The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1878-05-16
THE JETTIES.
The Proposed Notifications in Capt
Eads' Contract.
REPORT OF THE GOVERN MENT EN-.
GINEERS ON THE SUBJECT.
The Matter Referred to Congress
by the Secretary OF War.
Special to thu ~. Loni. Republican.

war to-day referred the petition of Capt
Eads to congress with report Of the same
from the commission OF engineers to whom
it had been referred The following are
the salient points in the report of the com
mission,
Referring to Eads' petition they say;
We by no means dcprcciate the extent or
value of the works AS they exist, but we
cannot concur with the petitioners state
ment 20 the effect that We have already COM
pleted at least 50 per cent. Of this entire
work We "a members of the commission
of 1875 and as ourselves constituting the
commission of 1877 have expressed our opin-
ion that the work is being constructed ac-
corling to the spirit Of the act We be-
lievc moreover that the work is so far adj
vanced and success SO far pronounced that
il is for the interest of the government and
country not only to have the construction
carried on, but pushed with the utmost pos
sibe yigor to such point at least as shall
insure their security and the utmost ethcien-
cy Of action in the increasing capacity of
the channel.
Referring to the channel proposed by the
United States commission Of 1874, they say:
Petitioner is quite right in saying that
the commission OF engineers authorized by
Congress in 1874, and which reported in
favor OF applying the jctty system to the
South pass, proposed to secure channel
thirty feet in depth, and the permanent
maintenance of only twenty-five feet, with
out any specified width. That board aimed
at simply maintaining, under all contin-
gcncics, a nayigablc dep'h of unspccifed
width at mean low water of % feet. We
find that depth prescribed for bis desired
fifth payment to be about equal 10 what
the board of 1874 aimed at permanently
maintaining, 1t must be borne in mind
that at the mouths of the Mississippi nearly
all the depth on the bar can be realized in
actual draft will include probably 81 per
mt. of the sea-going vessels of the world.
We find that under the desired moditlca-
ton to get the fifth payment. the contrac-
tor must have secured navigation capacity
probably equal to that contemplated for
permanent maintainancc by the board of
1874, while he will at this stage of pro-
gress be entitled to but $3,000,00o of the
$j,2j0000 Of his ultimate total. As the
law now stands he would be entitled to
&,2j000O including the sum Of f2j0,000
for keeping an open twenty-four foot chan.
mel for twelve consecutive months. We art
OF the opinion, as before stated, that tn,
width Of the channel proposed by the peti
TONER may de considered as fairly mectin.
the wants Of commerce, bN the widths pro
posed by the law as it now stands ar,
obviously desirable, and the question wheth
er the large concessions asked for in thos,
widths should be granted and compensa
ton for depths between twenty-tour and
twenty-cight feet increased at the expense
of a deeper is one on which we can hardly
be considered proper opponents.
THE SECRETARY or WAR.
In transmitting the report the secretary
Of the war says
1t will be seen that while the board arC
of opinion that the width of channel pro
posed by the petitiones may be considered
as fairly meeting the present wants of com
merce, they regard the question whcthe,
the concessions asked for should be grant
ed AS peculiarly question for congress Il
decide. The views expressed by Gems
Barnard and Wright are concurred in by
this department.
CAPT. EADs CLAIMS.
Mr.. Eads says in his petition:
The provisions of the law were intended
to afford reasonable reimbursement Of oul
OUTLAWS. and as fast as work pro
crossed after certain specified depths o.
channel should be secured by permanent
works. |, was impossible, however, to tel
with any degree OF accuracy how much o
the whole work would have to be executed
before we could be entitled to first pay
mcnts under the law, and while the to;a
cost Of improvement will not exceed tn,
original estimates the proportion of the en-
tire outlay necessarily expended to sccur,
the present depths has greatly exceeded oul
expectations. Experience has shown an,
custom has sanctioned the wisdom of tli,
government paying out percentage of IN,
contract price for work rs il progressed, by
which those who undertake it may avoi,
excessive rates of interest which can result
in no benefit to the government. II W,
were compensated for ninety per cent of til,
work done we would receive S2S5,500 NOR,
than has been paid us. We do not ask TO
any such ibcrality, but refer t,
this fact to show the hardship
which we are laboring under h,
the terms of the law and the absolute scc,i
rity with which the government can gran
| thr rrlipf Ma nrr c0innpllel IN nal "
have by the terms Of law, until Scptcmbe
B. 1870, to secure twcnty-tour feet, and +
September 3, 1880, to secure twcnty.si
feet channel. The interests of the publ
will of course be promoted by the attain
mcntof these depths at an earlier day. Undc
the present terms Of payment it will be i'm
possible for us to eXpcnd upon the wor
the large additional sums still necessary {,
secure the maximum channel at the carics
possible period, for the reason that the IN
dcbtcdnrss already incurred will absorb :
much OF the next payments as to leave 10
it a totally inadequate provision. We IN
dcr,ook the construction and muintcnan,
Of these works for x6S2ll0 less than &
official estimate Of the commission upo
whose report the act was framed. We ais
assumed the whole risk OF their failure (
produce the desired channel, no,withstant
ing confident and reiterated prediction
made by official and other experts thN, the
would b. unsuccessful. We likewise too
all the risks of their destruction hy storm
and ircachcrous foundations, danger. whic