La Grande evening observer., January 27, 1915, Image 2

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2?, 1915,
Paue two
. LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER
" ' ' """r r""' ' : 1
THE FORUM
Where Every One Has His Say,
r
"LEST WE FORGET."
hands of the company, without com- tem. A local contractor can not bid
on . the excavation because unable to
. La Grande, Ore., Jan. 27, 1915. petition, and at twice what the work
, Editor Observer: It is now over is reasonably worth, and with your
two year since the high-handed pro-' permission I will outline through your
ceedtng was ahd in the City Council paper the queer procedure by which
of La Grande resulting in a contract this is done.
wit, the Warren Construction com- j Several years ago. our city was ripe
pany at twice what it was worth for for paved streets, at least in the busi
fhe paving of upper Fourth street, ness part , of town, and our citizens
Many , people, have forgotten the cir-'were public spirited enough to de
eumstances under which a number .of .mand that the principal streets be
.contracts were let at that time and paved. This fact having been pub
the fight that was made by the writer jigjiedi several paving companies
and oUters to protect the citizens and sought apportunity to get contracts
taxpayers of La Grande from being for tne worjj'( i,ut tne city officials de
mulcted out of money by these shady j tcrmined that they would not put
contracts. .At the : controversy on rtown anvthinir but "Bitulithic" Dave-
upper Fourth street has now reached ment anj caned for bids on this , 500 feet A reasonable price would
the Circuit Court for the third time, I particular brand. What is there in have been 35 cents Per yard nd 50
and some of the people of La Grande this hh-soundine- name that makes cents Per yard would have been ex-
imagine that the ' controversy is be- it Rm.n BO aweet The iword bitu- jtravagant Yet nobody else could
lithic is a combination of two words b'd nder tne specifications ami the
which mean bitumen and rock. This advertisement except the Warren Con-
and do not understand that the real ame js patented by Warren Brother, "truction company.
controversy is between the Warren ,,. , -.i-:- that thev could patent I -Las spring a local company prc-
Construction company on the one side reither the rock nor the asphalt, both people are getting, and at the same
bid on the paving.
Recently the City Council, after one
week's advertisement, let a contract
I to., the Warren Construction Company
to grade and pave O. avenue from
First to Fourth. This required a
couple of thousand yards of earth to
be excavated from the top of the hill
and filled in at the bottom of the
hill. The contract price for this was
80 cents for excavation and 70 cens
for filling, making $1.60 a cubic yard
for moving this earth -from 100 .to
tween the city as such and the prop
erty owners on upper Fourth street,
and the city of La Grande, represented
by tine property' owners on upper
Fourth street, on the other, I desire
to republish an article which appeared
in the Evening Observer on November
IS, 1912, in order that the people of
La Grande may understand the real rcertain sizes
situation, and not misunderstand the
motives of the good citizens of La
.Grande who have made and are mak
ing this fight:
La Grande, Ore., Nov. 15, 1912.
To the Editor; In last night's Ob
server I noticed that the City Council
had overruled all objections and pro
testa to the proposed improvement of
Fourth street from O avenue to C
street, and directed the City Recorder
to advertise for .bids for one week.
At which time they will let the con
tract to the Warren Construction com
pany for $1,471 per square yard, for
their so-called, Gravel Bitulithic pave
ment, and at any price that company
may name for. excavation, filling and
curbing. ,
I am most heartily opposed to the
system by wWch our city government
is playing all its contracts into the
of which nature furnishes in abundant lower price than Warren
quantities. All modern high-class !nted a bid for paving at a very
pavements include these materials, I yme J; Hill & Companyof Ch.ca
but the Warren Brothers letters patent i S and Spokane, one of the largest
provide that the rock shall be crushed most responsible paving com
..!! if n . ,o-l, .,. of ,Pames of America, had an agent here
r- . , . . .... ,., ... ...
It is plain that if the!,1"""" w
its bid and the
TWO SIDES
to a Senior Member
ship in the
Y. M. C. A.
of La Grande, Ore.
YOU GIVE
$5.00
and your influence
as a good live booster.
That helps nicely.
