The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-09-09
MCCALL TO TELL OF
TRANSIT CONTRACTS
Thompson Committee Plans
Inquiry Into Alleged
Ovcrcharges.
SUBWAY WORK ASSAILED

Chairman Mccall Of the Public Ser
vice Commission will appear before the
recrudescent Thompson committee this
morning as the first witness in a new
series OF hearings regarding the COM
mission and the law under which II oper-
ates. He will be asked about certain
rapid transit contracts and arrange
ments. which in the opinion OF Senator
George +. Thompson. chairman OF the
committee, brought excessive profits to
| successful bidders. Mr.. Mccall is not
under subpoena, but will testify by re-
! quest.
We have been informed" senator
| Thompson said yesterday at the Bit
more, that there are at least four
contracts In respect Of which the men
who got tho awards either were very
] lucky or had advance information when
their competitors in the bidding did not
share. We don't know that any OF the
, charges we have heard are true. We
want to find out. and It seemed best to
begin by questioning Mr.. Mccall. be-
cause he is chairman OF the commission
Later we may call Alfred Craven. the
commissions chief engineer, and other
Witnesses
At least two of the matters 20 he IN
v~estIgaied nave already been scrutinized
by various public agencies. one IL the
contract for putting the Broadway sub
way through the site of the Astor House.
Frederick l.. Crawford. Inc the lowest
! bidder, got the job at tunnel rates
Later the southern half of the motel
was razed and the subway was built
by open cut methods. which cost con-
siderably less than tunnell,ng. Mr.. Gran
ford was also paid for extra work.
Last spring J. W. f. Bennett. a II
sulting engineer employed by Comptrol-
Ter Prendcrgast. estimated that the com
mission had awarded MIR. Crawford sN"'-
424 more than he could property claim.
Chairman Mccall disputed this estimate.
A second piece of subway work about
which Mr.. Thompson Is SUSPICIOUS is the
tunnel that will take the four tracks OF
the Lexington avenue line unuer the
Harlem River
IhN WI
was originally let for about s7,00".0oo.
but William II. Wilcox, then chairman
of the Public Service Commission. threw
I, out. Then Arthur McMullen and blaf
Hon, who are now digging the tunnel
got the contract for $4,000. 900. which II
81, 900. 600 more than II IL worth. ] base
this opinion on an investigation made
for us by John X. Mcneil, an engineer,
and others"
This river contract has been in the
courts. An unsuccessful bidder. Duncan
Mclean. started a 80. 900, 600 suit against
McMullen Il Hon, alleging that they had
infringed IN his tunneling patents ana
had also used wet cement instead OF the
dry cement called for by the contract.
I'VE are also going to look into the
contracts for third tracking the elevated
roads, said Chairman Thompson. by
examining the certificates We hnd at th'
end IL nifty years the city can take Over
the third track, hut not the two OIL
structures. That seems curious. II ma!
he all right we're going to ind out.
The committee will also revert to the
matter OF third tracking the Fultor
street elevated road In brooklyn. e
which il gave attention in June. Mr.
Thompson thinks the B.. II. r, is building
the whole road in AN expensive, perma'
nent way. whereas only lattice work OF
light steel was contemplated in the con
tracts "a approved by the commission.
1T looks to me- he said. "as II tn,
u. T.. r. intended to run freight cars
from the Pennsylvania wharves to thu
city's new freight terminal in South
Brooklyn by way OF Fulton street"
The Public Service Commission hat
already held up the Brooklyn third track
ing bending decision of a suit brought
by Brooklyn property owners.