haskins &
Il Ramsey at si.2S. O. Swanson bid
! $1.24
| The engineers estimate was $1.25.
All of the bids hugged the engineers
estimates pretty closely
The grading went to ]. H. Maxwell at
26 cents cubic yard the engineers
estimate was q cents.
The rolling went to Hanley & Richie
at Z1z cents a square yard, the engi-
neer's estimate was. cents.
The grading last year was let at 22
cents a cubic yard. Why there should
be any material advance unless some
understanding was pretty well arrived
at in advance is hard to understand.
The claim is made that there is no mon
irr~ if7 = fv,r~ dor. rs "
! Wall secured the contracts for furnish
ing the catch basins at S16.65, crossing
plates at Sc a set and II inch vitrified
tile at 60 cents a lineal foot All of
these prices were well within the esti-
mate. The estimates on the catch bas-
ms was $18, on the iron crossing plates,
81, and on the tile, IS cents a lineal
foot.
Swendson were appointed as mem bers
of the board of tellers which recon-
mended the awards of the above con-
tracts.
The bids as entered for the paving
were as follows: Hanley & Ritchie.
S1.22; Haskins & Ramsey, $1.23; o.
Swanson. 1924.
The bids entered on the curbing
were: Jonathan D. Norton and Henry
Peppmeyer, Lyon county curbing,
AZ * c lineaI foot. all streets; Hanley
& Ritchie, Allen county curbing. ACC
lineal foot; Webster & Tulloch, Fort
Scott blue sandstone, 81 9-10c lineal
foot; M. W. Gilmore, all streets,
cement curbing, 41c lineal foot; Ed
Hawes, cement curbing, SIC lineal
foot: D. o. cellars, Pleasanton as
phaltum sandstone curbing, 38 u lin
cal foot; J. M. Mcdonald, cement
curbing, 45c; H. G. Bowman, gran
atoid or cement curbing, 47hc lineal
foot; Fort Scott Stone and Coslstruc-
:, ton company. Fort Scott blue sand
stone, 43c lineal foot
Bids entered for rolling and grading
follow: Haskins & Ramsey, grading
2Sc a cubic yard. rolling 3-6c q
square yard; J.. H. Maxwell. grading
26c a cubic yard, rolling Sc a square
yard; Hanley & Ritchie, grading 27c
a cubic yard, rolling 2 1zc a square
yard.
Bids entered for catch basins and
crossing plates follow. NJ. w Gill
more, iron plates at $500, catch ba-
sins SIS; Capital Iron works, $6.75;