Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1914-11-21
BIG SAVING IN
LEVEE CONTRACTS
TOTAL AMOUNT INVOLVED IN
PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS
$315,425.1O.
TOTAL SAVING is S145.O1O.3O
Never in History of Mississippi River
Work Have So Many Contractors
Entered the Contest.

Western Newspaper Union News Service
New Orleans.-Never in the history
| OF the leVee contract system along
the Mississippi river have so many
contractors entered a levee competi-
ton as were present in the United
States engineers Office in New Orleans
Monday when bids for more than
! 100000 worth OF government levee
work in the Fourth Mississippi Dis
trict were opened. The most remark
able feature of the bidding Monday,
however, was the low price per cubic
yard for which the various bidders
offered to do the work. Compared with
the prices paid by the government for
levee work last year in this district,
total saving of $I42,Ol0.3O vas made
in the contracts for which bids were
approved. The total amount involved
in the contracts is $315,42510.
A total OF forty contractors, includ-
ing many well-known firms of Louis
lana, Mississippi and Tennessee, sub
mitted bids. Except in the case OF
one small contract, for $500 cubic
yards, lower bids were submitted on
all the work than were received lasr
year. This particular bid, which was
! for the construction of a strip of levee
at LaUdeTdale, in the Lafourche Dis
trict was rejected by Major w. G.. Ca
pies, chief engineer of this district, as
| being too high.
Major Caples vas gratified at the
/ large number OF bids submitted ard
| the low prices offered by the c0Ht~ac-
tors. On account of the long filli1as-
| ter made in the United States Senate
/ against the original rivers and har-
/ bors bill, the amount of money finally
| allotted to this district for river i'm
/ provement work was only slightly
more than S1,000.000, or about one
half the amount expended last year.
! The remarkable saving of $142.010.30
in the contracts for which Major Ca.
pies approved bids Monday is proof
that he is doing everything possible
to make the government appropria-
| ton for this year bring forth good re-
suits. This saving will make it pos
sible for him to do further work in the
different districts.
The average price per cubic yard
| paid last year and the net saving in
each district on the bids approved
| Monday are as follows:
Lower Tensas-Average price 1918,
22.45 cents; amount saved, S43.S25.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. price 1913,
| 2433 cents; net saving, S44,440.55.
acknowledgements price 1913,
22.S9 cents; net saving, s2O.S65.
Barataria-Average price 1913,
23,7O cents; net saving, S675.
Observation-Disclosures price 1913,
POS cents; net saving, $2O,442.6O
Lake Borgne-Average price 1913,
| 20.35 cents: net saving, S11,762.15.
A total of 2.14S,O00 cubic yards of
/ levee work are embraced in the con-
tracts All of the bids are subject
to approval by the chief of engineers
| in Washington. but it is assumed that
the recommendation made by Major
Caples will be adopted. The Marin
levee. in the Barataria district, and
the Millaudon levee, in the Lake
Borgne district. must be completed by
September /. 1915; the other contracts
provide for completion of the work by
December l, 1915.