The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-01-25
Proposed Subcontractors Off,
 fer Lower Price for Com
 bined Job = Dickson Re-
 turns, from Montgomery,
 Where He Spent Yesterday ATLANTA FIRM CLAIMS ITS PROPOSAL LOWEST
Mrs. EChols Announces She
 Now Favors Reopening the Whole Auditorium Matter, Even Throwing Out Archi- tects' Bids If Necessary

Combination building enclosed" bids of the Virginia Bridge and Iron company, for steel work, and of Charles Hall, for brick and other work, are lower by approximately $10,000 than the $191,000 bid of D. E. Manasco, basis of the city commissions award of the contract for this portion of the auditorium construction to Manasco January 12, by four to one vote.
 This fact features first and ex- elusive announcement of bids sub mitted on the auditorium project at the invitation of the city commis- sion, which The Age-Herald is able to make to it's readers Thursday. Figures contained in bids held secret from the public by Commissioner w K. Dickson, in charge of the auditorium project, and obtained by The Age-Herald, prove conclusively that the bid of the Atlanta Con- struction company was approxi- mately $6,000 lower than that of Manasco, figuring on cost of the whole project.
 Commissioner Dickson returned from Montgomery Wednesday night.
 Dickson Denies Recheck
 Commissioner Dickson has denied to The Age Herald on several days of this week that the city commission has been engaged in rechecking the bids and has declared there is no ground for the statement that there were bids materially lower than that of Manasco, Unimpeachable informa- ton at the city hall however, was positively contradictory and the fig ures obtained by The Age Herald credit statements that a recheck has been in progress.
 Bid of Manasco for "building en- closed" was s191,0 Bid of. Charles Hall to whom Manasco incidentally proposes to sub-let the work or which Hall old, for building enclosed except steel frame" was $97,S60. Bid of Virginia Bridge and Iron com pany, Manaseo's proposed sub-con- tractor. for steel frame was sS3.933. IllG NiEE d lOldl Dlu Oli lnt stHe W Oi IL specified In Manascos bid $1S1.790, d difference of S9.210. The Age Herald is able to make this bid public in formation for tHe first time.
 Figures also showed that Manasco's bid did not include roof and cornice work, figured at s16,790, included in tbe bid of Atlanta Construction com raiay This would make the latter oompanys bid $6,140 lower than that Of Manasco, according to figures ob- tamed by The Age Herald.
 Did Not Know Requirements
 When called at his home Wednes- aay night, Commissioner Dickson said he had no Knowledge of the fact that combination bids of the Virginia Bridge and Iron company and Charles Hall were approximately lower than the S191.000 bid by Man asco. He pointed out that the bid of the Virginia Bridge and Iron company was based on number of tons contained in the structure, and he said he did not know how much this would be. He admitted, how ever. when questioned that the ar chitect had estimated the amount of steel in the structure at 763 tons. He said he did not know that this figure had been verified by the en- gineer who first checked the steel work.
 When asked if original specified tions did not call for 763 tons of steel, Commissioner Dickson said he ' had not read the specifications and did not know. He said there had been no attempt to combine the bids of the Virginia Bridge and Iron com pany and Charles Hall, since on the haf " Sn indafiuita a
 Continued on Page Sixteen.)