Thurston County’s $3,985 Court House Contract Went to a New York Firm
Commissioners signed off on metal vault furniture for the new county courthouse, trimming the order from $5,000 and choosing a Rochester manufacturer after inspecting competing bids in Seattle and Tacoma.
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 contract for furnishing the metal vault furniture of the new county court house was signed yesterday afternoon by the county commissioners. The noted Office Specialty Manufacturing Company of Rochester, New York, with branch offices in San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia and other cities, received the contract in competition with several other manufacturing concerns in the same line of business. This firm furnished the new Snohomish county court house about a year ago, and has also been awarded the contract for furnishing the new Island county court house. The contract was for $3,985. The board reduced the amount of furniture needed from $5,000 to the above figure. It is believed the board did well for the interests of the taxpayers of the county. The members took a trip to Seattle and Tacoma to look at the material of the various competing firms in those cities and after careful investigation unanimously decided that the Office Specialty goods were the best. The contract for the office wood furniture was not awarded; the board having concluded to make a schedule of what was wanted in that line, invite bids from the competing firms which had already tendered bids, and award the contract at the February meeting.
“It is believed the board did well for the interests of the taxpayers of the county.”
Public procurement was a live issue in 1891, when commissioners trimmed the order and sent a delegation to inspect competitors in Seattle and Tacoma. The same questions—local preference, outside expertise, and whether taxpayers get value—still follow every public building contract in Olympia.
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