Evening journal., 1916-05-27

slqned by residents Of Whining
ton and rural New Castle county
on November 30, 1912, that re.
suited In the erection Of the
Joint Municipal and County =
Building. The petition was pre-
pared by John ]. Raskob, treas
urer Of the DUPONT Powder Com
pany, who was the pioneer in
agitating the erection Of public
buildings on the present site,
and who secured signers for the
petition.
At an expenditure Of nearly $780,
600. the new County and Munic pal
Buildinging Of the finest in the
country erected under the super
vision of the Joint Building Commits
sion in the block bounded by King,
French, Tenth and Eleventh streets,
has been completed II stands as
monument to the business acumen OF
the commission who supervised IS
erection. as we'll as a tribute to the
new spirit of Wilmington. The site on
which the modern structure stands
formerly contained one OF the land
marks OF Wilmington, the Old School
Baptist Church, and also the Hilles
homestead. and the Buck residence.
The idea of erecting the structure ON
the site was conceived by John J.
Raskob. treasurer OF the DUPONT Pow
der Company. That the new building
is a credit to the county and city is
attested 10 by the residents who are
Justly proud Of the handsome stuct-
ure that has been reared within four
years of the date II was first agitated.
The members Of the commission
who have labored to have the build
Ing stand as a credit to the city and
county. are Harlan G. Scott, presi-
dent: Daniel Corbit. James I. Ford,
John j. Raskob and L. Scott Town
send william S Hills is attorney,
and Thomas F. Gormley, secretary
for the commission
When the idea was conceived OF
having a municipal and county build
ing erected on the site. the commits
sioners, all sound business men. then
realized that they had a big PROPOSE
tion on their hands. At that time,
the cost OF material was low. many OF
the steel mills in the country were
working on short time. and a consid-
erable sum was saved in this item
alone by the commissioners. An
other economy effected by the COM
missioners was a saving of nearly
100000 in commissions They had
contractors prepare estimates for do
ing the work. and the best offer re-
ceived was "cost plus ten per cent
This meant that S12O,O00 would have
to he spent in commissions and only
S1.2OO.OOO left TO cxpend on material
and labor II was then decided by the
commissioners to supervise the work
themselves. and that undertaking was
delegated to Harlan G. Scott, presi-
dent Of the commission.
An Office force was necessary with
a superintendent at a salary OF $4,000
o year and a corps of assistants. The
total cost of such force aggregated
about $4,000 which. deducted from
the sum asked for in commissions b!
contractors. left a saving of $4,000
which was applied to material and
construction and the taxpayers gel
the benefit Of il in a better building
for the same money.
Mr Scott devoted practically all his
time 10 the work and weekly meet
ings Of the commissioners have beer
held. Mr.. Scott looked after details
of the construction.
In speaking of the work done BY
THE commission. one member paid I
tribute TO William S. Hilles, their at
torney, who has refused. despite th'
extensive services he has given. e
accept compensation greater thai
that allowed the commissioners
which is $500 a year for two years
The commissioners receive no pay a
the end OF their second years service
regardless as TO whether the building
was completed or not. but Mr.. Hille
refused to accept any fees, although
he has worked with the commission
ers since they were appointed in look
ing after many intricate legal details
After securing the estimates as e
the cost of the structure. the commits
sioners decided to have il constructel
Of steel. concrete and marble. and a
near fireproof as possible. The ston
used in the exterior is known as Web
. pink granite. and came from Milford
Mass. The interior lining is lndian
sandstone. and Tennessee marble ha
been used for wainscOting in the cor
ridors and lavatories and floors. TIL
facing stone for the Offices was i'm
ported.
Funds for the erection OF the neV
building was secured through bon
issues by both the county and city
the Legislature of 1918 having au
thorized the city TO sell 100000 bond
and the county to dispose OF 100000
bonds. On the city's portion it wa
specified that 100000 should be use
in connection with the remodelin
OF the present Court House. the coun
" TO receive $4,000 for the groun
and $4,000 for the removal OF IN
present building. On the $4,000
bonds sold by the city. the premium
received totaled $4,000. which ais
was turned over to the commission.
While il had not been planned
complete the interior arrangements l
the county's section Of the buildin
at first. the commissioners had thi
work done. following a conferenc
with the Levy Court. This work COZ
$4,000. but as the commission ha
not been reimburse for this out
lay. it has been unable to purchas
the furniture 10 equip the county pol
tion Of the building. AS a result th
various county officials will have
,,nvo fnfo fhafr now uuartprs Wit