Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-26
Absence of Heat in Schools Up
to Architect Ashford.
REMOVAL OF FURNACES
Board of Education Alleges There
Was "Carelessness."
LETTER TO COMMISSIONERS
Municipal Architect States That In
convenience Was Due to install
lation of New Heating Plant.

Snowden Ashford, municipal architect.
was asked today by the District Commits
sioners to make answer to the claim OF
the board of education that there was
carelessness somewhere In the removal OF
the hot-air furnaces from tho Simmons
and Douglass public school buildings in
the course of the construction of CEN
trail heating plant for those two schools
and the NJ street High School.
1t is understood that the answer to the
Commissioners will be that the municipal
architect has merely been allowing con-
tract to take its course. and that the
boilers might have been kept in the
buildings If the board Of education had
requested 1t. This latter point would
bring up the question OF 'hquidated
damages" it is explained, one OF the
most complicated and extremely technical
questions with which the Districts ac-
counting officers have to handle.
The position of the board Of education
is understood to be that the school OF
ticials should have been notified or the
intended removal of the furnaces from
the schools In question. 1t is the board
contention that 1t was given no opportunl-
ty to make any request to have the fur
naces retained. To take away all the
heating equipment of the schools when
May 1 or later, necesSitating heat IN the
school buildings. is held to be most un-
advisable Sometimes fires are used to
heat the schools in the middle or May.
It is contended that it may be necessary
to close the two schools because Of the
lack of heat should there be another cold
snap. The rules of the board OF educa-
tion in regard to temperature Of the
SchoolroomS have been formulated upon
the advice Of the health officer Of the
District, and are framed to guard the
health Of the pupils.
Whether or not the Commissioners
Company. which is building the steam
heating plant, to keep those furnaces In
the schools until the weather had
warmed up is question that cannot be
answered at this late date.
: The situation seems to be this: There
are two contracts for the steam heating
plant. The yle-RObertson Company Is
putting up the boiler house and the York
Engineering Company is furnishing. the
boiler and plant. The two contracts have
to run coincidentally-that is. the plant
cannot get too far ahead Of the building
and the building depends In large meas
ure on the plant. The Boyle-Robertson
concern would be fined $40 q day for
every day after July % that their work
had not been completed.
The York Engineering Company would
be fined $40 day on the same idea.
Has Verbal Agreement.
The municipal architect says he had
verbal agreement. with the York En-
cheering Company not to take the old
furnaces out of the two schools until
April 10. He says that agreement was
made last January. and that the weather
bureau statistics show that there has
been warm weather April u for the past
thirty years.
But April IS came with it's disagree
able weather. and several days more
added to the general discontinue OF the
representative of the engineering COM
pany doing the work. Then representa-
tive Of the company called at the Dis
trict building and made it known very
plainly that the company did not pro-
pose to suffer any ten-dollar-a-day fine.
and that the work was being held up
too long in the estimation of the COM
pany.
Fortunately. some building material was
DELAYED at that time, and II It had not
been for that delay the District might
have had another corner to the present
argument.
The furnaces were taken out during the
Faster vacation. No report was made Of
IT to any one. as far as can be learned.
architect OF the removal. and 1t 1t is I'M
derstond no report was made Of 1t to the
schools.
Basis Of Controversy.
The fact that the furnaces went out
without any official report is what causes
the dead center" because il the school
people had been notified it is regarded as
more than probable that the board of
education would have requested the Com
missioners to tell the engineering COM
pany to hold off until there was a promise
OF really warm weather.
II the board had done that and II the
Commissioners had acceded to this re-
quest the engineering company would
have undoubtedly delayed operations. and
at the same time the District Of Column
bia would have put itself in a position
where II could not csSim the fine of SO
a day from the York company or the
fine of $50 day from the Boyle-Robert-
son Company, because tn" delay, should
II extend beyond July -. would then be
the direct result of the official action Of
the District of Columbia.
According to the controller Of the Treas
ury the 'liquidated damages" or fines
such as are spoken Of I'm this furnace
matter, are a part OF the contract
and have to be enforced according to the
leffer NJ fhA lam