Evening journal., 1915-05-21
Sees Prejudice IN
BARRING Gas PIPE
Manager McCorkindale Says
Piping Could Be Done at
Cost of $500
OFFERED TO PAY ALL
ABOVE THAT FIGURE

William j. McCorkindalc. manager
OF the Wilmington Gas Company, was
asked today what he thought of the
action OF the Joint Building Commits
sion in declining to provide for gas
lighting in the Joint City and County
Building being erected at Tenth and
King streets. MIR McCorkindale said
he had read carefully the Building
Commissions reply to City Council,
and found some inaccuracies and
mis-statements in the report
knowing the prejudice of one of
the members of the Joint Commission
against the gas piping Of these build
ings for lighting purposes, the report
10 the Council was not a surprise TO
me-" said Mr.. McCorklndale.
THE contract for piping these
buildings could have been let for at
least $500 and the Gas Company
agreed to pay any sum in addition
to that amount, should II have been
Necessary. There was no need what
ever of changing a single contract
that had already been made, nor
changing a single pipe which had been
installed in the building i'm order TO
do this work properly. and it is not
So that the buildings have reached
that stage where any additional cost
would be incurred by piping il at the
present time, nor would any changes
have to be made in the present wir-
/ ing or emergency gas piping which
has been done.
Outside of the actual cost Of pip
ing the building. the only additional
/ cost that could have come into this
construction would be If the commits
sion had decided 10 install combina-
| tiOn fixtures at this particular time,
which was not asked for by the gas
company. which took the stand that
time would show the necessity for
combination fixtures and they could
4 be installed at that time; but if the
buildings are completed without gas
piping It would be impossible to in
stall them at any time without mar
ring the architectural beauty of the
/ buildings
"The local Y. NJ. c. A. building at
present is suffering on account of the
lack of combination fixtures in their
I building. and there has been discuss
ed a number Of times the advisahility
OF running gas piping in order to rem
edy to some extent this defect in the
construction.
There is a dual system of lighting
at present in part of the postofiice in
( Wilmington, and the Gas Company is
doing some lighting in that building.
/ When the new addition was built four
or FIVE years ago. this building was
not only piped but combination fix
lures with reflex lamps we're installed
at that time. but owing TO prejudice
of a supervising architect at Wash
ington, the dual system of lighting
was not installed throughout the
building.
There is no doubt at all but that
! the commission has blundered in leav-
/ ing this out. even If IL is caused on
the advice of the supervising archi-
tect The fact that architects do make
errors in advising was shown clearly
/ recently i'm the construction of $780,
| 600 building near Atlantic City where
the insurance companies had recon-
mended a sprinkler system 10 be in
stalled in the club buildings, but the
owner listened to the architect and is
now paying s1.20 insurance rate in
stead of a 20-cent rate The excess
that is being paid on insurance rates
in the first two and one-half years
would have paid for the whole sprink-
/ Ter system throughout the buildings.
"The fact that the gas company is
| lighting the county and city buildings
at present for less than half of what
it was done formerly by the electric
! light company should be conclusive
evidence that the taxpayers money
would have been saved by putting in a
dual system of lighting.
at is very evident that the unit rule
agreed upon by the commission,
whereby everything must be unani-
nous or not acted on at all, has been
carried out to the letter"