Evening star., 1939-09-12
A. D. A. Asks Ruling
On Reviving Bid
Rejected byU U.S.H.A.
Ridge Rood Project
In Strange ToneIe os
Decision Is Reversed

NSSI9IOu - NSVCISCO
Whether a Government agency
can recall and accept low con-
struction bid after its formal rejec-
ton was question which hinges to-
day on an anticipated ruling Of
Controller General Fred H. Brown
in connection with a rejected con-
tract for the proposed housing prof.
ect of the Alley Dwelling Authority
on Ridge road Sc
The situation developed as re-
suit of an unexpected turn of events
in which the United States Housing
Authority after forcing the A. A. A..
to rejected the 81 100000 bid of John
McShain, Inc, of Baltimore. now
asks the local agency to rescind its
action. Questioning the legality of
such procedure, John Ihlder, ex-
ecutive officer of the A. D. A., an
nounced yesterday he had submitted
the question to the General Account
ing Office for an opinion.
Commenting on the surprising
action which the U. S. H. A. has
asked him to take. Mr.. Ihlder said:
THE result is situation that ap-
parently is without precedent
Seeks to Avoid Complication.
The Alley Dwelling Authority
would welcome the opportunity to
rescind its action, it was said, but in
all its experience with Government
contracting it has never before been
confronted with such a proposal
So long as there was doubt about the
legality involved. it resolved to act
cautiously and obtain an opinion to
avoid another possible complication.
If the controller general upholds
the desired action, the contract can
be accepted Immediately and con-
struction work should start in a
short while. On the other hand an
adverse opinion would cause at least
two more months of delay. BY then
winter will have set in before the
foundations are dug
The A. D. A. was required to re-
ject all bids for construction of the
project on September 6 when the
U. S. H. A. refused to approve the
recommendation on the ground that
the accepted bid was too high. On
the day following the letter of re-
lection sent to all bidders, the U. S.
H. A. reconsidered It asked the
Alley Dwelling Authority to rescind
its rejection and make the award
as originally recommended. No of
fetal explanation of this unexpected
request was made and it came to
light only yesterday.
Cited Rising Costs.
When the A. D. A. recommended
acceptance of the McShain bid, Mr..
Ihlder said. it called attention to the
fact that the costs of labor and ma
terials are rising and delay might
result in higher construction COSTS
In view of the European war and
rising prices in the United States,
1t was believed the U. S. H. A. def
nitely made up its mind that delay
OF about two months could result
only in considerably higher bids for
the Ridge road project. It's con-
sultants had agreed, it is under
stood, that 1t would require at least
six weeks to revise the specifications
and plans to meet the rigid require
ments of the Federal agency. Then
would follow another delay before
the bids could be advertised and
accepted.
The United States Housing Au-
thority had taken IL days to con-
slider the bids and make up it's mind
after they had been submitted from
the A. D. A. Even with the utmost
haste it was hardly likely that a
new contract could be awarded be-
fore November l.
Mr.. Ihlder contended yesterday
that the McShain bid, with a base
amount of 81 1850, ,000-subject to re-
vision downward-is considerably
below the statutory limit on costs
of dwellings financed by U. S. H. A.
Furthermore, he declared, it was
within the cost limits agreed upon
last spring between the two agencies.
Exceeded June Estimate.
However" he added, "the bid ex-
ceeds by approximately 10 per cent
the estimate made by the architects
in June, when the preliminary plans
were approved. The U. S. H. AS
rejection was largely based on the
excess of the bid over the estimate"
The question before the General
Accounting ONCE is an important
one, as it involves the established
procedure with relation to Govern
ment contracts. Ofncials questioned
did not know off-hand of any prece-
dent wherein a contract, once re-
jected, had been accepted.
Should the controller general rule
that the McShain contract must re-
main voided, the only alternative is
for the A. D. A. to revise specifica-
tions and readvertise for bids. The
Ridge road project is designed for
326 white families on a Government
owned tract at the intersection of
Ridge road and Anacostia road. It