The Oskaloosa herald., 1915-05-06
DID NOT PAY TOO MUCH.
Members of Board Reply to State.
ment of Highway Commission

7. w. Denney, w. A. Caldwell and
NJ. S. DOwney, members of the coun.
ty board of supervisors, take strong
exceptions to the statement given out
by the highway commission and re-
Gently published in The Herald to
the effect that Mahaska county is
paying too much for cement The
following statement has been pre-
pared showing what the board has
done and is doing, in the matter of
purchasing bridge building mater
ials:
THE gross price for cement in this
county Is from $1.47 to 1854 per bar.
rel, the variation being due to the
difference in freight rates to points
of delivery. The average price is
$50. From this is deducted 40 cents
per barrel rebate for the sacks, which
the county sells outright to the con-
tractor, who can collect the rebate
from the company under it's agree
ment, or not, just as he chooses. In
this way the county gets every cent
of the rebate and the net price is, as
shown, $1.10. 1t is probable that the
mistake for 1t must have been error
and not intention that caused the
publication of such misleading state
ments In the official journal of the
highway commission and under it's
authority, came through some clerks
taking the net cost In some other in.
stance and comparing 1t with the
gross price in this county.
Comparison Of Prices.
"Other prices obtaining in this
county as compared with those speci-
fed as fair by the commission are:
Mahaska Fair
price. price.
Cement -. ..........$ ITO s 1.20
Reinforced steel ICON
tractors furnish,
none boughD 900. 1.6O
Same, cut lengths
contractors fur
nlSh. ........... 1.6O
Oak lumber bridge
timbers) per 1000. 1855 5000
Fir lumber bridge
timbers) .......... 1856 $500
Fir lumber (hand
TallSl ...........,. 14.IU .....
Bids are to be opened Monday for
the construction of forty-one steel
and concrete bridges to be erected in
this county this year. In this work
over 5000 barrels of cement will
probably be used.
I'm the purchase of the cement the
county board kept a close watch on
the market, and bought at probably
the Ic-'ast point reached by that ma
teTi+s SS-tng the year. having pur
chased the needeS GtsssSsa e. ". at cent
less than market price.
AN instance of the saving is
shown by comparison with what the
highway commission considers fail
price for cement, S1.2O per barrel
or what Harrison county, which II
quotes as a splendid example of bust
ness acumen, pays $1.15 per barrel
Mahaska county pays but $1,10 per
barrel This is a saving of $3.50
on a like amount at the Harrison
county price of $500, at what the
commission considers fair price,
and of $50 under the market price
the day the cement contract was
awarded.
Alleged Error by Board.
Through some Carelessness OF
clerical error in the Offices of the
state highway commission. and one
which the commissioners will nc
doubt hasten to correct, it has been
announced that Mahaska county is
paying $3.50 per barrel. This was
seized upon and this county was
specified in contrast to the commits
3ion's fair price and Harrison
3ounty's purchase as a horrible ex
ample of wasteful buying. where the
facts. as shown in the contract on
| file in the office of the state high
way commission, are that the coun'
tvs purchase saved the taxpayers
just $500 under the commission s
| fair price
"In the light of these facts Ma
haska county will take rank with
the foremost counties in the state in
careful and conservative buying, and
great injustice has been done to
efficient county supervisors in the
false statements which hold them w
to the state as horrible examples"