The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-11-15
WORKS BOARD.
TO ADVERTISE
FOR new BIDS.
Controversy Arising Over
Legal Right of Company to
Withdraw Proposal and
Postponement Causes Delay
new DATE IS NOV. 29

The board of public works Monday
afternoon decided to readvertise for
bids for 5000 XIV turbine and other
equipment for the Richmond Munich
pal Electric company. The new bids
will be opened at 1 o'clock on the
afternoon of November 20.
Bids were received Monday and
were to have been opened at 10 a. m.
An Indianapolis concern, the Hatfield
Electric company, telegraphed that it's
representative could not reach Rich
mond before IL o'clock because of a
delayed train and asked that bids not
be opened until that hour. The re-
quest was granted, with the consent
of the other bidders, but at 11:3O the
Hatfield company agent had not ar
rived. After considerable controversy
the opening of the bids was again post
poned until 1 80 in the afternoon. At
lis Mayor Zimmerman was informed
by the Hatfield company by telephone
that it's representative would not be
present to submit a bid.
Withdraw Bid.
The Elliott company, of Chicago,
one of the bidders, after learning that
the Hatfield company would not bid,
asked that he be permitted to with
draw his bid. City Attorney Keller
expressed the opinion that the Elliott
company had no legal right to with
draw it's bid and a dispute arose.
The board at last went into execu-
tive session and when it resumed open
session announced that it had been
To hiHs This
decision met with the approval of all
the bidding companies.
1t is understood that only one COM
pany, the Westinghouse og Pittshurg,
submitted a bid to install the unit in
it's entirety.
There was no real competition rep
resented in the bids you received to-
day" remarked one of the bidders to
the boa rd members. He referred to
the fact that some of the bids were
only for parts of the proposed unit.
No More Postponements
"One thing is, certain, when we ad-
vertise that new bids will be opened
at l o'clock, Nov 20. that means l
o'clock. No more postponements and
resulting controversies" said Mr.. Rel
ler.
The bids which were filed before
inghouse company of Pittsburg; the
Alberger Pump and Condenser COM
pany Of Chicago: the Elliott company
of Chicago and the Sheldon Engineer
ing company of Toledo. The General
Electric company announced it was
bidding through contractor.
Follows Wrangle.
The receipt of bids Monday for
equipment which will greatly increase
the capacity of the Richmond NUM-
cipal Electric plant followed an aSita-
ton for plant betterments extending
over a period of more than two years.
Council took the position that the es-
Inmates of the cost of the turbine and
the other equipment were excessive,
and favored the city purchasing the
turbine and the other complementing
machinery and having the installation
made by the city, figuring this method
to be less expensive.
Former board president, Harry Gil
bert, insisted that the contracting firm
install the equipment, which would
guarantee that the work would be
done satisfactorily. He was supported
by the other two board members. Last
July Gilbert resigned, also B. c. Rob-
bins, as city attorney. A council mem
her, Matt Won Pein, was appointed
board president
The reorganized board accepted the
councils appropriation of $175,O 900. and
ordered advertisements for bids under
revised specifications calling for esti-
mates on the basis of installation by
the contracting firm and installation
by the city itself. These specifications
were prepared by J. D. Lyon, of Gin
cinnati, a consulting engineer, who at
tended Mondays board meeting and
advised the board in regard to bids.