Eddy, Arthur Jerome: The new competition: an examination of the conditions underlying the radical change that is taking place in the commercial and industrial world ; the change from a competitive to a cooperative basis (New York [u.a.], 1912)

RELATIONS WITH CUSTOMERS 183
shall be the duty of the Contractor to immediately inform
the Chief Engineer of the Company of the discrepancy be-
tween the points, grades and levels shown on such plans
and the actual physical conditions of the locality of the
proposed work, and no claim shall be made by the Con-
tractor against the Company for compensation or damages
by reason of the failure of the Company to represent upon
said plans the points, grades and levels conformable to the
actual physical conditions of the locality of the proposed
work.”
These one-sided conditions must be done away with
and they can be remedied only by concerted action on the
part of sellers. No one contractor can help matters by
saying he will not sign contracts that are drawn entirely
in the interest of the buyer; that would simply result in de-
priving him of work.
Nor is it a situation that can be met in this country by
legislation, since it is the constitutional right of the adult
citizen to sign such contracts if he wishes to, and once
signed the courts will enforce them, unless there is fraud.
Contractors as a unit must say they will not accept con-
tracts that contain unfair provisions.
V
Another illustration of “brutal” buying is the calling
for bids on work to be taken practically when the pur-
chaser pleases, often not at all.
The writer has before him copies of two requests from
railroads for bids on certain steel work.
One road asks for proposals for “approximately 3,000
tons, more or less,” it will agree to take not less than 2,500
tons during the year, but insists the contract shall cover a
possible maximum of 6,000 tons.
The other road asked for bids on its “probable require-