The Park Governments of Chicago 69 



able number of commodities purchased have aggregated thous- 

 ands of dollars each within a single month and yet public ad- 

 vertisement was not made nor formal contracts entered into. 

 The large amounts have usually resulted from two or more or- 

 ders within a month. 



Purchases amounting to less than $500, (Lincoln Park 

 Board $2,500), are supposed to be made by open market order 

 but only after competitive prices have been secured. The forms 

 of purchase requisitions in use by the three large Park Boards 

 provide spaces wherein the names of the dealers from whom such 

 competitive prices are secured are supposed to be entered to- 

 gether with the prices submitted. An examination of the files 

 of these requisitions of the West Park Board disclosed the fact 

 that such entries have rarely been made. Although it was ex- 

 plained by the purchasing agent that bids had been obtained over 

 the phone and noted on scrap paper which was subsequently 

 destroyed, the fact remains that there is nothing of record to 

 show that the West Park Board has obtained competitive prices. 

 An examination of the corresponding files of the South Park 

 Board disclosed the fact that it has not been customary to re- 

 ceive bids from more than one or two dealers, in fact, on only 

 about 20 per cent, of the requisitions examined had bids been 

 obtained from more than two dealers. Of 1,133 Lincoln Park 

 requisitions examined, 26 per cent, had been ordered without 

 securing bids from any firm other than the ones to whom the 

 orders were given. Although most of these were "repeat" or- 

 ders, the Bureau questions the correctness of the assumption 

 by the purchasing agent that it was needless to again request 

 bids from any other dealers. As to the other Lincoln Park 

 requisitions examined, 1 per cent, showed the names of one 

 other bidder with prices opposite, 47 per cent with two names, 

 23 per cent, with three names and 3 per cent, with four or five 

 bidders. 



Experience elsewhere with similar methods has shown that 

 where bids are secured by telephone, the names of dealers and 

 fictitious prices have often been entered as legitimate bids when 

 in fact bids were never requested from those dealers. When bids 



