Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-06
MUSHET'SORDERS
CARRIED OUT IN
FIRE-ALARM JOB
GAG APPLIED TO EXPERTS
MAKING TEST
INSTRUCTED TO IGNORE FAULTS
OF SYSTEM
Councilnen and Auditor Involved In
Ugly Looking Deal Put Through
Despite Opposition of Expert
enced investigators

That City Auditor Mushet and Coun-
Gilman Dromgold applied the gag rule
to the committee of experts appointed
by the council to report on the tire ana
police apparatus recently exhibited IN
competition is asserted by member
of the committee, H. j. Hawvichorst.
He says also that the official instruc-
tions were that the committee did not
want to know anything about the faults
of the Cregier system, finally adopted,
but only whether or not 1t could pos
sibly be made to work at all
Mi. Hawvichorst was the working
expert of the three commissioners, as
his work for twenty years has been IN
that line. He was formerly superinten-
dent of construction Of fire alarm tele-
graph for the city of Los Angeles, and
has been connected with private COM
panies in Los Angeles, San Francisco
and Oakland since then. His appoint
ment came through the influence or
Councilman Henry Lyon, who is him-
self an expert call operator. The other
commissioners were r. +. Scattergood,
electrical engineer for the aqueduct
bureau, and Albert L. Sohm, manufac-
turing electrician. Mr. Scattergood has
a wide reputation through his work on
the aQueduct, but he admitted that ne
is unfamiliar with fire alarm and police
telegraph systems. Mr.. Sohm, who was
manufacturer of the Sohm fire alarm
system, which is devised on lines SINH
lar to the Gamewell and which will be
demonstrated for the city in the near
future.
Dictate to Experts
"It looked to me all through as
though Mr. Mushet wanted to run
things and that he was preJudiced
against the Gamewell SYSTEM" said
Mr. Hawvichorst yesterday Along
with Mr.. Dromgold he dictated what
we should say. As the examination or
the different systems progressed 1t be-
came very evident that the committee
favored the Cregier system more than
any others, although it was the least
favored by the experts. The part or
the experts report as to percentage or
maintenance and renewal costs, which
demonstrated against the single wire
system, were suppressed by the com
mittee The experts were watched
closely to see that no one talked to
them The committee would take no
advice from the experts on the relative
merits Of the competing systems, and
the only part of the report allowed to
be read before the committee was q
tabulation of the technical showing
made.
"It was no, secret that it was often
expressed that the council committee
believed the Gamewell system the best,
but gave the contract to the Cregier
company in order TO bring the Came
we'll company to lower terms. The ex-
perts did not actually recommend any
single system, but they told the COM
mittee that no great mistake would be
made in selecting the Signalphone, Sic
mems -Halske or the Gamewell, while
they condemned the Cregier As a
matter of fact the Cregier was not the
lowest bidder.
Ignore Result of Tests
'"The minimum Of all bids was the
Signalphone system, but 1t was de-
clared irregular by the council COM
mittee. The American District Tele-
graph company had considerable ap-
paratus on hand, but made no exhibit
and did not receive consideration. The
Siemens & Halske company made a
good exhibition, but great deal OF
the equipment was lacking. The
Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph COM
pany was given an o. X. in every de-
tail after two hours trying to tangle
UP the system. On two important
tests the Gamewell was the only sys-
tenn to accomplish the results. Two
boxes were rung in at one time, then
four, then six at one pull, and they
all came in mountaineering and sue
cessive. A successful demonstration
was also made of ringing in of three
or more boxes and taking the line
away from the boxes by the chief for
a general alarm. Other features which