Omaha daily bee., 1912-07-14
DOORS AT COURT
HOUSE ACCEPTED
Reduction Of $25 a Door is Made,
but Three Doors Are Rejected
by Board.
LATENsER WANTS OVERTIME
Architect says that lie Has Been TO
Great Additional Expense De-
cause OF the Long Delay
1 In building.

. County Commissioner John C.. Lynch
stood firm for the rejection of unsatIs-
factory vault doors in the new county
building at a meeting of the Board Of
County Commissioners. but the other
commissioners accepted the doors on the
theory that 1t would be better SO to do
and deduct $3.50 from the contract price
Of the new building than to cause further
delay by requiring an entirely new set
Of doors. This action applies to four
teen out Of seventeen doors. The otke..
three doors are so much smaller than
specified that the commissioners rejected
them and new ones must be furnished
by the contractors.
John Latenser, county building archi-
tect, declared In his opinion that Caldwell
& Drake, county building general con-
tractors, never intended to have the
doors up to specifications and said their
excuses that the door manufacturers
twice misunderstood their orders were
too thin for credence.
Latenser declared that Caldwell &
brakes inexcusable policy Of delay In
connection with construction of the new
building will cost him thousands Of dol
lars and he is determined that the gem
eral contractors shall pay him for all of
this.
Will Make Contractors Pay.
III the subcontractors and others are
too cowardly to make any resistance /
am not" said Mr.. Latenser. THE build
Ing should have been done more than a
year ago. am paying out money right
along for supervision and giving my time
to the work. / don't propose to lose this
money. The delay has cost me thousands
OF dollars. / can show Just how much II
has cost me and / can show my earning
capacity and the value of my time and
l shall do it when the time comes"
W. II. Morrow, member and repre-
sentative Of the Fidelity and Deposit CON-
pany of Maryland, Caldwell & brakes
bondsmen, appeared before the board to
represent the general contractors in q
conference over the vault door PROPOSE
ton.
Mr. Latenser told the board that he as
supervising architect could do nothing
but reject the doors, because they were
smaller than specified. However, he said,
fourteen of the doors are only few
inches smaller than specified and IL the
board is anxious to occupy the new build
ing this fall 1t would be we'll to compro-
mise. Mr.. Morrow said he would accep.
any action the board would take Com
missioner Harte moved TO reject three
doors. which are much too small, and ac-
cept fourteen, deducting s25 per door for
the doors accepted from Caldwell &.
brakes bill In final settlement. OCon-
nor seconded the motion, and 1t carried,
Lynch alone voting no.
Wan. 10 Save Money.
The plans and specifications were clear
enough" said Mr.. Latenser. IF 'Cald-
well & Drake had sent the door people
copies Of the plans and specifications
for vault doors they would have gotten
the proper doors. win give $1,000 II
they can prove that they contracted
with any door manufacturer for vault
doors exactly as specified, the plans and
specifications being part of the contract.
They didn't do that because they wanted
to save money on the doors"
Il want those doors put In exactly as
specified" said Commissioner Lynch. 81
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