The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1907-09-24
ROWLAND WILL
HAVE To
co


connection with the dredging contract
obtained by the Hawaiian Dredging
Company for the new slips" said z.
J. Lord yesterday as he was about to
board the steamer Siberia for the
Coast, -but I want to say before I
leave Honolulu that there will be no
work done under this contract until
the Department of Public Works Is
cleaned out from top to bottom. It Is
understood in official circles that Hol-
loway is to resign on November /. and
with him are to 60 both the How
lands. When they are gone the con-
tractors can commence work with the
assurance that no unnecessary STUN
bling blocks will be put in their way.
The only reason that the various con-
tractors have for being glad that Hol-
loway is to resign is that Rowland
will step out at the same time, because
the worst thing that any OF US have
against the Superintendent of Public
Works is that he has let Rowland run
amuck and do things that no man OF
experience or of good Judgment would
do. Holloway himself is a man of good
personal judgment and a man with
whom the various contractors could
get along. but no contractor so far has
been able to get along with Rowland
Rowland is a man who knows nothing
of what he undertakes to oversee and
makes up for his ignorance with his
officiousness.
Il understand that James T. Taylor
will be the next Superintendent of
Public Works. At least, that is the
information given me by those men
whom 1 suppose know what they are
talking about. Holloway's term does
not expire until the twenty-third of
November, and it is possible that he
may hold office until that time, but I
hope not, if Rowland has to stay until
he is kicked out. 1t doesn't look as IL
he would quit before, no matter what
the Legislature or the public may think
and say about 1t.
LAS soon as 1 return from Columbus.
Ohio, 1 am going to start proceedings
against the government for payment
for the work 1 did on the contract for
laying the bar-lock pipe to the Nuuanu
reservoir. On that contract 1 have done
nothing since about the first of May,
and 1 don't intend to do anything until
1 get my money for what 1 have done.
The time limit on that contract expired
some time last July. If 1 am so much
in the wrong over it as the department
tries to make out, why don't they try
to cancel the contract? They seem
very willing to talk about canceling the
but
start in on this contract which they
say 1 have violated the terms of?
"On this contract so far they owe me
about s31O0. 1 want that paid. Then
1 want them to arrange about the COM
pletion of the contract. took the con-
tract to lay that pipe according to the
secifications for s15.500. According to
the specifications, remember, but not
according to the whims of Rowland.
When l had done a considerable
amount of the work 1 had the govern
ment engineer go over 1t and he put in
an estimate that had completed sixty
five per cent. of the total contract. On
that basis I applied for payment, the
contract being that l was to be paid up
to ninety per cent. of the value of what
had done. This estimate went to
Rowland. Without consulting his en-
gineer or anything else but his caprice.
he struck out the figures 65 and sub
stituted the figures so, thus knocking
me out of a considerable amount Of
the money due me.
I'm addition to this were other mat
tiers which cropped up, and I quit
work and will stay quit until either the
will do things on a common
sense and fair basis or the department
is cleaned out and common sense and
fair men are put in charge Just think
of this. My contract read that 1 was
to lay a section of the pipe through the
Dowsett Estate. When my men went
on they were kicked off. because the
Department of Public Works had let
a contract for the laying of a pipe
across private lands without having
taken the trouble of procuring permits
sion from the owners to cross their
lands. Then the department coolly
the plans so that l would
have to make 900 cubic yards of fill
and $50 yards of a cut additional to the
contract and wanted to make me be-
lieve that this change was one OF the
ordinary chances any contractor would
have to run in rendering for govern
ment work They must think that I
don't know any more about contract
ing than Rowland does.
These changes in my contract were
made on the lower end. On the upper
end 1 agreed to put in 1000 feet or
wooden stave pipe, the slaves to be
supplied by the department in lengths
Of not less than sixteen feet. But
when I saw the material the depart
ment had sent up for me kicked. The
slaves supplied were OF eight, ten and
twelve feet. Anyone knows that these
would make the carrying out OF the job
much more expensive. Again / was
told that this was another OF the
chances I would have to run.
Now, don't intend to run any more
If such chances. and won't have to as
soon as someone gets into Office in the
department who knows anything of en-
cheering. I think that It Is certain
hat Rowland Will have 10 go. SO far
as Holloway Is concerned, the con-
tractors l have talked to think that
ne is all right except that he sticks