Evening journal., 1914-06-22
Joint BUILDING
commissioners
Defend AWARD
Say American Bridge Co.
Baked on $50 Calendar
Day Clause
WORK COULD HAVE been
DONE OUTSIDE EDGE MOOR

Members Of the joint Wilmington
and New Castle County Building Com
mission are indignant over the inn
pressions that have been given to
tho public in letter written by
Arthur w. Carpenter, Of No. Ala w.
Second street, and published yester-
day
In his letter Mr. Carpenter takes
exception to the fact that the Joint
Building Commission awarded the
contract for the structural steel work
for the new building to the Belmont
Iron Company, Of Philadelphia. while
the bid of the company was several
hundred dollars higher than the hid
of the American Bridge Company.
The commissioners say that had MI.
Carpenter investigated the conditions
that led to the awarding of the bid
to the Belmont Company he would
not have written what he did Mr.
Carpenter believed the American
Bridge Company to be local con-
cern and as such should receive the
contract In explaining the matter
one of the officials of the Commission
this morning said:
THE American Bridge Company.
which submitted the bid, is New
York concern. 1t has plants in sew
eral sections Of the country, one of
which is situated at Edge Moor. The
Edge Moor plant has no identity ex-
eept being one of the plants OF the
New York concern. There is moth
ing to indicate that had the contract
been awarded to the American Bridge
Company that the Edge Moor plant
would have furnished the work. It
might have been done BY any one Of
the plants Of that concern.
"The bid of the American Bridge
Company was a few points lower than
that of the Belmont Iron Company.
amounting in the aggregate to sew
eral hundred dollars. The notice to
contractors as published in the daily
papers of Wilmington and in trade
4 papers of the large cities, including
New York, Philadelphia and Chicago,
as we'll as the proposal and contract
blanks and specifications. called for
the work to be completed in 100 cali
endar days. Understand, it said call
endar and not working day. There is
a big difference between the two.
THE American Bridge Company in
submitting its bid ignored this speci-
fication, inserting in lieu thereof 150
working days The difference be-
tween 120 calendar days and 15O
working days is not only thirty days,
as Mr.. Carpenter says, but closer to
sixty days.
a representative Of the American
Bridge Company informed the commits
sion at its meeting last week that his
company would not execute any con
tract containing a penalty clause for
not completing the work within spcci-
fled time, be that penalty s. or $500
day.
American Bridge Company under the
conditions as laid down by that com
panv would have meant the perfor-
nance Of the contract by the American
Bridge Company in their own way and
at their own pleasure Under their
terms the company could have delayed
the work until next winter when 1t
would be too late to begin the steel
structural work and the project would
have to Law over for several months.
The several hundred dollars difference
in the bids would be a small item COM
pared TO the overhead charges, etc,
that would result from such delay.
"rhere was therefore, nothing else
10 do hut award the contract to the only
other competitor the Belmont Iron
Company Of Philadelphia, which agrees
70 complete the work in 100 calendar
davs or subject themselves to q per
dicm penalty for every day after that
time until the work is finished. The
commission in awarding tho bid as
they did served the best interests Of the
poodle whom thev reprosentn