The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-10-16

lHAn tue lowest
The policy OF the
present administration
has been to view contracts for i'm
provements, as being none of the pub
lies business. for at no time have the
public taken been into their conf
dence; and II the discriminating re-
suits of such improvements suggests
favoritism in the granting of con-
tracts. the entire blame must rest
with the administration.
A Frequent Occurrence.
Too often the letting of public con-
tracts is governed by the amount OF
political debt the executive owes to
the bidder. l am not suggesting that
such has been the case in Richmond.
l am going to allow the results OF
those contracts to speak for them
selves. Z
The least that can be said regard
ing them is, that such determinations,
as is shown, are suggestive of some
laxities. either in poor judgment as TO
the value OF work TO be done. or in
some instances, favoritism Is shown
certain bidders.
In 1911 a contract was let for the
paving of North 4 street from tenth
/ ought perhaps to state first, that
the city's proportion of cost of such
improvements is the estimated cost OF
macadamizing. in other words, what
ever would be the cost of macadamizl
ing the street, that amount represents
what the city has to pay toward build
ing the street with brick.
The contract for paving North n
street was awarded Linus p. MereJ
dith, or at least the work was done by
him, and the cost thereof $20,025. 9sl
or $3,337,66 per square. of which
amount the city paid s7,749.79, or 3s5a
per cent OF the total cost.
There are two points want to raise
in connection with this improvement.
What Company 10 Expected to %.
II is generally understood thing
that the street car company is re-
quired by their franchise to keep up
the surface of the street betweenl
their tracks, (which is feet) and
eighteen inches both sides, makinH
seven feet in all. That being the case
In estimating the cost Of macadamiz-A
ing North E street. the seven feet for
the entire length OF six squares
should have been deducted from the
city's proportion, and added to the as
sessed damages of the street car COM
pany.
After the completion of North III
street the American Seeding Machfnet
company decided to have North Thir-i
teenth street, from f to the P, C, c.
and st. L. railway paved. and Mr.
Meredith did that work also.
What were the results, and howl
does the cost of the two streets comI
pare?
For the paving Of North thirteenth
street, the total cost was $4,000, andt
the city's proportion of that improve
ment, based on the estimated cost of
macadam, was $500. Can anyone givel
any good reason why the city's share
of paving North Thirteenth street
should be 241s per cent. while for
North z street, with seven feet out
OF the center, the cost to the city was
3Sk per cent, or II per cent more
than Thirteenth street, where the en-
tire width had to be taken into con-
AS have stated above, the cost per
square for paving North z street was
50 3,337.66 and the total cost Of paw
ing Thirteenth street, $4,000, or 81,
1876 less than North E.
what Public Should Know.
Insofar as Mayor Zimmerman IN
seeking reelection on the strength of.
his past record, the public is entitled
TO know why this discrimination is al
lowed. and is any significance to be
attached to the fact, that the control
ler's report fails to show the cost per
linear foot on North Thirteenth street.
while il shows the cost of North z
10 be s1.94 foot?
1t cannot be said that the additional
cost covers the intersections. as that
would equal s6.S25.ss. or nearly one
.hird of the total cost.
What does IL mean Who can
blame the public in, thinking at least.
hat the whole transaction is shrouded
With clock of suspicious inconsist-
.ncies.
/ am not going to raise any point of
for i do not believe that
can be proven, but I do
his one piece Of public Improvement
more than emphasizes the need of re-
orm in the granting of contracts for
Reveals Another Feature.
II also reveals another feature that
my aggressive man would grasp in
'tantly.
In the paving of West Main street
he contract price Is $3.50 per linear
DOT. The cost Of paving North Sew
nth street from Main to A street was
Ito per foot, and that Of North Z
treet s1.94.
Is there enough difference in the
haracter of the work TO Justify diff
erence of 81 cents a foot between
Vest Main and North e. Also diff
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