Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-07-16

says IlaS diO "0S
a commission per yard If he would
vote for granitoid, and he refused. 1t
was granitoid or nothing and the coun-
Gil chose nothing.
The Times Republican exposed gran
itoid. 1t secured copies of the patents.
had lawyers pass upon them and by
diligent inquiry found other cities
evading the hold-up In price Of patent
ed pavement and the business end OF
the city council killed granitoid for
Marshalltown. Now listen. When the
T.-R printed q story about Mason
City's concrete pavement who was IL
that wrote to the city clerk OF Mason
City and secured a letter which seemed
at first to refute the T.-R. state
ments? 1T was a man in Marshall
town by the name of Frank Pierce" so
the city clerk said. Keep your eye
on Frank Pierce. Why was he inter-
ested in defending granitoid which
would cost $1.9S per yard? Mason City
got concrete for s1.26 per yard.
Another season rolled around. Then
the mayor became an ardent advocate
Of brick paving. Concrete was cheap.
experimental, he said He was for
brick. so the council voted to pave a
large district with brick and small
district with concrete whereupon the
property owners on about eighty per
cent of the streets in the brick district
pettioned to change to concrete. This
was disappointing both to the mayor
and to his friend Pierce but the coun-
ell let the property owner have his
way. Then into the specifications
which We're under the mayors super
vision were inserted two jokers. Lis
ten. In the concrete specifications it
was provided that all bidders must
deposi, certified check and a fidelity
bond with their bids. Certified checks
are customary but no bidder will as
sumo the expense of getting a 100000
bond before he knows whether he will
get the contract or not There Is time
enough to put up the bond when one
bidder gets the contract. The result
was that contractors who came here to
bid on concrete, looked. saw and went
away refusing to bid. And in the
brick specifications an IS per cent rat
tier test was required. An eighteen
per cent RATHER test excludes from COM
petition all paving brick except Pur-
ington block and Frank Pierce is look
ing after the interests of the burlington
Brick Company in this city. keeping
the company posted as to events, etc.
Most cities require only twenty-five
per cent rattler test. The result was
that on the day of the bidding when
the contractors arrived they looked at
the specifications and exclaimed Ugh,
that means Ford" and sure enough
Mike Ford was the low bidder at s1.95
when he had himself taken contracts
in Iowa this summer for brick paving
on concrete base al s1.5S. s1.63 and
STA all on a twenty-five per cent rat
tier test.
Asking a contractor to put up a
$50, 600 bond before he could even bid
bore a close resemblance to asking
the Mcbride group of interurban pro-
motors to put up a 100000 bond and
sign away all recourse should Jones
& Hovey delay them by injunction
proceedings
For these reasons Hull and Herman
and McCarten and Gregory got to-
gether. Contractors had said that
when they talked with the mayor about
favorable to brick that they were afraid
to lay 100000 of their money down on
the streets OF the city where he could
attack It, No concrete contractor
would even bid on the Marshalltown
work. Others had said that they were
filed up with work for this season and
prices of cement We're high Hull
moved to have the brick specifications
revised by Herman, the city engineer
and city solicitor. 1t carried. Herman
then moved to put all OF the concrete
over until January when prices would
be low and when contractors need not
fear the mayors opposition TO their
work as they could not lay pavement
until his term OF office had expired.
And it carried.
But the brick men were busy. On
North Second street petition signed
by less than one fourth the property
frontage came in asking for brick 1t
was inspired by automobile owners on
the street, who want paving at any
price. This street was included in the
brick district and Aug. 8, set for OBJ
jections to be heard. The remaining
property owners should get busy.