Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-07-03
Local Comment

Sometime ago when property owners
all over the city were petitioning the
city council to so change its paving
specifications that the owners Of GER
tain granitoid patents could not con-
troll the price and keep other bidders
out, Messrs. C. w. Hughes and A. j.
Clark, personal and political friends of
the mayor, called on him to urge tho
same reasonable request. The mayor
was insistent upon sticking to gran
itoid and finally in burst of i'll temper
told Mr.. Clark that ut would be gran
itoid or nothing" This seems to be the
game that is being played just now.
&
Subsequently the city council labored
with the mayor in special caucus from
2 p. m. until p. m. to induce him to
consent to changing the specifications
in only one material part, which he
finally yielded only when it was made
clear that he would be outvoted and
the specifications were then amended.
The foundation was left just as the
mayor and his granitoid friends had it.
The only change made was as to the
wearing surface. 1t had called for a
layer Of concrete i " inches thick mixed
one part cement and 11s parts of gran
lite crushed into a patented formula OF
sizes and percentages and termed gran
itoid. The council made no change in
the thickness OF this concrete layer but
specified mixture OF one part cement,
one part sand and one part crushed
granite or gravel, "just as good as
granitoid or the best pavement known"
For the mayor to say now, that he is
not in favor Of the "cheap or untried
concrete" pavement named in the
amended specifications displays either
gross ignorance Of what concrete pave
ment is or desire to make good on his
threat to his friend Clarke that at
will be granitoid or nothing" The coun-
Gil has opened the granitoid bid of
$1.9S per square yard so the people Of
| Marshalltown now know what they
would have paid If the mayor had had
his own way about the specifications.
This $1.98 granitoid is the paving
which costs s1.20 to lay according to
the estimate of the engineering depart
ment of the largest cement manufactur-
ers in the country. What in the world
any contractor could do with profit of
$1,000 per mile on seven miles Of paw
| ing is beyond comprehension.
|
| If the mayor was intending to criti-
cize concrete paving with no stone in
the top as being somewhat untried he
! is the kind of concrete which the
Times Republican has urged. 1t has
been in use at LeMars and in street
crossings all over the country 1t was
recommended by the Northwestern Ce-
been adopted at Mason City. Since
I then, in answer to letter addressed to
the engineering department at Ames
for the ideal kind of a concrete pave
ment, Professor Marston sends copies
of the specifications Of the Mason City
and LeMars pavements, copies of
which were already in the T.-R. office.
It seems to meet engineering require
ments at the Ames technical school.
However, the city council, when it
amended it's specifications, refused to
accept the T.-R.'s suggestion for a
sand top and proceeded to provide for
equal parts of cement. sand and stone.
This kind of a mixture has been laid
in the largest cities Of the United
States from Portland, Me, TO Portland
Ore: in Boston, Lynn, st. Joseph, and
the like, and has proved successful ev-
erywhere. Mr.. Elzy's bid of $1.65 on
this paving was too high, for con-
tractor who came here to bid showed
the editor Of this paper in the pres
ence of witness his cost figures al
$1.13 on this paving. Allowing 25 cents
for contractors profit. his bid should
have been s13S. He said that he would
be glad to get it at $3.50, but could moi
comply with some minor conditions
which any business man would have
waived. The Cedar Rapids man, too
said that the city ought to get this
paving for $3.50. However, the Ely bio
would have saved the property own
ers $32,500 over the mayors granitoid
on seven miles Of paving. George Her.
man seems to have made the best bus
inesslike suggestion, namely, to read.
vertise and AK up the specifications SC
that every contractor would have e
sharpen his pencil for the next bid.
4 Still another contractor who cam,
here prepared to make a low bid com.
lplained toj this newspaper that the Al