The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-02-19
SILKS IHEM Ut.
Award of Bridge Contract Gre
ates Excitement.
Becomes a Free for All Scram.-
BILE Today.
FAVORED ONE WINS.
LeavenwOrth Company Reduced
Bid to $4,000.
Wabaunsee Commissioners APP
pear. to Be at Sea.

The Ieavenworth Bridge company Sc
cured the contract for the construction
of the Maple Hill bridge shortly after
noon today by a private bid of $S,OOO
flat with the privilege of using all the
salvage from the wrecked structure.
Their original bid, as advertised for,
was 80 96O. After a stormy session last
evening in which a number of commits
sioners argued that the lowest bid had
been under the estimate, but the bids
had all been rejected, this company
had lowered their bid in private COM
petition to $3.50.
There is a great deal of feeling among
the commissioners and contractors that
the deal was a raw one and that the
Leavenworth company has a strong
pulp in the Shawnee board. The
bridge is a joint one between Shawnee
and Wabaunsee counties. The Wa
baunsee board consisting of b. Buchl1,
chairman; d. c. Robinson, and VIM.
Uhlrig were present at the opening of
the bids Friday noon
The bids received and later rejected
We're as follows:
Topeka Bridge and Iron Co, super
structure, $4.695; piers. $6,500
Morse Construction Co., piers $4,000.
R E. French. superstucture, $3.50.
Leavenworth Bridge Co., superstruc-
ture, $4 500; piers, S5,36O-
Brookville Bridge Co., Brookville, O.,
superstructure, $3,972.
Monarch Construction Co, Falls City,
Neb., superstructure, $4,495.
Dildine Bridge and Iron Co., Cameron,
Mo, superstructure, $4,S90; piers, $780,
Missouri Valley Bridge Co., Leaven-
worth, Kan, completed bridge, $4,000.
Quite clearly the bid of the Morse
company of North Topeka of $4,000 for
the piers and that of the Rraokville
Bridge company of Ohio, OF S3,912 for
the superstructure would make the to-
tai SIS, 972 Tor the complete work the low
est in the lot. The county engineer
estimate on the entire structure was
$9,161 Sc plus his own fees and super
vision 1856. 46. or a total of $9,52S.O2. 1t
was apparent that the bid was within
the estimate.
Chairman Simms of the Shawnee
board, however. Immediately raised the
objection that the Brookville company
had not made bid on salvage as the
specifications had called for while the
Ieavenworth company had made an Of
fer of So. so hundred for lumber. En-
gineer Parkhurst stated that there was
rot more than $500 worth of salvage
/ hat he would allow to go into .he con
struction work. The combined bid
therefore, would still have been lowest
and within the estimate yet on the
technicality the vote to reconsider on
the rejection lost.
The Private Bids.
Then began the private bids of the
competing contractors. LeavenWorth VS..
Morse and Brookville. All other bid
ders withdrew realizing they had been
too high.
The Leavenworth Bridge company
was represented by it's proprietors Al
Rohr and Joseph Young. ]. D. Morse
was on the spot and Charles j. Fox
represented the Brookville, Ohio con-
Germ The LeavenWorth company cut
their bid to $3.50 from $3.50. Morse
cut his $4,000 to $4,SS3. Fox cut from
IS, 972 to $3.50 and offered $252 for sal
wage without having a chance to see
What l. was.
With affairs like that the session adj
journed until today to allow the con-
tractors to go to Maple Hill and in
spect the wrecked spans and the posi-
BILE salvage. When they had returned
today the Leavenworth company bid
$4,000 fiat, taking salvage. Fox retain
ed the same bid but offered 1928 for
the salvage, while Morse lodged the
farce and let his bid stand, which when
the two bids were combined and the
salvage deducted left $S,3zs as the COM
bined bid.
The result was taken to show that
Morse and Fox had made honest bids
in their originals and could not afford
to cut while their competitors had
made experimental offerings. That
last cut nearly cracked it, that's all I
could do" was what Fox who had
big $3,972 in the first place, and cut
but the 81, said.
Morse was thoroughly dissatisfied
and asking Mr.. Simms why the con-
tract was not let when the bids We're
under the estimate, was answered,
There wasn't any estimate" Il
know what you had to put into that
bridge. 1t was $1,000 answered
Morse.
The fart is the estimate was made
and was a great deal higher than the
bid of Morse and Fox. That the esti-
mate had been set around $4,000
could have been known from the ac-
ton of the two boards before, when
the Journal had the following report
Statutes limit the money to be ex-
pended on one bridge by one county
at $4,000. The two counties, there
fore by going the limit. can spend
$4,000 on this bridge. There was yet