New-York tribune., 1907-11-28
mo FRAUD IN ASHOKAN.'
Successful Contractors at Hearing
Deny Charges of Collision.

rob, p Macarthur secretary and treasurer %
the Macarthur Brothers company, the successrul
bidder. together with the Winston company Tor
the AshOIxan dam contract denied yesterday that
his firm had received the contract through any
couusion or fraud. Just before he was leaving
the stand at the hearing before the Commissioners
Of Accounts Mr. Mitchell. he said:
'sNow Mr. Commissioner. don't know II thers
has been IN the minds OF the examiners any idea
Of colIusion or maud. or anything improper at
all in the letting Of this contract II there Is.
and this examination might seem to lead naturally
I'D TO that. I want to assure you that such DeheI
is entirely wrong and unfOUnded We are abso-
IuteIy straight in what we believe the cost OK
the work to be and that Mr.. Peirces DID. Win
all due respect to him. IS a gross error, big
mistake and would have. had Mr. Peirce obtained
the hid resulted in a loss OF a million dollars
to him We hope TO make 10 Per cent proht
but don't know.
eve would ask tho board to consider that be
sides Mr. Peirces bid there three others higher
tbar ours Mr.. O'Rourke and the other con-
tractors are more used bidding on this sort OK
work than Mr.. Peirce, who. though contractor
has never done just this type OF work before.
HAS NIr. Perce been allowed suo-cohurac<
on the worl?" he was asked
He has not
..I4ave YOU or. so far as you know. any OF your
engineers had any talk with Mr.. McDonaId OF
AIr Peirce in reference TO these bidsE
None so far as I know Nor has either made over
lures 10 US OF any sort concerning the contract
Neither my brother nor have had, 50 rar as l
know any meeting with Mr. Mcdonald OF NlF'
Peirce IN years.
Mr. Macarthur also testified that prior 20 Obtain
ing the contract he had never called on any mem
Der of the water board. and that a single caA ne
made on the board after the bids were opened was
only to answer questions regarding the nnaneial
liability Of the firm and its ability TO carry OUT
the contract Mr.. Macarthur said that every Item
shown in the present bid had been filed in before
# left his own hands. and that when the bid was
opened he found irregUarity. He denied thaE
so far as he knew any member OF his firm had
seen the water board in connection with the bid.
and added that only once before the contract was
let and after the opening OF the bids had he seen
any OF the boards engineers
J. o. Winston. OF Winston Brothers. testified
that there would be a great deal OF waste In the
excavation for the masonry at AshOian- He said
tht he had never seen harder hardpan than he
found at the Ashokan borngs
'Do you know hard pan when you see it," he
asked.
II reckon 7 do responded the witness. "Once
bid IS cents a yard TO excavate hard pan. and IL
cost 60 cents to get IT out Yes. I reckon I know
what hard pan is"
" Frank. OF the North American Labor Ez-
change. testified that his firm offered to furnish
the labor 10 the contractor at 81 10 for eight
hour day and 81 so for ten-hour day It would
take about two weeks. he said. 70 furnish
thousand lahorers. made up OF Russians. Poles.
Irishmen. Scandinavians and Italians.
Professor Burr, OF Columbia University.
called to give expert testimony about the geOlogi-
cal conditions at Ashokan- He declared that tbs
site was fairly good one as much OF the material
might be re-employed after excavation. He re-
peated his statement that he thought that Chs
Pierce bid was too low, and quoted from a text
book 70 show that it expert opinion that 3
per cent should always be added TO the estimated
cost to insure profit A Is per cent 'IOwance he
said. was too small. and declared that he believed
that John B. Mcdonald lost a considerable sum IN
the construction Of the rolled earth ennbankments
at the Jerome Park reservoir.