sheeting in a number of instances, it would force the walls in and the crossbracing made machine work impossible, so that the greater part had to be completed by hand labor. No allowance for sheeting was allowed except in one short space. In addition to anticipated excavating, a great amount of material slid or slipped into the ditch. In several places, in lieu of patching the pavement for which the contractor was paid, it was necessary for him at his own expense to replace whole sections of the sidewalk. Having encountered the numerous unavoidable delays enumerated above and exceeding the time limit due to the above conditions, the contractor in extending the number of working days allocated into January, February, and March encountered freezing weather and rain and although some men were on the job, at payroll costs, they were unable to accomplish any progress on the project. The joints were of asphalt compound and, as they had to be poured at boiling point, freezing weather would not permit the laying of pipe due to the fact that the joints could not be sealed under freezing-weather conditions. One fair day during the contract time is equal to many days during the rainy and freezing season. A copy of the weather report is herewith attached. We feel that consideration should be given due to the fact of the labor situation which developed during the contract time. When construction was practically completed and preliminary inspections were being made by the field representatives of the Architect Engineer, it became a custom of these field engineers to traverse the sewer line, removing manhole covers and leaving the manholes uncovered. School children would throw debris of all descriptions into these manholes. Complaint would be made by the engineer's representatives to our foreman of this condition. In response to the complaint we placed a number of men in the outfall line to crawl on their knees and scoop up the debris in sacks, and in this manner clean the lines. Such leaving of manholes uncovered occurred no less than a half dozen times. The expense of performing this cleaning work was necessitated by the indifference of the engineer's representatives and their failure to cooperate with the contractor in keeping manhole covers in place. The above accounts for some of the excess man-hours consumed and for which we are penalized, though an exact estimate thereof is not feasible. A number of men were employed who could have been at work prosecuting the job to completion in cleaning out that portion of the line which had been completed in preparation for final inspection and acceptance of that portion, or about half, of the line already completed, but when same was made ready, the contractor was notified that he would have to await the completion of the whole line and necessarily had to rework that portion which had been completed. This consumed many man-hours. The regional Atlanta office has also penalized or assessed the project with $4,000 for excess infiltration. The architect-engineer had on file a report from the Pittsburgh testing laboratories of Birmingham, Ala., that the amount of infiltration was not excessive. The architect-engineer had made the statement that as far as the line as a whole was concerned the infiltration was of no serious or damaging consequence, and that his recommendation was a minimum of $500 or a maximum of $1,000. However, the regional director has assessed a penalty of $4,000. At the time that the final settlement was made, $37,000 was being withheld on which interest was running against the contractor and in order to effect a settlement, the contractor agreed to the settlement of $4,000 in order to receive the payment of $25,000 moneys due on work performed which were being held for several months. The contractor feels that this penalty was not justified and is excessive and prays for relief from this penalty. It was agreed to under duress of the attendant circumstances. We feel that we have been unjustly penalized for de ays utterly unexpected and beyond our control. The Government got a good, serviceable sewer that has now served nearly a year without interruption or complaint. We lost some $41,805 on this contract in out-of-pocket cash. We respectfully request that the superadded penalties of $13,700 be abated. The contractor also respectfully calls your attention to the fact that he has suffered on account of these unforeseen and undetermined delays a loss of $41,805 in actual money value and for which he feels he has a justified claim against the project but for which he has not asked or filed a claim of any description, and therefore feels that the abatement or forgiveness of liquidated damages and penalties would, in a measure, alleviate some of the unduly and unwarranted expenses that the contractor has incurred in prosecuting the above project to its conclusion. We respectfully ask your consideration of the difficulties encountered and that you take into consideration the urgency of the project, the manner in which it was negotiated, the critical labor situation as designated in the Anniston area, and prayerfully ask that any and all liquidated damages be abated or forgiven. SOUTHERN BITUMEN Co. C. E. EDGE, President. 