Mayor Hunt's Foundry Work Tests Public Contract Law
A local newspaper argues that the Mayor’s use of his private foundry for city contract work is a violation of the law, even if it is efficient.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The fact that work for the city and for the school district is given to Mayor Hunt’s foundry by contractors does not alter the illegality of the acceptance of such work, for the law says that no public official shall directly or indirectly benefit from any contract with the city or the school district that he serves. The supreme court has held that the fact that such work is done by a corporation of which the official is a member does not take it out of the scope of the law and a more recent decision says that necessity is no excuse for the violation of the law. Therefore, it is plain that the only way in which the people of this city can continue to give public work to the Gilbert Hunt company without placing the mayor in the position of violating the law is to elect the other man mayor and then give Mr. Hunt all the city work that comes in his line. Under the present conditions the mayor places himself under the suspicion of having an understanding with contractors for public work before contracts are awarded.
“The fact that such work is done by a corporation of which the official is a member does not take it out of the scope of the law and a more recent decision says that necessity is no excuse for the violation of the law.”
This 1903 conflict over potential conflicts of interest in municipal contracting remains a staple of local civic discourse, illustrating how municipal procurement remains a sensitive intersection of public duty and private enterprise.
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