Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-19
REJECT S. p.
AQUEDUCT
FREIGHT BID
BOARD RE0PENS TRANSP0RTA-
TON CONTRACT
cHAFFEY's COMPANY WILL BE
GIVEN CHANCE
Section to Jawbone Canyon Must Be
Ready by June and to
keeler in Two
Years

The, board of public works yesterday
rejected all bids for freight transpor-
tation for the Los Angeles-O Owens river
aqueduct and decided to readvertise
for tenders. This action turns down the
Southern Pacific company's tender.
The new bids will be opened April
next.
This action follows dissatisfaction
engendered by the action of the South
ern Pacific officials in making bid
higher than the agreement with the
board called for. Previous to the open
ing of the bids heads of the railroad
and the aquduct board discussed the
highest figure which the city could
profitably pay for freightage and a
tacit understanding existed what this
maximum should be.
This action has been foreshadowed
for some weeks, as ample opportunity
had been given the New York office of
the Southern Pacific to reduce the
figure it set as it's price for handling
the aQueduct freights. No word of en-
couragenent came from the east. how
ever, and the municipality may yet
fall back on its original plan of build
ing a municipal railway along the
aqueduct route.
GiNeS CndHey NHdHCC
With the reopening of the freight
question the Chaffey road officials, who
for some time contemplated building a
line into the Owens river country. will
have an opportunity of making good
their statement that if given a chance
they would put in a bid for the trans
portatio contracts.
The new specifications will contain
clause intended mainly to assist the
Chaffey people in carrying out their in
tention. This clause will stipulate that
the city of Los Angeles will ask the
interior department to grant the sue
cessful bidder permission to pass
through territory withdrawn from set
tlement because of the aqueduct pro-
ject, which action by Washington has
heretofore blocked all construction op-
erations on the Chaffey project.
Under the regime of Gen. Adna r.
Chaffee the aqueduct board intends to
push much work on the big ditch be-
tween now and october l and in line
with that purpose the new contracts
will contain a clause that the twenty
three miles of track to Jawbone can
yon must be ready for use by June 1
of this year.
To keeier in Two Years
The line must be complete to Keeler,
which is on the shore of Owens lake,
within two years of the time the con-
tract is let.
Another special inducement which
will prove attractive to bidders is that
the successful one will have control of
the routing of all freight This privi-
lege is conceded to be worth about $70,-
900 on the entire contract.
Under the routing privilege any and
all supplies, goods, machinery, material,
in Ia
for the Owens river aqueduct will be
handled from their point of loading to
the destination by the bidder. thus en-
abing him to send them to the sea-
board or anywhere and by cheaper
transportation lines to the scene of
operations.
Profits in Routing
For instance, machinery purchased in
Chicago can be shipped by the lakes
to the Atlantic seaboard, then by
water to New Orleans and thence by
rail to the Owens valley. This haul
would be cheaper than an all-rail haul.
There are thousands of carloads to be
reckoned on which can be handled as
the bidder sees fit, the only provision
being that they must be delivered by
a certain specified date.
When the question came up in the
board yesterday there was no discus
sion, the minds of the members hav-
ing been made up for some weeks.
The contract involves about 90 100000
ton miles
Gen. Chaffee said last night:
I'VE decided that the bid of about
5 cents was too high for such a big
contract and therefore will readvertise
the bids.
"I am informed that some time ago
ar agreement was reached by which
lower bid was expected, but that was
before 1 was appointed on the board"