79TH CONGRESS 1st Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES S REPORT No. 199 REIMBURSING CERTAIN NAVY PERSONNEL FOR PERSONAL PROPERTY LOST OR DAMAGED AS THE RESULT OF A FIRE AT THE NAVAL AUXILIARY AIR FACILITY, ASTORIA, OREG., ON APRIL 2, 1944 FEBRUARY 22, 1945.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. CHENOWETH, from the Committee on Claims, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 778] The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 778) to reimburse certain Navy personnel for personal property lost or damaged as the result of a fire at the naval auxiliary air facility, Astoria, Oreg., on April 2, 1944, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to appropriate the sum of not to exceed $780 to certain naval personnel for the loss of personal property as the result of a fire at the naval auxiliary air facility at Astoria, Oreg., on April 2, 1944. Payment under this act is to be made under the regulations set up by the Secretary of the Navy. The proposed legislation was submitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives by the Secretary of the Navy. Your committee has carefully considered this bill and recommend favorable consideration. Appended hereto is a letter from the Secretary of the Navy. Hon. SAM RAYBURN, Speaker of the House of Representatives. NAVY DEPARTMENT, MY DEAR MR. SPEAKER: There is transmitted herewith a draft of a proposed bill to reimburse certain Navy personnel for personal property lost or damaged as the result of a fire at the naval auxiliary air facility, Astoria, Oreg., on April 2, 1944. The purpose of this proposed bill is to authorize and direct the Secretary of the Treasury to pay out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $780, or such portion thereof as may be necessary to reimburse certain Navy personnel for the value of personal property lost or damaged as the result of a fire at the naval auxiliary air facility, Astoria, Oreg., on April 2, 1944. The fire originated in the southwest corner of hangar No. 2, which was being used as a store room. The cause of the fire has not been definitely determined, although of accidental origin. A number of officers and enlisted men were required by their official orders to sleep in the hangar and the articles of clothing and other personal property were stored in lockers in said hangar, which articles were destroyed in the fire in question. The Navy Department is of the opinion that provision should be made for the payment of these claims as the claimants were occupying the building under orders of the Navy Department and the loss of and damage to their property occurred without fault or negligence on their part. The The claims were examined by the Navy Department Claims Board, which board has found the value of the property lost and damaged to be $780. claimants and the amounts of their claims are shown on the enclosed list, marked "Exhibit A.” There is no other authority of law by virtue of which the claims may be adjusted. The additional cost to the Government should this proposed legislation be enacted would not exceed $780. The Navy Department recommends that the proposed legislation be enacted. The Navy Department has been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there would be no objection to the submission of this legislation to the Congress. Respectfully, RALPH A. BARD, Acting Secretary of the Navy, O MURRAY B. LATIMER February 22, 1945.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. SCRIVNER, from the Committee on Claims, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H, R. 787] The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 787) for the relief of Murray B. Latimer, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill, as amended, do pass. The amendment is as follows: At the end of the bill strike out the period and insert: Provided, That no part of the amount appropriated in this Act in excess of 10 per centum thereof shall be paid or delivered to or received by any agent or attorney on account of services rendered in connection with this claim, and the same shall be unlawful, any contract to the contrary notwithstanding. Any person violating the provisions of this Act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding $1,000. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to appropriate the sum of $884.91 to Murray B. Latimer, of Hobbs, N. Mex., in full settlement of all claims against the United States on account of the destruction by fire of household goods, clothing, and other personal property while in transit from Roswell, N. Mex., to Fort Sumner, N. Mex. The said Murray B. Latimer, an aircraft sheet-metal worker employed by the War Department, was transferred on September 24, 1942, from the Roswell Army Flying School to the Fort Sumner subdepot. STATEMENT OF FACTS It appears that on September 28, 1942, Murray B. Latimer, of Hobbs, N. Mex., a civilian employee of the War Department, was moving, pursuant to an official change of station, from the Roswell Army Air Field, Roswell, N. Mex., to Fort Sumner, N. Mex. Mr. Latimer's household goods were turned over to the quartermaster H. Repts., 79-1, vol. 1-74 |