New-York tribune., 1922-04-26
Transit Board
Calls for New
Subway Bids
Commission Decides to Re-
advertise 18th Street
Eastern District Contract
i'll Effort to Speed Work
Mayors Tactics Scored
McAneny and Hardness Put
Blame for Wasted Time
and Money on Aldermen

The Transit Commission voted unani-
mously yesterday to readvertise the
plds for the construction Of the Four
teenth Street-Eastern District section
OF the new subway which the Board Of
estimate on Monday refused to ap-
prove
lhese arc the contracts covering a
section Of new subway construction de-
signed to relieve the congestion at
Canal and Fourteenth streets, about
the worst places on any OF the subways
governor Miller said last weea in an
address to the Fifth Avenue Assocta-
ton that if the Board of Estimate per
sisted IN obstructing the compile etion Of
TINS work drastic action might be re
CURED 70 bring relief. This meant re-
movai from Office Of the Mayor and the
Comptroller. in the judgment Of those
VINO heard the address and know the
issues involved.
Although the action of the Board OF
Estimate is in many respects amazing,
| take Il that the commission is not
prepared TO iOse day in readvcrtising
th"se contracts. upcn the theory that
they are. in fact. to be returned to It,"
laid Chairman McAneny at the meet
ing Of the mmssion yesterday.
Commissioner IHIEness, IN moving
for readvertjsine. said
The Board of Estimate finally has
been forced to act. believe it has
acted unwiseiy. Nevertheless. action is
what IS wanted If the Board Of EST
mate insists on further delay in sub
way construction to save a few dollars
by rcadyertising and lose many dol
lars in interest charges, the responsl-
blHty belongs to it, Our proper course
seems to me to be plain, namely,
promptly to readvertise these contracts
so as TO remove any further oppor-
tunity FOR quibbling, and then force
the Board of Estimate to act a'irma-
lively instead Of negatively
The thing Of immediate Importance
is 20 hasten in every possible way the
completion of this work. said Chair
man McAneny. Fairness to the people
Of the Eastern District and TO the peo-
pie who are crowded and iammed at
the Canal Street station also demands
that.
"The BOARD Of Estimate has held
these so-called key contracts for many
months without word Of explanation
10 the commission, The statements at
trbuted to the Mayor and the Comp
troller at yesterdays session, to the
effect that these contracts were re
jccted and Sent back in August, form
pdiI VI tHc uiIlaHluS SUE VI IL, -NOI
one of them had been rejected by the
board at any time prior to yesterday,
Three Of the lot on August 2 failed
Of passage for lack of sufficient votes,
though d ma jority OF the votes was not
cast against any one of them. These
remained subject to completion of
action at any time the board had chosen
TO act. The rest were held until Feb
ruary and then, after nine months of
silence, were referred back to the
commission without comment, Not a
word vas said about readvertising
which. in the case of the work imme
diately in question, would have been q
bit of economic foolishness then, just
as 1t is now.
$50 far as the work Of the commits
sion IS concerned, it means simply that
there will be at least six weeks or two
months more before even the manu-
facture of materials for the Fourteenth
Street tracks can be started. 50 far as
the BOARD of Estimate is concerned, it
means the charging up of one more
item on the bill of loss that has char