The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-11
| UNDERWOOD TALKS
| OF P0STOFF|CE SITE
Requests Removal Of Arbitrary
Limit on Bids
STILL DEPLORES HASTE
Says Action of Someone in Going to
Chairman Bartholdt Put Underwood
In Attitude of Having Mis-
represented situation

A request has been forwarded to Frank
lin MacVeagh. Secretary of the Treas
ury, by Oscar w. Underwood, congress-
man from this district, that the postoffice
bids for Birmingham be not opened July
q, according to the plan outlined in the
advertisement sent to Birmingham.
Congressman Underwood said yesterday
his letter In which the request is en-
bodied would reach the secretary today
and he believed the postoffice site bids
would be carried over until the largest
number of sites are offered, and the
money appropriated is actually available.
In explaining his reason for making the
request of the secretary, Mr.. Underwood
said the more competition that was Of
fered in the selection of the site the
trally located block. He said that he
did not wish snap judgment taken on
those people here who desired to offer
sites, but who are rather backward about
allowing their offers to be tied up for
a whole year.
my letter to Secretary MacVeagh Is
simply a request that he postpone the
opening of the postoffice site bids until
another time" said Congressman Under
wood yesterday.
There appears to be some hurry on
the part of someone to have the bids
opened at once and have the site Sc
lected However, l hope that this will
not be done. I wish to see as many
bids as possible submitted, for the more
bids that are made the better Will be
the chances of our securing centrally
located and highly desirable postonlce
site. The money for the postoffice site
will not be available until Congress meets
again and there exists no reason for this
haste / feel sure that Secretary Mac
yeagh will instruct the supervising archi-
test to discontinue his activities down
here and we will be given plenty of time
to select the site and thus permit every
one who wishes TO offer a bid to do So
AS l understand 1t there are number
of people here owning desirable property
that would rather not have their prop
erty tied up for long period. The site
must be chosen through a combination
of property owners and the people own
ing some lots prefer that short time OPP
lions only be given. And 1t Is not ex-
actly fair to request a man owning CEN
tral nroperties to hold a site open for
practically one year, when no one can
foretel what may happen in Birming-
ham,"
Congressman Underwood, in speaking
of the "sand-bagging' feature Of his
speech at the recent Chamber of Com
MERGE meeting, said:
81 simply intended to convey that I
did not think I was treated right by
the parties who went to Chairman Bart
holdt and told him that site could be
secured here for much less sum than
I requested / admit that site can be
secured for lesser sum, but it is not
centrally located. The statement to the
chairman, which was made only after
he promised not to divulge the inform
ant, placed me in the attitude of misrep-
resenting the matter to the committee.
chairman Bartholdt did not tell me
who his informants were, but l gather
they are interested in site which has
been offered That is all right and per-
fectly proper but l should not have been
'sand-bagged by my own people when
1 was simply trying to get new build
Ing for the city wherein have my home
and one of the chief cities of my district.
The people should have come to me and
told me what they wished to offer. Then
I would have been glad to have informed
the chairman Of their offer and every
thing would have been open and would
not have smacked Of intentional misrep-
resentation on anyone's part