New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-02-09
Demand for $128,577.IO in
November Is Swelled to
$338,389 a Month Later
Delay. in Plans Charged
Contractor Asks S72A,389
for Damages Previously
Estimated at $l25, 900

Booth & Finn, Ltd, subway con-
tractors, under the legal direction of
Edward M. Grout, former Controller
OF the city seem to have made a
record in accelerating the growth of
damage CLAIM against the city. Their
claim for S12S,577.1O was filed with
Controller Craig on November II last.
and the height and girth of it sur
prlsed the engineers of the Public Ser
VICE Commission. Former Controller
Grout withdrew this claim and put in
new one, under date of December 20
and when the engineers of the Public
Service Commission examined it they
said it was the same old claim with
one item added. This item was for
damages oue to the alleged failure of
the city to furnish working drawings.
The charge for this by Mr.. CIRCUITS
client Is $685., 3S959. according to the
ngures IN the Controllers Office The
damage" occurred in the Montague
Street section in Brooklyn.
The surprising jump in the size of
TINS clam was contemporaneous with
the adjustment by Controller Craig of
the million dollar claims of the Inter
continental Construction Corporation
and the Degnon Contracting Company
on basis of about so per cent in each
instance.
Claims Now Aggregate S1,5OO,OOO
Booth & Finn have about S25. 900 ooo
worth of contracts different ones
The aggregate Of their claims for dam
age is about S1,500,OO0 and growing
all the time. Former Controller Grout
and Paul Grout are their counsel
The settlement of these so-called
damage claims by the Controller is
regarded as a matter of considerable
Importance to the taxpayers. If the
Public Service Commission should
settle the claims, under the law thew
would the chargeable to construction
account and be provided for by the
issuance of ffty-year bonds. When
inc controller settles them, as he set
tied claims of the lntercontinental and
Degnon companies, the amount OF the
claims allowed goes into the tax budget
A surprising thing to The commission
IS that lr the case of the Booth e.
Fllnn claims the commission learned
about the hearings only when three
hearings rad been given to the con-
tractor without its knowledge.
The Controller has asked the COM
mission to report on the damage claim
of the Litchhcld Construction Company
for S724,389. OF this sum $56S, 4S3 is
claimed "for damages growing out of
delay IN receipt of plans, including
extra cost of work due to or growing
out of war conditions"
The company's letter to the Con-
troller is dated june 20, 1918. The
contract is technically described as
Routes and Sc, Section a, in Seventh
Avenue. running from Fifty first to
fitty-ninth Street. i
Attorneys Report Filed
After an exhaustive investigation bv
the commissions engineers, Warren ]
Lee, assistant counsel. reports on this
item as follows
THE contractor in his testimony he
fore the Controller on july 2. 1918.
gave facts which were intended to sun
port only about $4,000 Of this claim
OF $b68,483 The president of the
c claimant company stated that he could
give the facts at this time in an in
complete way only, and they were sub
ject to later corrections.
The only portion /of this claim az
TO which the contractor is att all def 4
mite IL IN respect to an item for lumber
lie claims he was compelled to cxpeud
$4,000 for lumber and $50 900 for the
handling thereof The contractor
claims thDt these expenditures were
made necessary by dclny in plans. The |
engineering department of the Public
service Commission states emphati-
'aily that the contractor has not been
delayed, and in support of this that
department. has prepared progress
sheet which amply substantiates tho
statement.
Il accordingly report that there is