it is impracticable to exclude during construction, will be paid for under separate items and is not included in the prices to be bid for tunnel excavation and masonry. Furthermore, in the case of grouting, owing to the uncertainty as to the quantity, distribution, and conditions of placing the grout, to the special character of the machinery required, and to the great importance of this work, the machinery and materials and the various necessary operations will be paid for under separate items. The rigid requirements of the specifications relating to the selection and consolidation of materials for refills and embankments, to the care of the reservoir bottom, to the mixing and placing of concrete both in the tunnels and reservoir, to the grouting in the tunnels and to other operations which require special care to assure safe, efficient and water-tight structures, are called to the attention of intending bidders, particularly those who have not had personal experience in waterworks construction, and who, consequently, are liable to make insufficient allowance for the character of work necessary. The sanitary regulations and the provisions relating thereto are particularly called to the attention of intending bidders. For the convenience of intending bidders, the lines and limits of the proposed work have been marked upon the ground with sufficient clearness to enable a person to find them readily. Conspicuous signs have been placed at the shaft sites. The country in the vicinity of the proposed reservoir has been explored for sand and stone suitable for reservoir construction, and it is believed that such materials can be found within a reasonable distance of the reservoir site. No guaranty is given, however, that such material will be accepted for construction purposes. Several test pits have been excavated on the reservoir site, most of which have been carried down to the elevation of the bottom of the reservoir masonry. These test pits have been left open and may be inspected. The subsurface investigations have been made with reasonable care, substantially at the places indicated on the drawings, and carried to the depths thereon recorded. The difficulty encountered in excavating the test pits indicates that blasting may be required in order to excavate the materials by machinery. Each bidder must form his own opinion of the character of the material to be excavated from an inspection of the ground and by his own interpretation of the test pits made by The City and from any other investigation which he may desire to make. Core borings have been made on or near the lines of the Yonkers siphon and Van Cortlandt siphon. Records of these borings may be seen at the office of the Engineer, at White Plains, New York. The public water supply of the City of Yonkers supplies the neighborhood of Hill View reservoir, and water mains are now laid in McLean and Kimball avenues. The work must be prosecuted in such a manner that these water mains are not interfered with nor the supply interrupted at any time. The Bronx Valley relief sewer, a tunnel about 6 feet in diameter now under construction, crosses the line of the Van Cortlandt siphon within the limits of this contract, at the elevation of about + 30. It will be necessary to conduct the work on the Van Cortlandt siphon in this vicinity so as to avoid any damage to the sewer. Statement of Quantities. The following is a statement, based upon the estimate of the Engineer, of the quantities of the various classes of work, and of the nature and extent, as near as practicable, of the work required; the several bids will be computed, tested and canvassed by the quantities and kinds of work mentioned in this statement, viz.: Item 50. Item 51. 60,000 cubic yards 75,000 cubic yards 500 cubic yards 1,000 linear feet 100 cubic yards 1,000 cubic yards 20,000 cubic yards 27,000 cubic yards 7,000 cubic yards 40,000 square yards 2,000 cubic yards 70 tons 80,000 pounds Miscellaneous cast iron, wrought iron and steel... 900,000 pounds 35,000 pounds These quantities are approximate only, being given as a basis for the uniform comparison of bids, and the Board does not expressly or by implication agree that the actual amount of work will correspond therewith, but reserves the right to increase or decrease the quantity of any class or portion of the work, as may be deemed necessary by the Engineer. Bidders are required to submit their estimates upon the following express conditions, which shall apply to, and become part of every bid received, viz. : Bidders must satisfy themselves, by personal examination of the location of the proposed work, and by such other means as they may prefer, as to the actual conditions and requirements of the work and the accuracy of the foregoing estimate of the Engineer, and shall not, at any time after the submission of a bid, dispute or complain of such statement or estimate of the Engineer, nor assert that there was any misunderstanding in regard to the nature or amount of work to be done. Attention is called to the uncertainty in the