Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-12-02
Fort Smelling Bridge.

The Dispatch of this city had a notice in
recent issue of that paper (the oath inst. },
in relation to the present status of the Fort
Smelling bridge construction, wherein the
engineer (SewalD stated s'that he had a force
of men at work on the road through the
reservation, the line of which had been ap-
proved by General Terry. The road had
been altered so as to make it about one hun
dred feet longer, by orders of Gen. Gibbon."
This is all we'll enough so far as the bridge
approaches are concerned. and credit should
be given to the commissioners therefor, but
the public are anxious to know all about the
bridge itself, without which the approaches
are useless.
The people of Ramsey county, and par
ticularly the citizens of St. Paul who have
SO patiently waited for the completion of
this bridge, are very anxious to see verified
the immense traffic that was to find it's way
from Hennepin and other counties by way
of this bridge, thereby adding another feeder
to the commercial and general business in
terests of St. Paul. .--
1t may not be out of place to refer to COM
munication published in the St. Paul DISPATCH
August 9TH last, signed Xxx, wherein the
writer hints very strongly at the delay of
the ironwork construction of said bridge,
using these words in the premises, "And
further it may be to the interest of the con-
tractor to enlist the sympathies of the
bridge commissioners composed as they are
of highly honorable business men) to so far
aid him as to admit of or consent to the
erection and construction of the iron work
truha IN ~ So
allow operations to be performed on the ice,
thereby lessening the labor and cost of
building the superstructare, for which favor
there is no doubt the contractor would feel
under very many obligations to the aforesaid
honorable commissioners. "
How far right the correspondent above re-
ferred to was, the public will be able to
judge by referring to the reported statement
made by the contractor before the commits
sioners at their meeting of the 24th of
November, hereinbefore alluded to. Here
is what he is reported to have said: "Mr.
Horton, the contractor for the work, was
| also present, and he stated that he had the
invoices for all of the cars of iron, and that
there could not be more than ono Thousand
pounds in all back. He said also that in
the present condition of the river it would
be impossible to proceed with the long span
until the river was frozen solid, as the run
ming ice would prevent the scaffolding being
erected"
So correspondent XXX. was right in
| his surmiss of August 9TH, but what excuse
! can be offered for the gross delay between
August 9TH and now, even admitting that the
| delay occurring in the delivery of the iron
Yves caused by the late boom in the iron mar
ket? Why could not substantial piling
| have been driven before the ice season set
| in, upon which to erect scaffolding? In fact
ono would suppose that any contractor of
| ordinary intelligence, with desire to COM
| plete his contract within reasonable time,
| would have spared no pains or expense to
| have at least prepared and had his available
and proper timbers, scaffolding, machinery,
ETC., ready Oh the work to Immediately take
hold of and put the iron work in place in
said bridge. .a-.
That such is not the case is shown by the
| contractors own confession.
| The honorable commissioners can hardly
escape public censure in this matter; to them
| the public have looked for the proper and
due enforcement of this very important con-
tract, and, as understood, the contract calls
| for the completion of the bridge by the 1st
of September, and here we are, on the Goth
day of November, with plea in abatement
| put in by the contractor that lie cannot put
the iron work on the long span until the ice
| in the river is frozen solid to enable him to
erect his scaffolding. Suppose We have
a very mild winter, and who knows
to the contrary? Where then is the
Fort Smelling bridge? Already have our
merchants and Others largely suffered by
this objectionable delay. The produce and
trade that would have sought market over
this route has gone off in other directions,
and even that which may have come by way
of Mendoza has possibly crossed the Waba-
shaw street bridge, adding greatly to the
already too crowded and dangerous traffic of
said bridge, whose tottering condition it
would be we'll to examine before We have
another st. Charles bridge catastrophe here.
SAINT PAUL.