You Receive
1. The privileges of a sen
ior member in Lobby,
Swimming Pool, Gymnas
ium, and Social Room, un
til Sept. 1, 1915.
2. The satisfaction that
you are helping to open one
of La Grande's biggest and
best buildings.
3. The satisfaction that
you make up one of many
who by supporting the As
sociation make it possible
for Grade school boys to be
admitted until Sept. 1st for
only $2.00 and High school
boys for $3.00.
4. The satisfaction that
the " other cities of the
Northwest which are wait
ing to see what we do will
say, "La Grande is still ou
top." I
,,, f liftu mBr mesh, than company withdrew
ii..j i. fK. w.n;J- Hill Company refused to file
null uiwvuircw . . - ) , ,
Brothers' patent there would be noj-
conflict and the city of La Grande or Leave out word . ..Bithulithlc., ,
any other private company cou d lay . & from , p, . Hffl
a pavement, chemically identical with d fa which
the pavement laid in La Grande, with-j rf u
out in any way infringing upon War-, , ,
ren Brothers' patent. But when . the L than 2fi ft .f
city authorities prescribe . in their
specifications a name patented by ulithic out of tneil. specifications,
Warren Brothers, no other company thftt they woul(1 not infringe on
can bid without coming in conflict I tne patent 0f the Warren Brothers by
with that patent For this reason the jbidding He gays that he woul, put
Warren Construction Company always dQWn a pavement containing "ex
strive to make its first . "deal ' with Bctly the mineral ieret)ients
a city so tnat tne name Diumimc but the crushed rock entering into it
will appear in xne specincuuonn on '
which oids are caueu. mis navm , . . h . .
vation, without any additional charge
for a haul of 1600 feet, a quarter of
a mile is 1320 feet Compare this
with waht we are paying. Besides,
in Moscow the contractors have to
haul their rock 16 miles. These same
contractors would be glad to dupli
cate these prices in La Grande, if
that patented word "Bithulithic1' in
the specifications,. Which perpetrates
upon us an inferior pavement at a
fancy pricefaccompanied by the other
abuses always attending public con
tracts where there is no competition.
Tiie J)olarway Paving Company is
now doing work in the principal cit-
,ies of the United States. Ann Arbor,
Michigan, was the first city to adopt
this pavement. It consists of a bitu
menous surface on a concrete base,
but the bitumenous surface is not
so thick, as the sheet asphalt The
principal : thoroughfares of . Central
Park in New York City are now-being
paved with Dolarway. This pave
ment is not patented and under favor
able conditions costs about $1.00 a
yard. It would probably cost in La
Grande about ? 1.20 per yard. The
Dolarway Paving vCompany, with its
western office at 530 Central Build
ing, Seattle, would like to have the
privilege of bidding on our work.
There is no question but that his
pavement would be vastly superior
to the gravel Bithulithic now being
laid in La Grande, and like Burn's:
"Auld Brig," it would be a brig when
the new angled brig "is a shapeless
cairn." Why would it not be to the
public interest to open up this pub
lic work to honest competition? Why
are we not entitled to get the best
possible values for our public mon
eys?; Why should it be incumbent
upon our city government to compel
our property owners to pay 50 per
cent more to a favored company than
the work really is worth? How long,
O, how long will a suffering public
stand this public abuse of the trust
reposed in public officers? ;
Respectfully,
, TURNER OLIVER.
THIRD ma CASH SALE
SPECIAL FOR TWO DAYS
4 Buckle fArtics Heavy Rolled
Sole ; . ..... v -
1 Buckle Heavy Sole . . $1-25
THE TOGGERY
ANDREWS BROS.
Ure.
may recover from thecity officials
as individuals who pretended to en
ter into this contract, but I do not
anticipate that the Warren Construc
tion company will ever make such
demands upon their friends.
Respectfully,
TURNER OLIVER.