quantities of many of the kinds of work involved in the construction of the shafts and tunnels, where such quantities depend upon the tightness, solidity, breakage and other qualities of the rock which cannot be determined in advance. The quantities of excavation, excess concrete masonry, steel roof support and timbering, pumping and grouting are especially subject to such uncertainty. Generally the intention has been to estimate all quan tities liberally. An increase or decrease in the quantity for any item shall not be regarded as a sufficient ground for an increase or decrease in the prices, nor in the time allowed for the completion of the work, except as provided in the contract. The excavation, masonry and other parts of the work have been divided into classes and items in order to enable the bidder to bid for the different portions of the work in accordance with his estimate of their costs, so that in the event of an increase or decrease in the quantities of any particular class of work, the actual quantities executed may be paid for at the price bid for that particular class of work. The attention of bidders is especially called to the provisions of Chapter 724 of the Laws of 1905, and acts amendatory thereof, as to the letting of contracts and payment for work; to "The Labor Law"; to the laws and regulations relating to mines, quarries and tunnels promulgated by the Commissioner of Labor of the State of New York, and to Sections 362 and 363, Chapter 410, Laws of 1882; to the "Public Health Law"; and Section 482, Chapter 466, Laws of 1901, as to the health laws. No bid will be allowed to be withdrawn, for any reason whatever, after it has been deposited with the Board of Water Supply. No bid will be accepted from, nor contract awarded to, any person who is in arrears to the Corporation of The City of New York, upon debt or contract; nor who is in default, as surety or otherwise, upon any obligation to the Corporation of The City of New York. Before the award of the contract, any bidder may be required to show that he has the necessary facilities, experience, ability, and financial resources to perform the work in a satisfactory manner and within the time stipulated, and that he has had experience in constructing works of the same or a similar nature. The Board reserves the right to select the bid or proposal, the acceptance of which will, in its judgment, best secure the efficient performance of the work, or to reject any or all bids. Proposals which are incomplete, conditional or obscure, or which contain additions not called for, erasures, alterations, or irregularities of any kind may be rejected as informal. Failure to name sureties will be sufficient cause for the rejection of a proposal. John A. Bensel Commissioners Charles N. Chadwick Board of Water Supply Office of the Board of Water Supply, 299 Broadway, New York. Dated, New York, May 15, 1909. CHAPTER XV PROPOSAL THE status, from the legal standpoint, of the Proposal should be clearly understood. The Proposal is an offer, and when this offer is accepted, the Proposal and acceptance together constitute a valid Contract to do the work, and also to execute the formal Contract and to give Bond. There are two parties; there is subject matter; there is consideration in that the bidder, on the one hand, and the City, the Company, or the Owner on the other, are each bound to the other; both parties have agreed to the same thing. What the bidder, the Contractor, has agreed to, primarily, is to do the work at the prices named, to sign the formal Contract, and to give Bond. The offer or Proposal resulting in the agreement as to each of these should be specific and not implied. If the Proposal suitably refers to the formal Contract and thus includes it, the Proposal and its acceptance constitute a Contract as valid and binding as the formal Contract when signed. There remains, however, the giving of the Bond, which in some cases is required by law and which in most cases is necessary to protect the City, the Company, or the Owner, in case the Contractor fails to fully carry out his Contract. If the Contractor will not sign the formal Contract and give Bond as he agreed to do, the sooner he is rid of the better. Nevertheless, in this case, he is liable for damages for breach of Contract, and in the absence of anything otherwise to fix these, the damages are measured by the loss sustained. This will be the difference between the bid accepted and the next higher bid, together with loss from delay, if any. In case of re-letting, the loss will include the difference between the former bid and the bid accepted at the re-letting, the loss from delay, and the expense involved in the re-letting. It is customary, however, to include in the Proposal what may be called a secondary or supplementary agreement by which the certified check shall be surrendered if the Contractor fails to sign the formal Contract and give Bond. It is not certain that the surrender of the certified check will relieve the Contractor from the payment of damages in excess of the |