The sun., 1907-11-24
fOARRAIGN THEWATER BOARD
CHARGES AGAINST THEM WILL
he PREEERRED TO THE MAYOR.

Can Fight the Case Co Court OF Appeals
- They Choose. but the Charter RevS-
slOn May wipe Them Out Meanwhile
H -IncOmDete1cy Likely Co Bo Alleged.
The Commissioners Of Accounts will
present charges to- the Mayor against
the members of the Board of Water Supply
at the close of the investigation which is
now going on to ascertain on just what
grounds the hoard threw out the bid of
the John Peirce Company for the building
OF the Ashokan dam and awarded the
contract to the Macarthur Brothers, whose
bid was more than S2.3OO,OOO higher than
that Of the Peirce fium.
Since the investigation began last sMOn-
day J. Edward Simmons. chairman of the
board. Chief Engineer J. Waldo Smith.
c. r. Davis. the department engineer in
charge of the work at the Ashokan reser-
vOir and Prof. W. H. Burr. the head of the
STAFF Of consulting engineers retained
by the board. have been put on the stand
and each Of these witnesses has been forced
60 admit that the only reason why the
Peirce bid was rejected was because it
was thought that Peirce had quoted a
price which would not give him a profit
on the work and that to give the contract
70 him might mean delay in the construc-
tion Of the dam IL was admitted bv Mr.
Smith and Prof. Burr that they had not
themselves worked out the cost of the speoi-
hcatiOns. and that in reaching their con-
clusion that the Peirce bid was too low
they had been mainly Influenced by the
fact that the other four bidders had esti-
mated the cost away above the figures of
the Peirce bid. They insisted that the four
competitors must be right because their
M nd
that PeirCe must be wrong in his figuring
because his bid was nearly a quarter of
q million dollars less.
just on what grounds the Commissioners
OF Accounts will base their charges against
the board can only be assumed at present
The likelihood. however, is that the COM
missfoners, in view of the evidence given by
the members OF the board that they relied
on the advice of their engineers in taking
the action they did in rejecting the Peirce
bid and the evidence given by the engineers
that they gave such advice not upon speci-
hc knowledge as to what the work was
likely to cost but on a general haphazard
idea Of what they thought it ought to cost,
the principal charge will allege that the
members Of the board are incompetent.
The investigation will go on for about two
weeks longer. Expert engineers are to he
brought forward by the Commissioners OF
Accounts who will testify that the Peirce
bid was fair one and that had Peirce OBJ
tanned the contract he would have made
profit out Of it. At the close of the inquiry
the commission will file the charges with
the Mayor and then under the act creating
the Board Of Water Supply the Mayor
must give an opportunity TO the members
TO make defence before he can remove
them.
Should the Mayor remove the board the
members, under the act. can carry the case
TO the Court Of Appeals by means Of GER
uOrari proceedings. But it was stated
yesterday in the city Hall should Mr.. Sim
mons and his colleagues show any inclina-
tion to hold on to their jobs by appealing
to the courts the Charter Revision Commits
sion will he asked To put a clause in the new
Charter which will permit the Mayor to re-
organize the Board Of Water Supply.