The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1920-06-16
Mayor and Board of City Commissioners
Refuse to Accept Pipe Line; Water is
Ordered Cut Off By Receiver Snelson of
Ardmore Construction Company; City
Engineer Reported on Line Last Night

money with which to complete the
various undertakings. 1 had the books
audited and found that the city of
Ardmore had only paid to the con.
structiOn company on what is known
as the pipe line contract 1880. 1
found from the citys books that the
pipe for the pipe line had been pur-
chased by the city some time prior
to the signing of the contract be.
tween the construction company and
the city. caused to be issued re-
ceiver's certificates and obtained $780,
900 in money, and have used a good
portion Of this money in finishing the
pipe line. There had been quite a
lot Of pipe rejected by the supcrvis-
/ ing engineer and that when we fin
ished laying all the pipe that was
acceptable to the supervising engineer.
we then had gap of something like
fourteen hundred feet. l took up with
the city council the matter of sup
plying pipe to the construction com
pany, and the city council by reso-
luton directed me to use the pipe
that had heretofore been rejected by
the supervising engineer.
Prior to this. however, the super
vising engineer had advised the city
council to order four cards Of pipe,
! but this was not done. The pipe line
has been completed about sixty days
and has been supplying water at the
rate of about a million and a half
gallons a day. I have been continu-
ously after the city council individual
| ly and at each meeting, demanding
that they accept the pipe line, advis-
ing the city council that | was keep
| ing a bunch of men on hand ever
since the completion of the line, and
which was at the cost Of the city
for until the pipe line was accepted,
| had a right to hold my men in
readiness to do any work that the
city council might legitimately de-
mand.
"At a called meeting of the city
council last night, Tom Carter and
A. C. Young argued for the accept
ance of the pipe line, basing their
reasons on the grounds that the Con
struction company had been compelled
to use pipe that had been heretofore
rejected, and which the city council
had ordered to be used, that while
the contract between the construction
company and the city called for the
purchase Of the pipe by the construc-
ton company. as a matter OF tact
the pipe had already been purchase
by the city prior to the making of the
contract; that on the last twenty
three cars that were purchased, and
which twenty-three cars Of pipe We're
purchased by w +. Freeman, mayor.
a suit has been filed and judgment
entered against the city of Ardmore
for the purchase price thereof, and
bv reason of which the original con-
tract between the city and the con
strlction company has been broken
i'm the particulars above mentioned
and in a number of other instances.
and as the city was being supplied
with ample water, they felt that 1t
was nothing but right that the pipe
line should be accepted by the city,
that the city of Ardmore, through
the present administration and the
past administration, had paid out
moneys in violation Of the terms of
the contract, in this, that the con-
tract calls for moneys to be paid
only upon the estimate Of the super
vlslng engineer, and as only Sl7SOO
had been paid out under the order
Of the supervising engineer, and as
the present mayor had circulated over
the city booklet showing something
over $3.50 600 paid to the construction
company under the contract, when as
matter CT fact only $17, 800 had
been paid. and the remainder hat
been paid to persons other than the
Ardmore Construction Company, all Of
which is shown by the statement OF
the auditor for the city as well as
the auditor for the construction com
pany. that the city of Ardmorc owed
the Ardmore Construction Compan!
the actual cost of the pipe line, plus
, IL per cent. less the cost of the pipe
and the said $17SO0; that inasmuch as
the contract had been broken In vari
Gus ways by the city, that 1t was
impossible to hold the construction
company to the contract, and tn
: city might as well accept the pip,
limo in its present condition, rs Il
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