The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1875-10-22

The statements Of Gen. GRAHAM to our
reporter, which we published on Monday,
seem to clearly establish the fact that
Mes.rs. WALES aud WEsTERvELr, the Dock
Commissioners, heartily approved of the
plan prepared by him, Ms engineer of the
Dock Department, for the construction of
the river wall. They encouraged Gen.
GRAHAM TO go on in accordance with his
plan in alteration Of that of Gen. MCCLEt-
Ian. Yet now the Commissioners declare
in effect that the changes they directed
their engineer. Gen. GRAHAM, and his chief
assistant, MIR. VAN BUREN, to make, have
proved to be q bungle and failure of the
most disastrous sort. SO, knowing not
what else to do, they have got the Mayor
TO appoint an expert Commission TO tell
them how to get out of their scrape. Per-
haps these engineers may be able to sug-
gest some way Of patching up the defects
the Commissioners announce that they
have discovered.
Gen. GRAHAM says in substance that the
new engineering authorities consulted by
the department and intrusted with the
work after he had been smoked out of his
place, are responsible for the present
wall. The snarl is therefore pretty COM
pick. The Commissioners threw overheard
McCLELLAN's plans as bad; they adopted
GRAuAM's; then they kicked GRAHAM 8
overheard and him along with them then
they relied on other engineering assistance,
taking us their chief engineer man who
knew nothing about such work; now Gen.
GRAHAM charges the failure on his success
sors; and board of experts Is sitting on
the corpse TO lind out the disease il died OF.
One thing is certain: Whatever was its
disease, the Dock Commissioners admins
tered the dose that brought il to the engi-
neering dead house. Ii was not an affair
of the engineers, but of their superiorl,
from whom alone the engineers derived
authority.
We Will Illustrate. When Mr.. WALES
was one Of the editors of the Scientific
american. and was devoting his energies
and his mechanical knowledge to the de-
velopment of the inventive genius of our
people, he organized an admirable system
for the obtaining OF patents, classifying
the various inventions according TO the
essential principles upon which they were
| based and the uses TO which II was sought
to adapt them. The embryo patent was
turned over to an expert who had charg,
OF the class of mechanical contTivances
under which ii came. Thus Mr.. WALES
built up concern out of which his own
and his partners large fortunes have been
made. Mr.. WALES did not in his private
business. managed with such consummatt
skill and so successfully pursued, hand an
| applicant for rat-trap patent to the Off.
cial in charge of the fly-trap department
nor a steam plough TO the expert in charge
OF the baby jumpers. Yet how has ii beer
in the Dock Department. A work of tn,
very highest Importance to the city, and
calling in its execution for engineering
talent of the best kind and OF a sort only
acquired by experience in the particular
| work to be done, was intrusted to mel
| who were comparatively nOvices in harbol
Dock Commissioners now themselves ac
knowledge that they have made failure
About five millions of dollars has beer
charged on the Comptrollers books to In,
Dock Department, yet theresults produced
are scarcely visible; certainly they bear
no sort of proportion TO this great amount
| Where has all the money gomez At tn,
rate the improvements of the water from
have progressed so far, il will take severa
generations to complete them, and the cos
will grow to be in magnitude somewhere
near the national debt.