The Washington herald., 1907-01-13

William J. Oliver. Of Knoxville, Tenn,
and Anson NJ. Bangs, OF New York, yes
terday submitted the lowest bid 10 the
Isthmian Canal Commission for the con-
tract for the construction of the canal.
and, if the offer is accepted. and it doubt
less Will be, these men viii be the real
builders of the great waterway. Their
profit viii be great, but, in the opinion
OF those thoroughly familiar with all the
details, It viii be a sum which the gov
ernment can well afford TO pay The
Oliver Bangs combination In their bid
offered TO do the work for SIS per cent
Of the cost of construction, an estimate
OF which will be prepared by an engineer
ing committee consisting of two men,
bers appointed by the contractors and
three by the Isthmian Canal Commission.
The bid is considered low. Perhaps the
best evidence Of this is the offer made
by the Gillespie Company, a
concern formed for the special purpose
or submitting a bid and composed Of four
of the greatest contracting concerns in
the world. g. White & Co. Macarthur
Brothers, the T. NJ Gillespie Company.
and the Atlantic. Gulf and Pacific Com
pauy. This concern offered TO do the
work as outlined in the specifications
drawn by the Canal Commission on the
basis OF 12.5o per cent upon the estimated
cost
High Bid n Surprise.
The McArthur-Gnlespic combination was
more feared by the other bidders than any
other competitor. and that tacir bid went
so wide Of the mark was something Of a
surprise. 1t has been known that officials
Of the government interested ia the canal
work have believed that the governmen
could not afford to enter into "a contract
on basis of much more than per cent.
The second lowest bid was made by
George Pierce & Co. Of Frankfort. Me.
and New York. This concern offered to
take the contract for LI9 per cent The
fourth offer came from the North Amer-
can Dredging Company. a Pacific Coast
concern. which wanted y per cent of the
estimated cost as fixed by the engineering
committee, in accordance with the plan
outlined in the contract.
Announcement was made by Theodore
s0i4DlltS- tlldli man OF ltlt G=LilHElli
Canal Commission, just before he opened
the bids, that the award would not be
made Immediately as the commission
would necessarily have TO study the offers
from legal aspect and from viewpoint
of general policy. There has been moth
ing TO show that the Oliver-B Bangs con-
Germ is not entirely qualified 10 take over
th- contract, and the general belief is that
within a few days a formal award to it
v,iH be made
William j. Oliver is now engaged with
contract with the Southern Railway for
"a tunnel under Lookout Mountain. and
is also building dam across the Tennes-
see River at Chattanooga. lie built tbs
locks in the Sault Ste. Marie Canal. the
largest structures Of the kind I'm the world.
and which viii De exceeded iu size only by
those Of the Panama Canal.
oliver Is Young.
Oliver-"Bin." his friends call him-is a
slender. sturdiIy built man, hardly forty
years old, Yet with all the energy of a
dynamo. He has reddish hair and a
closely cropped mustache of the same
color, which fairly bristles with enthusi-
asm. Alr. oliver is "a young man, yet.
according 10 all the banking houses Of
the South and West is one OF the richest
men in the South, having made his NH
lions from contracting.
II personally supervise all my work. "
Mr. Oliver said, when asked to what he
ascribed his success in the contracting
business. Then, again, 1 give every su-
perintendent OF manager engaged on my
work an interest in the work
"Of course. the Panama Canal is a big
contract" he said last night. 1T is a big
undertaking, but it is not half as difficult
as the contracting work / am now en-
gagged on. The canal is simply forty miles
of work It is all together and not scat
tered, as is some of my work from Louis
lana TO Virginia. and from the Mississippi
River 10 the Atlantic Ocean.
TN get busy the minute the formal
contract is awarded me. which should be
within a week or so, ! presume The
people want 10 see the contractor who is
TO put the canal IN shape get busy
They will not have a minute 10 wait after
get the word 70 go ahead
No Harder in Panama.
The work of construction in the Canal
Zone will be no more difficult than similar
work anywhere else. The sanitary condi-
tions there are perfect. That viii be Of
great benefit"
Mr.. Oliver wanted the contract alone.
but the Isthmian Canal Commission in
sisted that he take some other contractor
in with him. lie showed them that he
had practically limitless financial backing
TO carry on the work, but the canal COM
missioners were fearful that something
might happen 10 him. and that the work
would lag until some one was able TO
carry it along.
When Chairman Shonts fatty refused
to permit him 10 undertake the contract
alone and Unaided Arson NJ. Bangs was
taken in by Mr. Oliver. That William J.
Oliver VIII be the dominant man in the
construction company no one can doubt
after talking to him a minute. In fact.
conversation is not necessary. one look
at him will convince the most skeptical
that be IS not the man to work under
some one else.
Peering from beneath heavy, reddish
tinted eyebrows are as sharp a pair Of
blush gray eyes as any one ever saw.
Mr.. divers face is tanned and bronZed
from his work in the open air. and he is a
perfect picture of rugged health. There is
not a superfiuoUs ounce Of flesh on him.
He is all muscle, bone, and nerve en-
erev. He is seldom stiu. walking cease
Iessly up and down his room while talk
ing.
Gets Ready Already.
In less than an hour after he had