The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-04-15
WOOD BLOCK PAVING MAY
 BE REJECTED
City Engineer M'Kenna Believes Material Not up to Speci-
 ficatiOn.
AOT LONG LEAF, SAYS EXPERT
President of Contracting Com pany Says Goods Are as
 RepreSented.


 City Engineer Maurice F. McKenna represented to the Permanent Paving and Sewer Commission at it's meeting last night that the wood paving blocks aboard the schooner. St. Croix. at the Perry dock, are not up to specified lions. The blocks will not be un1oaded until experts have passed upon the matter.
 Otto H. Klein. chief engineer of the New York office of the Commissioners of Accounts. was present. Mr.. Klein ple blocks furnished him by Engineer McKenna, and he will report at a meeting to be held by the commission - Thers I1e are Sss 600 blocks aboard the boat If the Paving Commission re- fuses to accept them some hust1ng ssIs to pave Main street with. At present the only part of Main street that is torn up is that section be-
 President M. H. Rogers of the conn mission Said last night that there are enough wood blocks at the city yard to pave this section. The blocks aboard the schooner are U- s. Wood Preserving Go. make. the same as boueIt t.oTsl lt under % the Same specifica lions
 When the first lot was brought here last summer to be used in the upper spected by engineers sent to the works of the company by the city.
 The 238,0e0 blocks aboard the schoon- CT were not Inspected by the city.
 Alexander Reed. of the U. s. Wood Preserving Co.,, said that he wrote to the city and told them to send on their Inspectors He says that the city de- rlined to send the inspectors tQ the plant. A
 F. c. .stanley.I teacher in chemistry at the Bridgeport High school, who was secured to inspect the blocks. tes- tiSled that he had bored into some blocks taken from those aboard the that they had not been submitted to more than a 12 pound treatment. but would like an opportunity to enquire IF rsdss sisi'ss Ira sNsszssy or New London. one of the best known lumbermens in the treated blocks and that he was under the impression that the blocks were not long leaf yellow pine tcaIled for in specincat1ons). but was what he would call 8 rosemary pine.
 The greater part of the meeting of khe commission was held behind lock- declaring they did not know that the door was locked, but they declined to answer repeated knocks.
 Repfesentative Reed told the conn mission that he believed he would get fair treatment. He declared that his ~ boueht. E He said e the n Company nls wht had a a contract with the city and like the city had Q legal department to which it ] en case the commission should insist That the blocks are not what they ought to be.
 Chemist Klein was asked after the meeting what treatment of oils and preserYativeS the wood blocks would bhow. He said that he would not care to go on the stand and testify as to 4he number ef pounds treatment given the blocks unless he had been at the plant and saw the blocks in process of treatment.
 By s.20 pounds treatment is meant kha4 a cubic foot of the wood had taken in 20 pounds of the oils used in
 Engineer Klein said the only test that he would be satisfied with now was the absorption test by which the blocks are not supposed to take in more water than 2 1-2 per cent. of their weight after being immersed for
 MT. Klein thought that the blocks looked more like fine grained short leaf yellow pine than the long leaf material, but he was not prepared to go on record as saying so without further inquiry.
 turned from the first annual conven- fion for standardizing street paving materials, and he is conversant with conditions that he never had knowl-
 The protest against the schooner load of paving material came at the same meeting that the commission intended No award the contract for the pave ment of Elm street. The matter was held in abeyance until Engineer Klein can be heard from on Monday night 1f the decision is against the U. S Wood Preserving Co.'S last shipment it is not likely that the company will be given a chance to get the Elm street job.
 limited States Wood Preserving Co. is the Wyckof Pipe & Creosoting Go. which would probably be asked to sub- init it's blocks for inspection before 
 Engineer McKenna told Mr. Reed last night that his bid was not for mai as they had not met the specifi- cations Of the city.
 Mr. Reed said that he had submitted bis bid in accordance with the Chicago Standard Specifications.
 Engineer McKenna said that A1exan- der Reed was interested in three wood paving companies and that they were Chicago Standard Specifications. there fore he had prepared specifications that would give everybody a chance
 MT. Reed said that he had tried tc meet Engineer McKenna's specified lions but had been unable to determine what was meant by mineral tar'' as one of the processes for treatment called for in the city engineers speci- Efcations. He wrote the Paving Com. mission a letter asking for a further description of mineral tar'' claiming that it could not be obtained by deal CTS as a. product under that name.
 Secretary Keating read the letter al the meeting last night. and MT. Reed agreed that it was the same that he had sent.
 Under the contract with the U. S Wood Preserving Go. the blocks must be to the satisfaction of the city en- Eineer, and the U. S. company vii 51ave hard time Of 1t delivering the hIocls if the city engineer is not sat. hsffed with the materials.
 The holding up of the shipment o1 &he blocks was a big surprise to Ioca,
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