sion, the Contractor shall either substitute therefor securities which shall be approved by the Commission as of the character aforesaid and as being of at least the value of the former securities to which the Commission shall have objected as such value was originally stated in the said schedule, or shall deposit with the Comptroller in cash the amount of such value of such former securities as so originally stated. In case the Contractor shall not within such ten (10) days or such further time, if any, as the Commission may grant substitute such new securities or make such deposit of cash, he shall, if the Commission so elect, be deemed to be in default in the performance of his obligation under this contract; and in addition to any and all other remedies against the Contractor or his sureties, the Commission may require the Comptroller to deduct from any moneys then due or which thereafter may become due to the Contractor under this contract, the amount of the original valuation of such securities objected to, and to hold such amount in lieu of such securities, as if part of the original deposit or as if deposited with the Comptroller aforesaid, and such amount shall in such case be deemed to be paid to the Contractor upon this contract. The securities so objected to shall upon such substitution of securities or deposit of cash in lieu thereof be returned to the Contractor. The City shall from time to time collect all interest, dividends or other profits or income on any securities deposited by the Contractor, and shall, when and as collected, pay the same to the Contractor. If the securities are in the form of coupon bonds the coupons as they respectively become due shall be delivered to the Contractor. If the deposit be made in cash, interest shall be paid to the Contractor at the average rate of interest received by the City on its bank balances during such period. Provided, however, that the Contractor shall not be entitled to interest, dividends or other profits or income on any securities the proceeds of which shall be used or applied as hereinafter provided.

Article XXIX. The said deposit, whether in cash or securities, in the form and as the same shall at any time be, shall be security for the faithful performance by the Contractor of all the covenants, conditions and requirements specified and provided for in this contract. In case of any default on the part of the Contractor in such performance, and in the further case that the City shall for or by reason of such failure, whether by reason of employment of another contractor or contractors or otherwise, incur or become liable for expense through such default as hereinafter provided, then the Comptroller shall forthwith pay or apply to the use of the City the amount of such expense out of the said deposit in cash or securities or out of the portion of the deposit remaining at the time.

Article XXX. The Comptroller shall, upon the requirement of the Commission, in order to make such payment or application to the use of the City, sell at public auction in the City of New York any of the securities which may then constitute part of such deposit upon notice to be published in three daily newspapers, the first publication to be not less than ten (10) days before the sale and such publication to be made three times within such ten (10) days. Any such sale shall be adjourned from time to time if requested by the Commission. The Comptroller shall, upon the requirement of the Commission, deduct from the proceeds of any such sale, all expenses thereof and of such advertisement, and pay and apply to the use of the City so much of the residue of such proceeds as may be necessary for the purpose aforesaid. And the Contractor within ten (10) days after notice from the Commission so to do shall (unless the time be extended by the Commission) by further deposit, according to the requirement of the Commission, of money or securities of the character aforesaid approved by the Commission restore the said

deposit with the Comptroller to the full amount originally required. In addition to, or in lieu of, the sale above provided for, the Commission may, in the name of and in behalf of the City, bring any appropriate suit or proceeding in any proper court to enforce the lien and claim of the City in and upon the said deposit, whether such deposit be in money or securities.

Some forms provide that a surety Bond shall be furnished instead of the certified check, and the following form has been used:

K.

PROPOSAL BOND

In consideration of the premises, and of One Dollar to us and each of us in hand paid by The City of.........., and of other good and valuable considerations, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged:

We, the undersigned, jointly and severally, consent and agree, that if the contract for which the preceding bid or proposal is made be awarded to the person or persons making the same, we will, upon its being so awarded, become bound as his or their or its sureties for the faithful performance of said contract; and if the said person or persons shall omit or refuse to execute such contract and give the proper security within ten days after written notice that the same is ready for execution, is so awarded, we will pay, without proof of notice or demand, to the City, any difference between the sum to which such person or persons would be entitled upon the completion of such contract, and the sum which the City may be obliged to pay to the person or persons to whom the contract shall be awarded at any subsequent letting; the amount in each case to be calculated upon the estimated quantities of work, labor and materials by which the bids are tested; provided, however, that the estimated amount under the subsequent letting be greater.

