| Show IN A TANGLE The Joint Building Subcontractors Throw up the Job Messrs Houlehau Grlfiiths Morris Insist In-sist That Their Claims Be Settled Before Proceeding Jburther The affairs of the city and county building build-ing are getting into a fine tangle owing it seems to certain differences which have arisen between J H Bowman the contractor con-tractor and Houlahan Griffiths Morris the principal subcontractors The joint committee held a lone session yesterday afternoon to straighten the matter out but failed and the upshot was that the subcontractors gave notice that they would not go ahead with the work and virtually threw up the job 1 Mr Bowman has been paid for the work as it progressed the city and county retaining re-taining 10 per cent and he in turn paid the subcontractors the payments being made on estimates of the architects as to the amount of work done Mr Griffiths claimed yesterday that there was something some-thing like 9000 worth of work done for which his firm had not been paid Mr Bowman however insisted that there was not more than 4000 due the subcontractors sub-contractors and offered to submit the matter on an examination of the building and the estimate arrived at from such examination ex-amination The parties could not be reconciled on this point butMr Griffiths announced that if the matter could be so arranged as to insure the payment of money due them as work progressed in the future and securing also the sum in controversy whatever it might be they I would go ahead Bowman met this by giving the subcontractors I sub-contractors an order on the committee for any sums that might be due them as the work progressed This of course would take the payment out of the hands of the contractor altogether and was considered a very fair proposition but Mr Griffiths did not think it secured him for the sum in controversy J and a longdiscussion followed Mayor Baskin explained to the subcontractors I I sub-contractors that such an order would insure in-sure the prompt payment of everything that might be due them in the future and as the city and county retained 10 percent per-cent from Mr Bowman which would amount to something like 40000 when the building was finished they would be reasonably sure of getting the sum in controversy from that I The contractor conceded to Mr Grif fiths everything possible but the latter finally concluded that nothing but the payment of the sum involved would answer and that being flatly refused he announced that he would not go on with the work and with Mr Morris withdrew from the room Mr Bowman then stated that he would have to relet the contract and the business busi-ness was proceeded with In order to expedite ex-pedite the work the contractor asked that the committee hereafter make the payments to employees and material men direct and this was practically agreed to Judge Loof bourow aud Selectman Morris being appointed as a committee to arrange ar-range the details and report at another meeting to be held early next week A claim of 4200 for the granite columns col-umns which were ordered when the plans were changed was allowed as a suit had been commenced against the contractor for that amount |
