Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-09-01
G|LLEN AGAIN HITS
At b|TUL|TH|C FIRM
Says Local Contractors Are Be.
ing Used to Hoodwink
Public.

Commissioner Charles P. Gillen, of
the Board of Works, today issued a
statement in his Enthusiastically
frank way, embodying intimations
taht the Standard Bitulithiccompany
is busy with its mysterious" deals,
and names prominent local con-
tractors whom he declares are being
used to hoodwink the general public.
The commissioner holds that his sus-
picions are borne out by the fact that
since the alleged "deal'' the price of
bitulithic has dropped from 1927 to
S2l4 square yard and this, he adds.
is only game to divert the attention
of the public.
Mr.. Gillen's statement in part is as
follows:
THE trust thinks that by allowing
the crumbs that fall from its IA ble
to go to the local contractors II
Will thus ~silence public clamor
Doesn't the trust know that it is NOT
the contractors who have to be sat
lsned-it is the property owners who
have to pay for the improvements
since the first Of the year the
trust has been trying to get petitions
In forty or more streets, but has
succeeded in getting only sixteen.
which We're filed with the board. OF
these sixteen petitions the signers
OF four have withdrawn absolutely.
contracts on six were awarded final
ly and a sufficient number of signers
on the remaining six streets have
now withdrawn to knock out the
petitions. The latter six streets are
Nineteenth, HaZelwood and Vermont
avenues and Alexander street and
South Sixteenth street in two sec
lions. Dozens of signers on the
streets finally awarded have sent
their Withdrawals, but they came too
late to be effective. Net result of
the fight so far: The trust tried to
get forty streets and has succeeded
in getting only six, the last streets
it will ever get in the city of Newark
under the closed specification.
Last week the Standard Bitulithic
Company sent communications to all
the signers of bitulithic petitions
stating that it had received the
awards in Elizabeth, but did not
state that the same awards were
thrown out at a subsequent meeting
of the Elizabeth council when the
deal was exposed. A comparison of
the Elizabeth bids shows why the
council reversed its action:
oIdnudTu bllulllllC Company DlQ
$751;, 90, Warner Quinlan Company bid
$121, 900 and the Newton Paving Com
pany bid $102, 900, difference of $780,
900 between the bitulithic trust and
the lowest bidder, and no difference
in the value, quality or wearing ma
terial of the pavements. The open
specification and the consequent COM
petiUve bidding showed the people of
Elizabeth what these pavements
should really cost them. Once they
woke up and found that a deal was
on to give away $4,000 of their money
there was a roar of Indignation that
will be heard for many years to come.
Result-no bitulithic in Elizabeth.
THE trusts grip in Newark is
broken, the monopoly is smashed I
knew that when once the people fully
realized that under the closed speci-
f1cation they are obliged to pay 1927
per yard for a certain kind of pave
ment, which. under the open speclfi-
cation would cost SIS or less per yard,
they would unquestionably insist on
the open specification in bitulithic
or any other kind of pavement"