The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-12-10
IA | 1 r N CR|T|C|ZES COUNTS METHOD LETTING CONTRACTS Thinks the Bessemer Court house Could Be Built
 More Cheaply 1CITES EXAMPLES
 OF PAYMENTS MADE Offers 5000 Forfeit If 50 Per Cent Could Not Be Saved on the Bessemer Courthouse
 Job

To the Editor of The Age-Herald;
 noticed with some astonishment that the taxpayers of Jefferson county have again been made the goat by the county board of revenue.
 Your paper stated some days ago that the board had awarded the build ing of the new courthouse at Bessemer to Evans Brothers Construction com pany at cost of about $95,00O, ex- elusive of the plumbing, heating and wiring. The statement also set forth that Evans Brothers had agreed to construct the building for actual cost, plus 10 per cent.
 Now, Mir. Editor, the commission plan for doing work is undoubtedly the proper mode of doing work, either for the public or for private parties, and in the latter case "a party can do as he thinks best.
 But why should the board of revenue discriminate against every other con
 tractor in the district, and simply hand
 to any special closed shop firm this
 Bessemer courthouse, that is to be paid
 for by all of the taxpayers of the
 county?
 The board knowing all the time, as
 did also their architect, that in giving
 this work to Evans Brothers, whose
 work is controlled entirely by the
 union business agents, that all open
 shop men would be barred from par
 ticipating in any part Of this worK.
 These commissioners were put in office by the taxpayers and not by the diff
 ferent unions, nor all of the unions,
 and if they will only, examine the last
 election returns they will find that the union vote cannot elect any candidate And when Dr. Lovelady called on gentleman last June who had awarded me a contract to remodel building and tried to persuade this gentleman to take the work away from me be- cause, as Lovelady said, did not work union men; and when pr. Lovelady also agreed to pay the additional cost of working union men on this work I realized that we had some business agents at the courthouse, but little did [ dream that five such men could be found in a body in this county. And when these servants of the people sit | at their tables and look in the faces l of their children, whom the taxpayers are feeding, how will they compromise l the fact with their God that in award l ing this contract they have prevented ] S5 per cent of the working people in I this district who are open shop work CTS. from working on this building. thereby denying these taxpayers the right to work and feed their own chil- dren?
 SPENDING TO BEST ADVANTAGE 1 Not only that, but have they spent the taxpayers money to the best ad- vantage? I agree that there is no legal | requirements compelling them to ad- vertise for bids on this public work, I but there is a law requiring them to spend the countys money to the best advantage. They know without being ! told that there are at least several contracting firms in this district that would gladly have done this work Tor 1 50 per cent less than they are paying Evans Brothers, or, in other words. would have erected this building for actual cost plus per cent, and if the building only cost $95,000 this alone would be saving to the taxpayers or s4750, plus at least 10 per cent ad- ditional making another $S50O that 1t will cost to make 1t closed shop Job. This alone makes $14,250 that this board seems willing to spend to favor the different unions. Talk about watch ing your German propaganda. It is not a circumstance to what is being per petrated today upon the peaceable citi- zens of this county.
 If am not mistaken, Mir. Jerry Gwin rode into office on the solemn promise to spend the county's money to 1 the best advantage and certainly not to | further his political ambitions with the unions In February, 1915. Mir. Gwin 1 said over his signature in the daily press that the only reason fraud had not been perpetrated against the county was that the padding had been discovered in time. Mir. Gwin also says l in the paper before he Is elected. Why
 did Jefferson county pay Newell Broth CTS $2710 for 15-30 traction engines \ when they sold the same to other coun- ties in Alabama-exactly the same ma i chine-for s200oF
 l I would like for MT. Gwin to explain now why Jefferson county is paying 10 per cent for having public buildings erected, plus additional cost for union labor. When they could have the same work done by the best firms in the dis trict for 5 per cent, on the open shop basis and with out any additional cost l for labor? There are many other things l that this board may be called on to explain. and I hope they will be able to satisfy the public
 "A MEI< 10 lO ARSnl LCl
 Why is the board of revenue paying their architect, H. B. Wheelock. per cent for this architectural work. when the city board of education is only pay- ing MT. Wheelock 3A per cent for iden- 1 tically the same service? This lA per cent on the $150.000 that the Bessemer l courthouse will cost will amount to Is1s75. This added to the above $14,250 would make a grand total of $l6,12o that the board of revenue seems to be handing to the different unions even before the work is started.
 And mind you, MT Editor. this is be- fore the plumbing or wiring or heating lhas been let. and the probabilities are that when the specifications for these three items are written they will state that all men employed on this work
 must be men who will work in har-
 mony w;tE the men already employed
 on the building, and as the other men employed on the work by Evans Broth
 CTS are bound to be union men, oi course under these specifications, all open shop contractors are barred iron even figuring on any part of this build ing.
 l However.NI feel sure that the plumb. ing at least can be let as advantage ously as the plumbing was let on the annex to the Hillman hospital in 1914 while Dr.. Lovelady was chairman oi the board and MT. Wheelock was archi- feet for the county