Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-08-09


vote that was unanimous, decided tc
finally inject some cornpeutionSinto the
paving bidding in Marshautown by
changing. the specifications for brick
block paving very materially. The rat
tier test which, heretofore, at IS per
cert. keptAout all bidders excepting the
TuringtonSbrick concerns, was reduced
to % per cent, the same as is in use in
practically all Iowa cities where brica
paving IS being laid at from % to 40
cents less per square yard than the
lowest bid received here IN two p-evi-
Gus -atoempts'to let a contract
Another important change il the
specifications was the alternative given
contractors Of specifying in their bids
whether they'wiu use l 10 8 mixture
of cement and gravel. or a IA 40
mixture Of cement, sand. and crushed
rock This is done in order to pro-
.tect the couCactor-agains a 1nonopo-
y IN either sand or stone, and 10 make
it some tndlrcement for sand and stone
men 10 bid on the work in order to
furnish the material that viii go into
the base. The option for the founda-
ton in specifying the TWO mixtures
was declared by the city engineer TO
be one and the same so far as con-
sistency Of the cement. mortar IN the
concrete was concerned.
Mayor Fights For 1S.
Mayor Ingle6ue made a determined
stand against a reduction Of the rattler
test. declaring that II would result in
cheap pavement, which was worse
than DO pavement at all. When the
mayor found thatehe did not have much
sympathy On retaining the is per cent
test he suggested a compromise on 20.
/, on the motion to adopt the specidca-
tons, however, al. members voted aye.
carrying the % per cent test, altho
Clark voted under protest.
The Specifications.
The specifications as adopted call for
a four-inch base, with q one and one
half inch sand cushion. The founda-
ton is to be q concrete mixture of one
part cement 10 five parts OF gravel, or
one part Of cement TO four and one
half parts OF sand, and nine parts OF
crushed stone. The contractor IS to
state which mixture he IS bidding on
The brick block for the top course are
to be as nearly uniform in size as pos
sible, the preferred size being SEX
aka exclusive Of lugs or projections.
Brick Of other size viii be accepted
providing they are four inches in depth.
41I brick must bear the name of the
brand, and no blank bricks Will be
used.
AS to the RATHER or abrasion test the
maximum boss is nu- 10 exceed % PEI
cent OF its dry weight The absorption
OF water OF any one brick j. not 70 oe
greater than per cent Cross break
ing of any one brick IS not TO be below
200 pounds. Crushing resistance is
not to be less than $500 pounds per
square inch onsany one brick
Herman Explains Why.
AS soon as the specifications had
been read the mayor wanted to know
why the rattler test had been eliEni-
mated Mr.. Steiner explained that il
had not been eliminated, and that the
abrasion test, as It was referred 70,
was the same as the rather test. Then
the mayor wanted to know why the
test had been reduced 10 % per cen-
instead OF 49, and asked the engineer
il IS per cent brick were not better
than % per cent. The engineer re-
piled that they were.
Upon Her-nars motion 70 adopt the
specification, which Hull seconded Mr..
Herman explained to the mayor Why
the rattler test to %, and change the
specifications Of the foundation.
Mr.. Herman said that most towns in
iowa where brick paving was being
done were using a % per cent test and
were getting their paving from % to
30 cents per square yard cheaper than
any bid offered here. Mr.. Herman
said that the committees only objec.
in reducing the ratJler test and chang
ing the foundation specifications was to
get competition. Herman declared com
petition impossible with an Is per cen.
test He said that the council ana
public generally felt that this city's
bids were TOO high in the other two at
tenpts at lettings, and the only rem
edy, # paving were to be laid, was to
get lower bids Mr.. Herman said that
almost universally he had found that
a % per cent was all that was required.
Mr. Herman also explained about the
option on the mixtures for foundation,
and that this was done TO get com
petition between the stone and sand
men, ard under this arrangement the
contractor would not be held up'' by
sither.
Too Sudden Change For Clark.
Mr.. Clark experienced one Of those
sudden changes that come to him at al
must every meeClnS, ana he declared
he could not see how the council had
changed SO suddenly all at once on it's
opinion as to what was right for bf1ick
paving. He had thought that 1t had
been decided that a gravel and cement
mixture was to be called for Clark
asked Steiner about the Is and % per
cent test, and whether the engineer
would recommend change. Steiner
replied that he thought IS better than
g2
Psenicka thought that the committee
had acted fop the best interests of the
city and that If the council could not
get right price with an 10 per cent
test it had better reduce the test.
The mayor wanted to know If the
council wanted a repetition of East
Main street
Herman called the mayors atten-
ton to the fact that he had said not
long ago that he wanted paving and he
didn't care what it was or what it
tcost Mr.. Herman called attention to
1.-THE Purington brick deal that resulted