"One day in a store I heard the wife of the contractor bidding what seemed like a final good-bye to someone. I inquired what that meant," said Mrs. Birdwell. The reply was, "Oh, they are going elsewhere. Mr. Moore [the contractor] -- has already gone." - Mrs. Birdwell, "Reminiscences", The Daily Sentinel, October 21, 1958

Editor's Note

Bettye Craddock, in her book The Golden Years, details the problems of the construction of the Austin Building accurately. An analysis of the Moore bid, which Craddock did not really undertake, reveals that the Board of Regents should have foreseen some problems. All of the bidders were close on the costs for clearing the site, estimated at between $200 and $250.00. The Moore bid on the stone trim fell midway between the other competitors, as did the estimates for the terra cotta, the furniture, and the Boiler House. It was on the bid for the Austin Building itself that the Moore bid was substantially out of line. Moore's low bid of $99,990 was as much as $55,000 less than the highest rival and $20,000 less than the next highest. In the arguments which shut the building down in 1922-23, the amount of the differences usually centered on a $20,000.00 gap in the amount of money for labor. Moore just bought the bid with an unrealistic estimate on the amount of labor to be needed. When the state inspector enforced the contractual rights, the contractor defaulted. The fact that the Board of Regents did not sue for damages seems to indicate that they recognized their earlier oversight. The lowest bid is not always the right or safe one! (Editor-JLJ)

Bettye Craddock, The Golden Years

"Article I of the contract stated that the administration build ing was to be a three-story, fire proof, concrete, frame, brick, stone and tile structure. The contract specified Lueders stone trim and No. 64 face brick at $25.50 per thousand to be purchased from the Athens Brick and Title Company of Athens. The agreement called for completion of the building within one year. . . .Then the rains came.

"The building was doomed to sit idle through a long, wet Nacogdoches winter while the Board of Regents and Mr. Bird well tried desperately to assure the resumption of the construction. The result was an eight-month letter writing campaign trying to settle the situation.

"The controversy centered around money, the amount of payments and exactly how the payments were to be determined. Mr. Birdwell sought the advice of M. O. Flowers of Lockhart, president of the State Normal Board of Regents. In explaining the situation Mr. Birdwell wrote, "The contract with the Moore Construction Company provides, 'Payment shall be made every thirty days during the construction of this work, by the owners to the contractors on certificate issued by the Architect and approved by the State Inspector, based on premises and labor rendered on building.' "

"W. E. Ketchum, architect, and Captain W. R. Hendrickson, state inspector of masonry, were in agreement that the propor tion of the building completed and eighty-five per cent of the materials and labor should be considered when figuring the estimates.

"J. B. Moore, president of the Moore Construction Company and contractor for the job, contended that the portion of build ing completed should not be considered--only the value of the materials on the grounds and the labor.

"Seeing that settlement was not in sight, the Board of Regents finally, by May of 1923, sought settlement from the bonding company, Southern Surety Company of Denison. . . .The bonding company agreed to complete the building with out going to court, but only with the understanding that they (Southern Surety Company) would not be responsible for any claims due to the delay of the Moore Construction Company."