Evening star., 1933-10-30
Sabine Protests to Controller
General, Says Bid Was
Own, Not Company's.
CASE FIRST TO TEST
N. R. A. RULES LEGALITY
Court Issues Restrainer Against
Rejection of Contract by Firm
for U. 5. Building.

The fight between Henry Ford and
the administration over the failure of
the motor company to sign the N. R.
A. code has been dropped on Controller
General McCarl's doorstep, 1t was
learned today.
Protesting against the denial of par
ticipation in a contract for vehicles for
the Civilian Conservation Corps. r. P
Sabine. head of the Northwest Motors
Co., the Ford agency at Bethesda. has
written Controller Generaf McCarl de-
claring that the bid on which action
has been held up was his own rather
than the Ford Motor Co.'S and that
his concern is operating under the N
R. A. CODE
Sabine said he had filed protests with
the Secretaries of Agriculture and Com
merce when he learned that his low bids
had been set aside in favor of those OF
another company. Copies of the pro-
tests were sent to the controller gen.
erals Office, he said.
Bid Made Privately.
"I submitted the bids as a private
dealer. not as a representative of the
Ford Motor Co." Sabine said. Il am
operating under an N. r. A. agreement
and do not feel that should be pen
allied because of any disagreement be-
tween Ford and the Recovery Admin
iStration."
Sabine said he filed his protests last
week when he learned through unof-
fetal channels that his bids would be
rejected in favor of higher bids from a
dealer handling cars of another make.
He declined to make public the texts
of his protests, explaining that he re-
garded them as confidential business
communications to the Government. He
said that he didn't feel that he should
try the case in the newspapers" but
that he was just doing what he could
to protect his rights as business man.
In conformity with custom when a
case is pending. McCarl's Office refused
to comment today. Under customary
procedure, a complaint of this nature
would go to the department concerned
in this instance the Department of
Agriculture-before the controller gen
eral began his study leading up to a
decision
Case First of Its Kind.
The case is the first brought before
the controller general involving the
legality of the executive order providing
that any contractor doing business with
the Government must operate under a
code.
The law under which Government
contracts are let provides they must 90
20 the lowest responsible bidder, and
this case the controller general will be
called upon to determine if this law
running counter to the executive order
which is based on the recovery act still
holds good
Meanwhile another case Of conflict
between the Government and a private
firm over the N. R. A. code came to
light when a New York construction
firm today enlisted the aid of the Dis
trict Supreme Court in temporarily re-
Straining the Secretary of the Treasury
from refusing to award it public works
contract on the theory they have not
properly complied with N. r. A. re-
quirements
Restrainer Is Issued.
The construction firm, the George
F. Driscoll Co. of Brooklyn, N Y,
filed a petition asking for an injunc-
ton, and Justice F. D. Let's issued a
temporary restraining order which will
prevent Secretary of the Treasury
Woodin from awarding the contract in
question to any other firm until after
a hearing in court on November 3.
The Driscoll Co. says it was asked
to bid on proposed post Office annex
in New York City last February %
On September 18. the suit says, Secre-
tary Woodin called for additional bids
the specifications at that time requir-
ing that bidders comply with N. R. A.
provisions for the signing of code OF
(Coptipuod m pooa o CoI,,,,o o.