The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-11-15


TENTH REPORT OF THE INVESTIGATING coMAiIs-
sIoN--ADDITIoNAL EVIDENCE OF HOW THE
STATE Is swINDLED-FIAGLER AND REnLY's
PENDING CONTRACT AT FoRr PLAIN.
The following the tenth report OF the Canal lnyesti
eating Commission TO Governor Tden;-
On the cath OF October, 1874 contract was signed
with Flagler Reilly "for removing wall benches and
substituting slope and vertical wall from lock No ~ AZ
Fort Plain west 100 chains. tho towing path side OF
the Rro Canal For tho work 10 be done under this
contract Messrs Fager Reilly were to receive the
remains to be done $40 s04 rs had been es-
timated TO the CONTRACTORS on the lst
or June 1875. The contract provided Tor 900 cubic
yards Of slope wall at 20 cents yard which would
have $780, and only $50 cubic yards OF vertical
wall At So yard, which would have amounted TO only
81 400 Up TO June LAST only 447 yards OF the 70 cent
wall buil and 100 yards Of the IS wall bad been
built at an expense Of $40 $50 or about double the
amount OF the original contract for the completion or
the whole work and the work in point Of fact scarcely
half done This g. log cubic yards OF vertical
wall have all been estimated 10 the contract
for wall founded plane AT
right angles with its battered face while the Tact IT, AZ
we ascertaned from personal inspection and by open
ing the wall in several places. that not only all
laid horizontal at the base bat tailed altogether to have
the thickness credited in the estimates We found OF
this wall $50 cubic yards were thus estimated repre-
sentng fraud upon the State 10 the amount OF AS
THB CHARGES
The State is charged with OF cubic yards Of
lining, s47 IS, though no lining OF gravel,
such the contract required,
used the work The State Is also charged with 1877
cubic yards Of pudding, $l,o6s 90 No pudding was
found by behind any part OF the wall down
excavation other preparation for introducing it
was to be seen ut the places where the wall was in pro-
OF construction where we inspected it in April;
account ID made in the estimates of the earth
ton, that had need to be made for inserting the pud-
die walls; and finally john Hersey the engineer who
supervised the execution OF tins contract csnes that
the nearest approach to pudding that occurred this
contract working the earth with crowbas after the
wall and the filing behind Il were completed. For
these reasons speak of the presumptons arising
from the general character OF the OF the work
have no doubt that the charge tor puddle is ndecnsi
Bile.
The computations upon which earth excavation
estimated 20 tho contractor assume that the earth
excavated behind The walls slope of IS degrees.
There 5415 cubic yards thus estimated costing
the State 81 3l4 Our own observations, made along
the line OF the work while in progress enable say
that very ineonslderable portion OF earth
waited behind the rcar plane Of the wall and that most
OF this charge is erroneous There is an allowance OF
S,314 cubic yards OF embankment Tor which the
tractor received 9SS 40 Ii IS not pretended that
any made except to replace earth that in point OF
tact was disturbed and IL the excavation had actu-
ally been made the contractor had no claim DO paid
for replacing II The excavation OF the wall benches
furnished ample material within 200 feet for filing the
spaces behind the wall and the contract expressly pro-
hibited any allowance on account OF embankment for
materials excavated in the canal prism and paid Tor
excavation when not necessarily removed 200 feet
line parallel with the canal The state has received
credit the old slope wall stone, though it appears
that large quantity have been used in
the work Like all we have inspected thus
far, the vertical wall built under this contract
is very far below tho specifications and
should never have been accepted. Both in workman
ship and quality OF material used Is very inferior and
promises to DO source OF continual expense to the
State repairs In our judgment very large portion
OF the work done under this unnecessary
and
IsExcUsABLE ExrRAyAGANCE
the part OF the officers who advised IT, In the
first place, vertical wall needed all; but had
been built than the contract called
Tor and had the stipuations OF the contract rs
TO the amounts and kind OF work been observed
the proposed substitution Of slope and vertical wall
might have been effected for the entire stretch of the
canal covered by the for the which IL
let As IL is four times that amount of money
has already been spent and about half remains be
done
THE OFFICIALS RESPONSIBLE.
The officers under whose authority this work let
Canal Commissioners Alexander Barley, james
jackson, Jr., and II. w. Stroud II prosecuted
under the supervision OF Adm Thayer Canal Commits
soner; John b. Yates, Division Engineer; s. L. Bah
cock, Resident Engineer; John Hcrsey Assistant
Archibald Mclaughlin, Assistant
Annexed will be found, FIRST statement of the con
tractors original bid second, the last estimate show
ing the work alleged TO have been done and The money
allowed for 1t up TO June l. 1878
JOHN BIGFLOW,
DANIEL MAG0NE, Jr.,
A. l.. ORR,
JOHN D. VAN buren,, Jr