In Witness Whereof, we have hereunto set our hands, this..... ....one thousand nine hundred and.....

day of....

(Note. Each and every surety must sign below and state his place of business or residence.)

No seal is shown here; apparently reliance is placed, in this form, upon "One Dollar......and other good and valuable considerations" consideration of the agreement, while in the other forms reliance is placed upon the seal.

In the form above there appears to be no limit to the liability incurred by the sureties, and most surety companies would probably be at some loss as to what charges to make for furnishing such a Bond.

Another form somewhat similar in its general features provides in case of failure to sign the Contract and furnish Bond:

L. We bind ourselves, ......to pay......the sum of ........thousand dollars ($........) as liquidated damages to reimburse said Board for expenses or delays incurred in making another letting for the construction of, etc.......and we do further bind ourselves to pay to said Board, the difference, not exceeding . thousand dollars ($... .) between the amount of the accepted pro

posal of the undersigned bidder, and the amount for which said Board may procure and accept a bid or proposal from other parties to do said work, if the latter amount be in excess of the amount stated in the proposal of the undersigned bidder.

The criticism of both of the above is as to substance rather than as to form. Most Engineers and most Contractors would probably prefer that the Bond should cover a specific sum just as the certified check does, to be forfeited in case of failure on the part of the Contractor to sign the Contract and furnish the Contract Bond. The general practice is in harmony with this view.

If a Bond of this sort is to be furnished it may simply and properly be in the following form similar to that of the Contract Bond used by the Cambridge Bridge Commission, and that approved by the American Railway Engineering Association.

M.

PROPOSAL BOND

Know all Men by These Presents:

That the undersigned..

are held and bound unto the (name the Board or Company) in the sum of... ....dollars, lawful money of the United States of America, to be paid to the said... .its successors and assigns, to which payment the undersigned, jointly and severally, bind themselves, their heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns.

pany), if...

The condition of this obligation is such that in case the Proposal made by .Contractor for (briefly indicate the work), to be opened .A.D. 19.., shall be accepted by (name the Board or ComContractor shall sign the Contract and furnish the Contract Bond in all respects as provided and agreed in said Proposal, this obligation shall become of no effect; otherwise it shall continue in full force. Signed, sealed and delivered this.. Attest:

....day of....

.A.D. 19..

(SEAL)

CHAPTER XIX

SPECIFICATIONS

As has been stated previously, it is not always possible to draw a clear dividing line between Contract provisions and Specifications. It has also been stated that the Specifications are sometimes bodily included within the limits of the Contract, and are sometimes contained in a contemporary document which by express provision is made a part of the Contract, as the plans, in their turn, are made a part of the Contract or of the Specifications.

Strictly, as to form, the Contract should be an agreement and the Specifications not. The latter should specify qualities of materials, methods, and processes, and the quality or condition of any resulting structure. In form, the Specifications should state that a certain material shall have specified qualities, and not that the Contractor shall furnish such material of specified qualities; or that a process shall be carried out in a certain way or under certain conditions rather than that the Contractor shall conduct the process in this particular way; or it should provide that the structure shall have specified qualities. The form, however, is less important than the substance.

For a general statement the Contract should cover an agreement to do work, and the Specifications should apply to a particular class of work as well as to the particular work in hand. Practically it is often difficult not to overrun the theoretical line between the two on one side or the other. Clearness of description is of the utmost importance. For this a clear vision of what is wanted is the first requisite. To this must be added sufficient ability in the use of language to make clear to others what the Engineer sees clearly. An able Contractor has stated that his training in descriptive geometry was of great value to him because it permitted him to visualize a piece of work.

There are several mediums of expression, among them: spoken words, writings, drawings, and models, all of which may at times be used to describe work to be done. Specifications in writing, and drawings are regularly used to express what the work is to be, or perhaps how it is to be done. For some classes of work, models are well-nigh essential; and