Omaha daily bee., 1912-01-30
MAY GUST The CONTRACTORS
BONDING Company May Be Called
Upon to Complete Court House.
VAULT DOORS ONLY AN EXCUSE
Warm session ts Held Between Con-
tractors. bonding Company and
the County Board Mon
day Morning.
VAULT DOORS ONLY AN EXCUSE

Impending action BY the board OF
county commissioners to put an end to
slow progress ON county building con-
struction and TO force compliance with
all the plans and specifications of the
building by calling upon the Fidelity
and Deposit company Of Maryland.
bondsnan for Caldwell & Drake. the gem
eral contractors. to assume charge Of the
work and complete II was strongly in
dicated when the conference OF the
county board, Caldwell & Drake, and
the bonding company adjourned until
$50 this afternoon. Law quits may re-
suit.
After two hours discussion Of the mat
ter Of vault doors that are alleged TO be
defective and not up TO specifications.
the board IN committee Of the whole
voted unsmiously fatty to reject all the
doors. The vote TO reject carried with
It rejection of 9 proposal Of Caldwell
q Drake that the board accept most Of
the doors and deduct the difference in
cost from the moneys paid the general
contractors for constructing the building
Notice was given the general contrao-
tors would protest the boards action.
The conference Monday morning de-
yeloped the fart that the price Caldwell a
Drake contracted to pay the Victor safe
and Lock company for the doors Ia si,ioo
John Lstenser, county building archi-
teet, declared the price alone should In
dicate the doors could not be salts
factory. The average price per door
would he about so under this contract
and large doors - specified would cost
about no each, Mr.. Lsterser said.
.l Caldwell Makes offer. ..s
The conference. begun saturday was
resumed Monday morning. Those present
were the commissioners. County Attorney
English, Deputy County Attorney Mag
ney. John Latenser. county building
architect: George W. Caldwell OF Caldwell
a Drake; John =. Stout Of Stout q Rose,
counsel 70. Caldwell q Drake. and J. A.
G. Kennedy of Mshoney 4 Kennedy,
counsel for the Fidelity aud Deposit COM
pany Of Maryland.
Mr.. Stout read the proposition which
Mr.. Caldwell said Saturday would be
made today. 1t was that the county ac-
eept five vault doors which are not up to
specifications. but which Mr.. Latenser
had said might be used II the county
should be disposed to accept them; that
Caldwell a Drake use eleven other doors
that are not UP 10 specifications, dlstrlb-
u,ing them In vaults about the building
where they will fit; that the county and
Caldwell Il Drake agree on q reasonable
sum TO be deducted from the total price
OF the building construction on account Of
the doors not being up to specifications.
No sooner had Mr.. stout finished hiy
statement Of the proposition than Com
missioner A. C. Harts was on his feet TO
say: .r
u don't want to cmbarrass the archi-
tect in this natter. some references has
been made to an agreement with him that
some doors be accepted. But as mem
br OF this board l am opposed 10 accept
iug that proposition. The doors are not
evsn firsproof. in my opinion. | think IL
you built bonfire IN front Of them the
fire could get into the vaults. j, for one,
will not approve accepting your proposal "
Commissioner John {. Lynch called
upon Mr.. Caldwell to produce the vault
door contract between the general con-
tractors and the Victor safe and Lock
company and the contract between the
general contractors and the Colorado
YuIe Marble company. The letter from
Caldwell TO the Victor company men-
toned the contract price as r,i~.
Mr.. Latenser said he wanted 1t made
plain in the stsnogrsphic record OF the
conference that he protested against RET
.rence TO an agreement between him and
the general contractors that certain OF
the defective doors should be accepted.
Il protest against the use Of that word
agreement. because made none" he
said. we had a conversation about a
change. That and nothing more. l never
agreed to any change"
nsm~a eu~ Wlherfw