The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1909-12-24
FIVE PROFITS ON
SCHOOL CLOCKS
Board Of Education Investigation of
Zerga Contract Has Interesting
Developments.

While the judiciary committee or
the board Of education. TO which was
referred the investigation OF the in
stalation OF a set OF clocks in the
Cass school addition has not prepared
It's report. the statement TO be made
Is definitely outlined
Although the bidders figured on
clocks costing $1,000. and 1t was I'M
derstood that such clocks would be in
stalled. the set that is TO 20 In ap-
parently fulfills the specifications that
were drawn for the $500 clocks. al
though costing less than sl.000, it's
claimed.
Questions which the committee may
lay before the board are:
What Is the use of having speci-
fications drawn by engineers getting
3 1-2 per cent for their work, II these
specifications will fit a set of clocks
costing only one-fourth as much as the
set bid upon?"
why did not the supervisory force
Of the school board learn OF the
change before the cheap clocks were
placed?"
Had the board the right to specify
particular mdho VI SioSh AZ sho
first placer"
The investigation shows that the
board has spent a sum equal TO a large
percentage of the clock cost In en-
gineer's fee. supervision. inspection
and profits Of contractors who had
nothing to do with the clock contract
proper.
The most Illuminating fact OF all
that is brought out I'm the investiga-
ton is the system Of superimposed
profits paid by the city under the pres
ent sub-contract system. Jacob Zerga
was the low bidder in this instance
for the entire heating and ventilating
contract, which also included electric
wiring. clocks and other things. He
turned the clock contract over to the
electrical contractor. who, In turn, got
bids from a jewelry firm acting as
agent for a clock factory. The jewel
| ers insisted that they name another
contractor to do the actual wiring.
In the bid as IL came from Zerga to
| the school board, therefore, there were
| five profits. First. the clock company
made a profit on it's product, then the
! jewellers took an agents commission.
next the electrician named was TO get
his bit for doing the work, Electrical
Sub Contractor Templeton was next
with an added profit. and lastly the
main contractor, Jacob Zerga, added
his slice OF pie.
BY Offering the smaller contracts
separately, men who are we'll In
formed state. the clock company could
have made a direct bid and saved all
the profits but one. Also. the bidders
would have had to furnish samples OF
what they were selling and the board
would have known what II was buying.
Instead of centralizing responsibility,
the present system seems to Danish At
entirely.
It is a big question whether, II an
expenditure OF $500 for clocks had
been proposed in the first place, 1t
would have been approved by the
board. The school inspectors would
have sought lower bids themselves in
stead Of letting the contractor do so.
This is not the first time that the
city has had trouble over school
clocks, those for the Western High
school and for part OF the Central
High school being always unsatisfac-
tory. Some OF these clock bills are
still unpaid. II is said