Mahlon Pitney

“ Plaintiff introduced evidence tending to support the material averments of its complaint. It appeared that in January, 1911, defendant notified plaintiff's predecessor that 'work must start at once,' and that in February plaintiff sent its representatives to Porto Rico; that upon their arrival so little work had been done upon the foundations that they were unable to do anything upon the building itself, but preliminary work was done in the way of getting tools and machinery to the Island, building workshops and an office, and preparing moulds for the casting of the artificial stone ”

“ On March 9, 1912, plaintiff's agent at San Juan was notified by defendant's representative there that the Federal authorities had ordered all work upon the building suspended pending investigation of the foundations. On the same day he wrote defendant's San Juan office asking whether plaintiff's men should be discharged and sent back to the United States, but got no satisfactory reply. ”

“ Among those provisions was this:
'It is further covenanted and agreed that the United States shall have the right of suspending the whole or any part of the work herein contracted to be done, whenever, in the opinion of the supervising architect, it may be necessary for the purposes or advantage of the work, and upon such occasion or occasions the contractor shall, without expense to the United States, properly cover over, secure, and protect such of the work as may be liable to sustain injury from the weather, or otherwise ”

“ At a later time, defendant exercised the third only of the options given to it by the 25th paragraph.
The plan of the building contemplated a foundation of concrete and piles, which was to be constructed by defendant complete to the basement floor; above this a basement story, surfaced with granite blocks to be furnished by defendant (as a practical matter, to be sent from the United States) and to be set in position by plaintiff under the accepted option. The blocks were to be backed with concrete, to be furnished and set by plaintiff. ”

“ Defendant, a corporation of the state of New York, on December 12, 1910, secured a contract with the government of the United States for the construction of a postoffice and court building at San Juan, Porto Rico. A few days later it entered into a subcontract in writing with one Guerini, by the first paragraph of which he agreed: 'To furnish and set in position, including the concrete backing, all the imitation of sandstone, and to construct the interior concrete walls, concrete floors, concrete roof, backing the granite construction, enclosing all the I beams . . . ”

“ Notwithstanding occasional expressions of a different view (see Shaw v. First Baptist Church, 44 Minn. 22, 24, 46 N. W. 146; Avery v. Ionia County, 71 Mich. 538, 546, 547, 39 N. W. 742; Stein v. McCarthy, 120 Wis. 288, 295, 97 N. W. 912) , in our opinion the true rule, based upon sound reason and supported by the greater weight of authority, is that in the case of subcontracts, as in other cases of express agreements in writing, a reference by the contracting parties to an extraneous writing for a particular purpose makes it a part of their agreement only for the purpose specified. ”

“ Under date of March 9th a requisition for $11,735.95 was made, and against this a payment of $674 was made about two weeks thereafter. No other payments were made to plaintiff. It appeared, however, that for the work theretofore done by plaintiff, defendant had received from the government at least $13,871.25 (a witness called by defendant said 'about $19,000') , based upon the price of $1.07 per cubic foot for concrete. ”