Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-12

| tons of March 30. 1907. consisted of scat
tered work and therefore warranted the
price Of the bid. that the work which you
have awarded to the Crawford Paving
Company under the elimination Of grade
crossings Is practically all in one locality
| in reasonable proximity to our asphalt
plant and is practically one continuous
stretch of work, and by virtue OF this con-
| dftion Is more desirable to q contractor
| than the scattered work referred to. and
therefore the Commissioners might rea-
sonably expect to have this work done at
| a low cost instead of at the highest price
! that has been paid for similar work
| since the Brennan Company has begun to
| bid on District work
Third. That while you decided to di-
vide this contract in order that you might
make an alleged saving 20 the District of
SiS-S0 the basis of the schedule which
was not mentioned in the specifications
we intend to show from your records that
i'm order to make this alleged saving the
District has been forced to spend AZ least
$500.
Alleged Inconsistency.
Fourth. We submit that if 1t were
wise. or equita BILE. or just. in violation OF
the letter and spirit of the specifications
to divide this contract in order to make
an alleged saving of so. then the Rren
in 1903. when the Distric. Commission
ers might have saved $4,000 by dividing
contract in which specific provision was
made for such division. but which d1vi-
sion was not made for reasons contained
in d letter of the Commissioners to us and
which letter he proposed to show you.
In section or the Brennan charges is
quoted the wording of the specifications
for the work last spring.
This contract" the statement contin-
was for the having OF streets
der the appropria ton ending June 80
1907. and June 80. 1908. According to the
wording of the act. the right was re-
served for the Commissioners to regulate
the time and order of the executing of
the work under this contract. which, as
before stated. amounted to $4,000 square
yards of asphalt surface and 1900 square
yards of vitrified block gutter. 1t is also
shown that under the heading of speci-
fications is found the following: Con-
tractor mot contractors) will for the
prices bid do all mot part of the work
prescribed in these specifications.
The tabulation of the bids received I'M
der the specifications and printed IN the
Commissioners report shows the bid or
the Brennan Company for this work to
be the lowest by $40.
Charge of Favoritism.
The charge of favoritism to the Gran
ford Paving Company, made by Mr.. Bren-
nan oil the Brennan Construction Com
pany grows out of the fact that public
work aggregating about 500. 900 has been
awarded that company by the Commits
sioners of the District of Columbia. when
upon the work SO AWARDED, the Brennan
Construction Company was the lowest
bidder on that portion of the work on
which competitive bids were invited. and
would have been the lowest bidder on the
whole work if the Crawford Paving Com
pany had not been awarded the contracts
without competition.
In April, 1907 $4,000 worth of work
was awarded to the Crawford Paving
Company upon its competitive bid, when.
as will be shown all or a large part Of
the work should have been awarded to
the Brennan Construction Company.
"Since that time additional work aggre-
eating about $175. 900 has been awarded to
that company under the original contract.
without inviting any new bids. and in pur-
suance of policy of favoritism.
About 500, 900 worth of this new work
SO awarded remains to be done by the
Crawford Paving Company. and it Is de-
sired that all of the facts in connection
with the awarding of the original contract
and the subsequent awarding of an I'M
precedented amount of new work be gone
into in order to show that the charges of
favoritsm made by Mr.. Brennan are sup
ported by documentary evidence.
IF such is found to be the state of
facts, then it is desired by Mr.. Brennan
that the awards to the Crawford Paving
Company of the work yet to be done be
set aside by the Commissioners and COM
petitive bids invited for said work.
Maj. Morrow's Interview.
A further reason given for the investi-
CATION is the allegation that Mr.. Morrow
in published interview stated:
I know that AIr. Brennan has for this
year been harboring this resentment
against the office (Ensineer) and has
been talking with great many people of
this decision as a raw deal. The
statements which Mr. Brennan has made
about Mr.. ornald may be true. l do not
believe that they are. Nor do l believe
that Mr.. Brennan believes that they are.
Since this alleged statement Of the En-
gineer Commissioner, Mr.. Brennan wrote
him under date of April 20 requesting to
know whether or not he had made the al-
legged statement In response to that re-
quest he received the following reply from
Maj. Morrow:
q Replying to your letter of April 30.
have to state that l have read with great
interest the clipping which you sent me
from the Washington Herald of Friday.
the 24tn of April. 1t appears to me as be-
ing generally very accurate quotation
had II been verbal interview. but l am
advised by my counsel to make no state
mentS in affirmation or deniel of any spe-
Gle portion of the interview
1t will thus be seen that the interest
Mr.. Brennan. acting for his company. has
in this investigation is two-fod. First to
secure for his company fair proportion
of the public work which has been award
ed to the Crawford Paving Company
without competition and without right
and to the great financial loss of his COM
pany and the taxpayers of the District of
Columbia. Second. because he has been
placed in the position of making charges
malciously and without warrant in fact
by the statement Of the Engineer Com
missioner
Schedule Repudiated.
1t is further contended in the Brennan
statement that. according to the Commits
sioners' Interpretation. the awarding of
this contract shows that this company
was the lowest bidder on Harvard street
by SO. but in order that the work in this
street might he given to the Crawford
Paving Company, IL is claimed. the engi-
neer department repudiated the schedule