The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1907-01-18
OLIVER AND BANGS
Were Lowest Bidders on Contract for
Digging Panama Ditch--0nlY
-Four BIDS Submitted.


When the bids for the construc-
ton of the Panama canal were opened
by the commission at Washington
Saturday it was found that the lowest
was that Of William j.. oliver, of
Knoxville, Tenn, and Anthony M.
Bangs, of No. 4 Nassau street, New
York, at CTS per cent of the total
estimated cost.
George Pierce and Company of
Frankfort, Germany, and New York
City constructors of the East River
tunnel in New York, were second at
7.19 per cent; the MacArthur-Gillis-
pie Company, composed of leading
New York financiers and contractors,
was third at IL IL per cent, and the
fourth and last bidder was the North
American Dredging Company of San
Francisco, the largest contracting firm
On the Pacific, at 2S per cent
Under the form and contract on
which bids were received the canal
contractor undertakes to do the
dredging, clearing and excavating at
the ends of the canal to deep wa
ter; to construct the Gatun dam and
the dam or dams to be built on the
Pacific end and all locks and regulat-
ing works wherever located.
The commission will furnish all To-
comotives, cars, steam shovels and
other machinery of heavy character,
but the contractor must furnish all
hand tools.
The proposals were as low as had
been expected by experts on cone
struction work. For some time it
has been known that several mem
bers of the commission believed 7 per
cent upon the estimated cost OF the
construction would be a fair remun.
GRAFTON under the form of contract pre-
pared by the commission. The low
est proposal, that of Oliver and Bangs,
falls even lower than had been ex-
pected
Granting that the estimate of $780,
100000 for the construction Of the
canal which has been frequently spok-
en- of in congress is accurate, the
remuneration of the Oliver Bangs COM
bination would be $9,45O000 in case
it was to be awarded the contract,
Much discussion has been caused by
the great difference in the only four
bids received as they ranged from
&. rs to % per cent
William j. Oliver and Arson NJ
Bangs have both been in the contract.
ing business for many years and state
ments they furnished With their pro
much important work. Mr. Oliver
posals show that they have done
states that he has completed S18,-
100000 worth Of work in the past ten
years, and now has $31,500000 worth
Of work in progress. He gives his
assets at $3,0C0000. Mr. Bangs gives
his assets at $2,0OOOOO, and states
that he was the contractor for the 500
lock at sault Ste Marie, Mich, Della
ware breakwater and Buffalo breakwa-
ter, the contract price for each Of
these being $25OO,O0O.
The actual work of constructing the
canal is to begin sixty doys after
signing the contract, and the contrac-
tor will take over all employees on
the isthmus which the commission
does not wish to retain 1t is also
provided that no American employe is
TO work more than eight hours. There
is no time limit for the completion Of
the canal In the contract
The percentage system of payment
was adopted because this method is
being employed increasingly by the
most successful corporations in the
country.
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