New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-04-13


excavation 10 be done, and of which he was
Ignorant the estimate does not reflect
much professional credit upon the man
who made t. The fact that he had often
seen the canal when the water was drawn OIL and
had gone through and made a careful survey OF the
opposite bank ought to have made him able, shouid
think 10 have guessed nearer than he did. I'm some
other respects the amount OF work done, as shown
by the estimate of April l, needs explanation Inc
amount of quarried rock already taken out IL only
1873 yards while the amount originally estimated
was 900 Yards. On this item the contractors appar
emily guessed the amount nearer than the engineers,
since 4 900 yards will probably be nearer the aotuai
amount than 5000 As the contractor takes ont the
rock for the ridiculously low price OF one cent
cubic ward. the moro the amount TO be removed
falls short of the amount originally estimated tho
better il is for him. The amount of slope wall and
lining required will be, the engineers say, about as
originally estimated, although comparatively small
amounts oppear in the statement quoted above. The
explanation of this is that much larger proportion
ate mart of the excavation has been completed IMAM
of the sIope wall As the excavation has 10 DC dohe
first al any stage of the work. before IFS compe'o"'
that will naturally be further advanced 'lah .ho
wall building. The contractor Is now layine 'io
wall very rapidly. and by tho end of the current
month the disparity between those two items Will
he mich less than it il should think that the
contractor would be called upon to furnish less hem
lock and hardwood timber and spikes ana
Ills than he bid for; that is, he will
save q part of his loss on these articles
which he furnishes at runousy low prices.
The hemlock timber is used in making foundation
for the wall but in many whore the bottom OF
the canal is rocky, timber has not been put in. The
hardwood timber is used for shcctpiing. In places
where the bottom and bank of tho canal arc soft ana
insecure small sheet-pile is driven into the earth
nndey the foundation timber and in front OF It, and
then nailed to it, to keep it in place. The loose
stone gravel and brush is used behind the walls IN
these same soft places, but although the price BID
for it is very high it is not probable that more VIII
be used than was originally estimated.
TIE UNBALANCED BID INCREASES THE COST.
As result of the unbalanced character OF this bid
the cost of the work under the contract VIII be
nearly or oute twice as much the aggregate OF the
bid WAS and the final account will show that, While
the agreed to do the work and would have
done it, had there been no mistakes In the orginal
ouantity sheet for $4,000, he will receive for IL
about 800, 900, nearly the amount which the
engineers estimated the work would cost and as
they saw TINT the prices they used in their estimate
which was of course, well balanced all through
were high, the contractor will make good profit
although he apparently bid for the workat half price
The monthly estimate which have quoted shows
1881 cubic yards of vertical wall and 2,G74 cubic
wards of embankment for which the engineers have
not estimated. As sOcA as the work was gwen out
o great number of persons along the line OF III sent
in petitions TO have vertical wall placed opposite
their property and orders were finally given Tor lis
construction at certain points The CONTRACTOR oil
course. WAS clad to put it in anywhere, since he
would receive the ordinary price for lit forming no
part of his cOntract-and it took the place OF the
slope wall which he had agreed TO Jund Tor ABOUT
one-ffth what it worth. On tho 9th OF feb-
mary. the State Engineer issued orders that no
more vertical wall should be built, and the Resident
Engineer has, therefore, refused to make estimates
for it. That which was put up before the 3th OF
February will probably 90 into the final estimate
If any has been built since it has been wholly I'M
authorized The prices have placed opposite this
vertical wall and embankement are those usually
paid here when none are named in the contract.
Accompanied by the Division Engineer, Mir. Sweet,
and the Resident Engineer, MIR. Richmond, visited
to-day the Jordan Level, aud examined the greater
part of the work. The length of the wall benches to
be removed and slope wall to DO constructed IS O"O
chains or about zig miles. We left the New-loTk
Central Railroad at the village of Memphis about
II miles west of Syracuse, and about miles from
the eastern boundary of the work, and drove along
miles further west and the western limit OF the con-
tract For nearly the whole of this distance the
excavation is substantially completed and the slope
wall has been built 3 or feet from the bottom OF
the canal the stones which were taken out OF the
old wall which rested on the bench having been
used in the new far as they would 90.
part of the way the wall has been carried up feet
to the water level, and it is being completed to
that hight very rapidly The excavation, which is
the most expensive item of this contract has not on
the whole, been difficult. The engineers in making
their preliminary estimate put this down at 20 cents
a cubic yard, but they say that would be high
price for it, The greater part OF the way the material
removed has been gravel, of which the benches were
constructed when the canal was built, and only
small portion of it had TO be wheeled out; the men
simply threw it up on the bank. When it was not
frozen, good laborer would shovel out from to 10
cubic yards of this earth a day. The wages
paid during most of the time since work
on this contract was begun have been 81
day. Lately tho wages of the men have been
twice raised and think they receiving 81 30
q day. One of Mr.. Candec's partners, Mr. Henry ).
Mowry (who. by the way, learn since my arrival in
Syracuse is not doing the work on Black Rock Har-
Dor in Buffalo, having sold his contract to Clark d
Bennett of that city, told that during the greater
part of the Winter there unusual amount OF
frost in the ground, and that the cost of removing
tho earth was as high 80 cents yard. There isno
doubt that some frozen earth taken ont at an in
creased cost, but also learn that only little work
was done during February, and the frozen crust has
formed very small percentage of the whole amount
of excavation done. Much of this earth was re-
moved at cost to tho contractor OF little more than
~ cents yard, emitting the and tear of TOOLS
&C., and the whole job has not cost more than 20
No Sfota for iC ~ II
yard and there is likely to DO in the final estimate
nearly or ouite / 40 900 wards,