The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-12-29
GO SLOW, WILL
BE ORDER FOR
CITY CONTRACTS
IN COMING YEAR
Nineteen Seventeen Season
Closes, But Not In
Blaze of Glory
WORK LET is NEAR
TO $3.50, 900 MARK
Much Is Unfinished, and Is
Carried Oyer to the
Next Season


Fargo's $650,0OO municipal inn
provement year has come to a close,
but not in blaze Of glory, or with
the city commission in mood to feel
highly gratified over the result.
Never in the history OF Fargo have
the city fathers been called upon to
meet as many or as complex prob
lens arising from municipal inn
provements as during the past year.
Never IN the history of the city
have so many situations arisen to
make the path of those who make
the city ordinances SO rough and
steep.
And It was not until contracts for
the improvements had been awarded
to the contractors that the trouble
started.
First came the inability to secure
cars and material, situations arising
as a result Of Americas participa-
ton in the world war; then the Ia
Dor shortage, dragging the work late
into the fall; and then winter.
Contractors called onto the carpet
brought out problems which neither
contractors nor the city commission
could find within their power 70
crack, and though the end Of the
part of the work completed, its COM
pletion gave no particular satisfac-
ton, and left only q bad taste.
The result is. and no taxpayer viii
have any trouble verifying the state
ment. that neither the city commits
sion nor city offlcials will look with
favor on a proposal for any but alb
solutely necessary municipal inn
provements for 1918, or 1919 or for
any year until after the war has
been brought to a close, and all con-
ditions have returned to normal.
Total Near $650,000.
The total Of contracts for i'm
provements, meaning sewers. water
mains and paving, and including both
major and minor contracts, was APP
proximately $650,000, according to
estimated costs.
OF the amount. approximately
$265,000 was for sewers; $4,000 was
for water mains; and the remainder,
or $360,0O0, for paving.
One major sewer Job. the Tenth
street south trunk sewer. with an
estimated cost OF 100000 remains
less than half completed. Another
job, the Front street sewer, is about
three-fourths completed.
The water main jobs, Of which
there were but three large jobs, are
completed.
Five paving jobs are little more
than three-fourths completed, and
the work has been carried over until
Eext year. OF the latter are the
Seventh street north job, the Fourth
street north job. and the First avenue
north Job, on which work was de-
ferred to allow sewer trenches to
thoroughly settle.
Five Are Sewer Jobs,
Contracts for Ave major sewer JOBS
were let during the year
One was the First avenue north
sewer from Tenth to Seventeenth
streets, and connecting at intersec-
tions, the cost being $16s27e.
Another was on Fourth avenue
north to the big slough with inter-
sections, the cost being $7SSs.50. The
job was completed in August.
The third was the big Tenth street
south trunk, with an estimated cost
Of $200.O00 on which $4,000 worth of
work had been done to Dec. S.
Another was the Front street job
from Tenth to Seventeenth streets,
let on q contract Of $4,000. Nine
thousand, nine hundred dollars worth
OF the work had been completed Dec.
The last was the job on Sixth,
Seventh, Eighth and Ninth streets
south, between Thirteenth and Fiji
completed Dec. 10. The cost was
$4,000.
Three Water Main Jobs
Only three large water main jobs |
were undertaken during the year, |
and an were completed.
The N. p. avenue job, extending |
from Roberts street to Thirteenth |
street, and from Thirteenth street to |
Front street, was completed Oct. 10 |
at q, cost Of 1900.
Pipes were laid on Sixth. Seventh, |
Eighth and Ninth streets south, be- |
tween Thirteenth and Fourteenth |
avenues, at a cost of $500.
a similar job on the same streets, /
but from Fourteenth to Fifteenth |
avenues south, let on a separate con- |
tract was completed Sept. 10 at a
cost OF $6,52e.
Paving Causes Trouble.
Paving jobs. Ave In number, caused
the most trouble because OF the great /
amount of material needed, and the 1
fact that work was carried into /
freezing time when 1t was no longer
safe to lay base. and almost as un-
safe to lay surface. Contracts let /
early in the summer season were for /
more than two and one-haH miles of
paving.
The Fourth street north contract,
let for $4,000. had been $4S, 750 COM
pleted Nov. 20.
The Fifth street north job. let for
$500, had been $2,473.95 completed
on the same date.
The Seventh street north Job, let
for $4,000. received only s62, 700 |
worth Of work to Dec. 5. when work
was stopped.
The big Fifth ward job, let for
s156,00O, was two-thirds completed Il
Dec. 5. and $102.S00 had been paid on
the work.
The Thirteenth street job, let for
$4,000, was virtually completed Nov.
%.
All In all, 1917 was an unsatisfac-
tory year for improvements OF d /
municipal nature in Fargo, and Il
tread lightly will be the order OF
the city commissioners in 1918.
Blacks are now selling their
beautiful line Of French white ivory
at u of regular price.-Advt