Five days after this article wns
published the City council met for the
purpose of opening the bid and let
ting a contract to the Warren Con
struction company for paving that
part of Fourth street from the south
line of 0 avenue to the north line of
C avenue. The council had advertised
a call for bids for five days for "grav
el bitulithic pavement; but it was
fully understood that there would be
only one bid and that this would be
at ?1.47 J per square yard, or more
than twice what it was worth. I ap
reared at the council meeting and filed
a written protest against letting the
contract without competition and rep
resented to the council that the pav
ing could not be done until the fol
lowing spring, and if they would re
frain from letting the contract until
Bad Cold Quiekly Broken Up.
' Mrs. Martha Wilcox, Gowanda, N.
jr., writes: I lrat nawi PiM
Iain's Cough hemejy aoout eight
years ago. At that time I had a hard
cold and coughed most of the ti,
It proved to be just what I needed?
It broke up the cold in a few days,
and the cough entirely disappeared. I
have told' many of my friends of the
good I -received through using thus
medicine, and all who have used it
speak of it in the highest terms."
Obtainable everywhere. Adv.
Stage or Car Fare Paid.
To students enrolling for the mid
winter term, paying four months tui
tion in advance . W:
lars.
BAKER BUSINESS COLLEGE.
W. P. KINOM, Prop.
Adv. . 12 26 e o d tf.
(Trite for particu-
FARM LOANS
Reasonable Rates
SECURITY LAND & SA VINGS
COMPANY
been accepted, competition is cut out,
and that company names any price it
Bees fit "Charge all the traffic twill
bear" without let or hindrance.
This would not
infringe any patient, and the Hill
company is laying it on crushed rock
foundations in Goldendale, Washing-
A paving engineer from Salt Lake) you jg river
City recently told me that the Warren ,crushe drock, which will cost on the
Brothers set aside, as an item of ex- i street more than twice as much as
pense, forty cents a square yard fori the river gravel, and is substantially
U not so large by a quarter of an J spring, that I could assure them that
crushed rock bitumen pavement ex
actly the same as that laid in the
business part of La Grande could be
hud at $1.25 per square yard. The
mayor and council listened to my
su.temcnts for a few minutes and
then the mayor informed me that 1
was out of order as this was a mat
ter that would have to be taken up
with the street committee, who would
what they "overhead expenses" (un-!the same material as used by thelhuve to consider the matter before
derground expense.) That is-
-the ex-1 Warren Construction Company on
Adams avenue. This is a fairly
good pavement where the traffic is
light, but if for any reason the sub
pense of securing contracts. That
they count on having to incur that
much expense before anything what
ever is done towards actually making way will become soft and wet, heavy
pavement on the street This in-1 traffic is likely to sink it into the
formation was given me by Mr. R. E. jfo" earth and it will become full of
Caldwell, the well known Suit Lakeiu" "nu low P'ces- unaouoieaiy
engineer. I cannot vouch for its cor- ithe best Pavement made has a con
rectnesvbecau.se I have not personally icicte base- which hardens like rock,
,had any experience with this line of , no !moullt 01 or heavy
work. Bitulithic pavement is com- j lol")s wi bend or break it. A siir
posed of rock and bitumen, of which ,fa may then be put on of bitumen,
about 90 per cent is stone and 10 per:mixc1 ''lth Powdered stone, making
cent asphalt The stone is found in jthe pavement
abundant quantities adjoining the city j Th clty f Moscow, Idaho, recent
Of La Grande, and costs nothing but Iv let a contract to the Bird- Men
the getting out. It is probable that ile"ha" Construction Company of Salt
the river gravel now used costs in Lake City, to pave the principal street
hauling and handling from 50 to f,0jOf tht town. This contract calls for
cents a cubic yard, and each cubic concrete base five inches thick,
yard will lay 7 or 8 yards of pave-j madt! of crushed rock and cement
ment The asphult costs from $17.50 mixed dry, in' proportion of one bar
to $22.50 a ton, and it simply has to1'01 of cement for each cubic yard of
J be melted, mixed and laid. It is -""'" -p " fia ls a one
' safe to say. that the mnterial which )inch binder course, made of a bitum-
makes up each yard of pavement docs ! onous mixture, and a two inch as-
not cost to exceed 20 cents in LaiPhult top, making the pavement? 8
Grande. It am not prepared to say "icnes cnicn, m wnicn tne lower &
how much the labor going into each ;"- ' nara ana compact as bas
yard would cost, but probably not to
exceed 15 cents a yard, yet this is
costing the people $1,474 a yard
salt itself, and all this for $1.78 per
square yard. Think of it, and then
compare with what we got But tho
n i .1.. ur : ramranor also aerees to DUt in
, . . . . 'curbing at 37 cents per running foot
Company has a cinch on all contracts; .... . . . .
