The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1917-01-05
HARDOR DOARDIN
SNARL over BILLS
Question Of Payment For EEK
tras" Up To Attorney-Gen-
.. eral Once More

A snarl over the payment Of certain
bills presented by Ed Lord for "ex
tras" and "additions" in connection
with the construction Of Piers &, 9 and
10 has come before the harbor board
The bills total $2s,743. For weeks the
board has been struggling with them,
seeking to find some basis upon which
tc pay the contractor what is his due
without paying him more than is legal.
The original contract provided that
for extra and additional work the con.
tractor should be paid cost plus fifteen
per cent. Charles r. Forbes, chairman
of the board, made certain changes in
the specifications, ordering some extra
work done and some additional. Also
here we're some deductions,
Forbes wrote Lord a letter, stating
hat the board would pay for this extra
" additional work cost plus twenty
per cent. The letter was sent without
he knowledge of the board, and has
now come home to roost, for the audi
Tor refused TO authorize payment, on
the ground that under the original con
ract only cost plus fifteen per cent
was TO be paid. r.
Forbes referred the matter to the at
'orney generals department, but ac
iording to n statement made by Deputy
Attorney General Heen Yesterday at Q
meeting of the board, he did not II
lis letter state the exact questions that
we're at issue. The, attorney general 5
department. rendered an opinion uphold
ng the auditor, but. according to Lord
md Heeu himself, the opinion was rem.
lered upon premises that were incor
rect but which had been stated by
Forbes. a.. ar.r.
Commissioner Church yesterday stat
ID emphatically that Forbes letter t.,
Lord should never have gone out with.
Dut having been passed upon by the
attorney generals department. He also
look the attorney general severely to
task for his failure TO have a repre-.
sentative of his department present at
al meetings of the board. The board
he said; was paying for this negligence.
Lord was present yesterday, accom-.
panied by his attorney, +. c. Peters
Peters made a lengthy statement to
the board, in which be claimed that
"extras" and additions" as inter
oreted by contractors are entirely diff
ferent and that il is the recognized
custom that extras shall be paid for
in addition TO the full contract price
that there can be no deductions where
'xtras are concerned. The Lord. Young
Company, he said, had not seen ct 10
hold the board strictly to this interpre.
tation, OF the board would be in a bad
tx. % f.. ~, IT, n
Lord himself made statement in
which he said that the twenty per
cent in addition to cost which Forbes
had agreed to pay him for extras was
not twenty per cent clear profit, but
Included various incidental expenses
such as bonds, workme1's compensation
and other charges which he had TO paw.
After q lengthy discussion it was
decided to re-refer the matter TO the
attorney generals department for con.
liberation in view of the new facts that
had developed. The members of the
board all said they had no intention
of holding up the contractor and were
anxious to pay him as soon as the cor
rectness of the bills could be deter,
mined ~