New-York tribune., 1876-02-17
JORDAN LEVEL Fra UDS.

TRACTS SINCE 1S70-THE ERRONEOUS EST
MATES UNDER FOUR CONTRACTS AMOUNTED TO
OVER $4,000.
IrRoM THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE
ALBANY, Feb. 16.-The eleventh of the
twelve reports transmitted to the Legislature yesterday
by the Canal Commission has been published. IL covers
series OF contracts the Jordan level to which con-
siderable space devoted In THE TRIBUNE during its
exposure canal frauds last SPRING and interest
Ing confirming all the charges resulting from the ex-
amnatOns of THE TRIBUNE experts and correspondents
This twill remembered, the place where James
Belden, having a contract to clean out the canal,
merely moved the earth from side of the bottom to
the other and where Horace Candee, another Repubi-
can member of the Ring, procured very profitable con-
aton and paid good round price for
taking out this earth.
There have been four contracts since 1863, which
about S15OO00 have been expended the contractors be-
ing DenisOn Co.. s. d. Keller, y. g. Gere Tbos Gale or
Belden and Horace Candee The Oldest OF the contracts
Kellers was let Ap T. 1870. without compliance with
single one of the precautions provided by the law for
letting contracts for extraordinary repairs IL was made
in anticipation of appropriation by the Legislature
and let without any exhibit Of quantities. and with
ont defining with reasonable precision the limits wthn
which the work to be done. The Commission
finds that this contract, entered into without any
authority of law was prosecuted in compliance with
s terms In his estimates for the whole extent of
this work except e93 yards the contractor was allowed
for excavation TO canal bottom, whereas Candee, whose
work last Spring covered about twohrds of that of kc
Ter excavated from six inches TO two feet all along the ne
OF excavation estimated Keller The character of the
material excavacd shows that the ground had never he
fore been disturbed Keller allowed for cXcarating
1891 cubic yards Of rock the same ground where
Horace Canee has since been allowed for xcavatg217
cubic yards Of earth II il therefore obviously impossible
that any such rock excavation could have been made,
and Kellcrs estimate this part Of the work. the Com
,nla
quantity. The Commission estimates that ON this nc
oounl Keller has been overpad 50 966 10 He was also
allowed for ,395 cubic yards OF slope wall this amount
being obtained by estimating the wall az ID incnes IN
thickness and il o7iooo feet vide on the slope The
Commission finds that the average thickness of the wall
does not exceed inches while Is width on the slope
does exceed 13 feet and conclude that the quantity
of the slope wall has overestmated 1o 10 cubic
yards, representing loss to the State of Sl7oJs Keller
was allowed .242 cubic yards Of lining which by
contract consist Of clean gravel There is such
lining the work. the stones rest on the common earth
Of the bank. The allowance thus wrOngiully made Is
SLIGO The state is also charged for 274s cubic yards
Of emhankment, although the embankmcnt was made
from material excavated from the prism ~ the canal.
and had been paid for excavation The vertical
WALL built recently under this co tract Is already
very much bugcd, and the most casual observation
shows that in the selection Of stone the requirements Of
the specifications wholly disregarded The ttsti
mony OF Denison Richmond, Resident Engineer, shows
that the engineers for the excavation OF earth
in the Candee contract was 10000 yards The state
ment last June shows that lO6,l62 cubic yards had
been taken out. with the work only about twothlrds
done.
n Stanton Ceres contract for removing bench wall
and constructing slope wall was signed Feb 2l, 1873
The contractor has paid for 5000 yards Of slope
wall 90 per yard which estimated as 10 inches
In thickness aud did not exceed 10 lie WAS also paid
81 900 png and there Is not yard OF lining In the
work TIE contract of Thomas Gale was dated Aug ls
1873 and under II built 137 chains Of slope wall
and from 500 ncal feet Of dry vertical wall The
work under this contract presents the general ea
lures as under other The wall did not exceed 10
inches in thickness Some of the estimates false In
quantity AMI classification Two thousand two hundred
dollars worth Of vertical wall was built without authority
or necessity There ase allowance for rmbankment
which was unauthorized, and for lining which was not
furnished.
The contract Of Horace ICandee was signed oct 81
1874 The Commissioner finds that almost cry item OF
work this contract appears to have been over
Estimated The slope, which is estimated at 10 inches
did not xceed O. the contractor allowed for s4OO
cubic yards lining, for which lie had already been
paid as prism excavation. and for which he was cX
pressly forbidden by his contract to charge second
time without deducng IL from eIcavati n the ehcava
ton and embankment were found to be cheny
imaginary; the contractor was allowed Tor 5U
wards Of rock excavation extra WORK al
=
work but was provided in the contract at The rate of
mt per ya;d, and should have cost - 40 instead
S1I54. More than 1000 yards Of vertical wall weI,
built at 81 yard for which there was no provision IN
the contract This IL characterized 10y the Commission
as an "unauthorzod unnecessary, and exceedingly i'm
perfect work" The contract let for 20G0, and
at the date Of the report the contractor had already been
paid S72 2O9 42 of the work remaining to be
done.
The following table elbows the erroneous estimates Oh
each contract:
UNDER KFLLER's CONTACT.
cubic wards earth eXCavatOn..-.- flO-b 20
1891 cubic ylris earth, clas Fhc' as,rOck 21tb ~
10 Gsloo cubic yaris slope WALL. liGHs ~
22242 23e,oo cubic yards lining H. I'D ~
> 7I9 ss, % cuh,c wards eubai kment .... b,7 q
@''''~ 10" N'"'' ''' --$36,GGs 80
GIREs CONTRA-r
9OlO cubic yars slope wall. ............-- SlSOG 90
97s6 cubic yards lining 3o - 20, oo
USDFR GALES CONTACT.
2s4l $50, cubic yards slope wall ..,... t2OJs 6l
1867 '7loo cubic yards earth CLASSIFIED as ooo -,
b5O cubic yAris vertical wall. ............ Z2O 90