. . lU ... , the curbing to contain at least one
first, .because they succeed ,n work-; barre, of fw each
,lnJ SpfC'flCat'0,1f the Wrl f concrete, an inch thicker than is
B.thuKhc and. second because our bein? t dwn , u Gran(J ,
City Council has insisted on letting L...; . u , ,.
... , " timrgc mr cun'TO lines.
. t?uM-ure cuiitrnvta un Mmn pieces oltTl... rtA..f..n i . ,
! work, which nrcvent anv F m.f.iH Jlhe contractor, also agree to charge
company from bidding, because such
J outside company could not afford to
' bring a paving plant here for a few
i
l
blocks of pavement But when the
city lets a contract to pave a street
J it also leta a contract to the same
J people for putting in curbing, for ex
i cavating and filling, and herein lies
: the worst abuse of the present sys-
H7 cents per cubic yard for street
excavations, and will place the earth
removed from excavations any where
on the street as directed by the Street
Superintendent within 1000 feet of
the excavations. Under this con
tract there is no extra charge for
filling, but the street superintendent
direct$the fill to be made out of the
same earth removed from the exca-
the council could act . upon it. The
bid was opened and referred to the
street committee, and on motion the
council adjourned for five minutes.
The representative of the Warren
Construction company handed a pa
per to the street committee who
promptly signed the same; the mayor
called the council to order, and the
report "of the street committee was
read recommending that the bid of
the Warren Construction company be
accepted and a contract be .entered
i:ito . I demanded a hearing, but the
mayor informed me that I was. too
lute because the street committee had
already acted. The report of the
committee was then adopted, and the
representative of the Warren Con
struction company handed another
document to the Recorder, who read
the same, it being an ordinance ac
cepting the bid of the Warren Con
struction company, and directing the
r:ayor and recorder to enter into con
tract This ordinance was read first,
second and third times .and declared
passed. Thereupon the representa
tive of the Warren Construction corn
puny handed a prepared contract to
the mayor for his signature. Thus
the wholo "cut-and-drsd" program
carried out. I was not given a hear
ing, and as I left tho council cham
ber the mayor and members of the
council joined with the Wan en Con
struction company's representative in
giving me a hearty "horse laugh". I
turned upon them and said: "Gentle
men, who laughs last, laughs best.
You will see me again at Phillipi."
I have endeavored to keep my word
and shall until this whole rotten busi
ness is declared void. The editor of
the Observer was present when this
proceeding was had and can vouch
for the truth of what I have said.
This high-handed proceedings was
ir. direct violation of the express pro
visions of the City Charter, and the
contract was of no force and was
void, both as against the City and cs
against the property owners long up
per Fourth street, and I predict that
the only money which the Warren
Construction company will ever get
for this work will be such as they
La Grande, Oregon
Big Ben
the clock you've read
so much about in the
magazines, arrived in
our store yesterday with
23 brothers.
Triey're !he finest alarm
clocks we've ever laid eyes
on. They're built right
and right from the ground
up. We're practical clock
men and we Know.
.
They'll be in our window
for the rest of the week and
we wish you'd come in and
look them over.
G. S. BIRNIE
ELECTRIC LIGHTS WERE INVENTED TO SUPPLY
A NECESSITY. ALL OTHER METHODS OF CREAT
ING ARTIFICIAL light were unsatisfactory. Candles
wer dim and unreliable; gas, dirty and dangerous; kero
sent, dull, smoky, odorous and also dangerous to health
and property. When elctric lights were introduced there
.was but one drawback. They cost considerably more than
other lights. This objection has been overcome and elec
trie lights are now the most economical as well as the
most satisfactory light.
Eastern Oregon Light & Power Co.
Telephone Main 34
; ; . ,
ff
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