New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-03-06

towers. pierced with gothic windows hike two ruined
cathedraIs lead the eye from perpendicular OBJECTS
al spires buildings and mssts. upabruptly onward
n the sken of penduous aud scarf-ike steel woven
ma ont of the blue tissues Of our western sky
What possibilities are not in q bridge! For want
of one Leander swan in vain; by making one Aer1es
became immortal. Mahomet swings one rom tne
world TO heaven, and only the faithful can "alA
upon It, Heaven itself sprung the bow across the
food.
We went to war in 1851 largely because not q
bridge connected North and South between Wheei'
Ing Va and New Orleans, where now there ls q
ladder of bridges reaching from Pittsburg TO Steu
benvle Cincinnati, Louisville, st. Louis, ana 30 up
the Missouri to Leavenworth and Omaha.
The Christian church thought bridging the
great fords Of travel 80 necessary seven
hundred years ago that the order Oh
Brothers of the Bridge-Freres PontVes-was tounaeu
by Benezet, whom the POntif created sain'' ivn-
tie, blythe way, takes name from or'dee' on .no
| tradition that the High Priest Oh h'olne Univ"
| frat bridge over the Tiber.
Ssy.ook a tramp in Europe recently, looking MP
INNOVATIONS IN the flower line, was impressed with
the great superiority of their bridge facilities IN inc
cities and the unimpressiveness OF their lnter-pro-
yipcial bridges over the wider waters. LONDON
Dubp. Berlin, and more especially the cities OF our
Netherlands pioneers, Rotterdam and Amsterdam
have rivers flowing through them on which are some
times miles of bridge communications and the pest
of these bridges are in rich architecture with stat
uary; and while crossing over them one is
hardly aware that he is not still in the streets
| among the houses.
Yet observe the approximate population of Brook
| Ivn to the transporting side of London Brooklyn
has probably 100000 people; the Surrey side OF
London has rising 100000 Here there is one
bridge not finished there six steam railway bridges
and tunnel and nine paved carriage bridges unite
| the same metropolitan people.
The printed statistics for 1872 claim that
! 90 600 600 people crossed the East River ferries
that year, making. at two cents head. 81, 100000,
or equal to capital of 24 600 600 at five per cent.
| There would seem to have been no such neglected
opportunity on the globe by men OF capital as this
The Wanted bridges of Europe affected me little
after seeing such works as span the st. Lawrence,
| the Niagara. and all the arms of the Mississippi
system OF rivers.
| Menai Strait which IS diminutive OF the East
River, being also tidal and with strong, wiful cur
rens sets off bridge to advantage with It's
high clean bold shores and passing sails 1t Is little
like the Niagara River in banks and foliage. and In
the sense 1t gives of rift and chasm But the sus-
pension bridge of Teford is coarse and unspirituai
work beside this eolan harp that connects our
| islands.
| Robert Stephenson, great engineer as be was re-
ported that suspension bridges would never do for
| steam John A. Roebhng answered with the Nj
aQara suspension bridge the cheapest structure and
one of the best ever built upon the globe for such
| necessity, Roebling is the author Of most OF the
| bridge to Brooklyn
| In Menai Strait, which divides an island from the
northwestern corner of Wales the tides rise to The
| height of thirty feet sometimes and generally.
twelve feet The British Government erected
bridge on the great high road from England to
Ireland over this strait in 1926. 1t Is
suspension bridge built by Telford on chains and
cost 5000, 600 gold, at that time; it is 100 feet
| above the water. Twenty years afterward George
Stephenson began to build the tubular bridge three
miles above spanning the same strait. 1t took hye
years aud trains crossed it in 1850. 1t has four
| spans the two in the middle being 400 feet wide
each, and the whole bridge is about 1910 feet long,
| It il 1913 feet above high water mark and cost
100000. poo,,,,o
in 1882 cost only $500 900 is 800 feet long, $50
| feet above the river and its towers are about 81
feet high The Niagara foot bridge. built in 1859,
cost $i75 OOO and said to be. when opened tho
longest suspension bridge in the world, or 126S feet
between towers.
The Cincinnati Suspension Bridge, by RoeblinS,
stands next to the East River Bridge and Is 1.Oo7
feet between towers, 1882 between the ends, tho
bridge is 1O3 feet above low water the towers are
$50 feet high and each is taller and larger than the
Bunker Hill Monument, and the structure cost
81 800 600; it was built by company and charges
three cents toll per man. This bridge has been
In most useful operation since about 1867; 1t was
| eleven wears between its commencement and open
| ing. $1,000
| Roebling was the greatest bridge builder in the
he mali inn wire
America and built suspension bridges to carry the
aoueducts of canals across rivers, and engineered
| the Pennsylvania Railroad across the mountains.
The Brooklyn Bridge between towers, il 595
| feet long Behind the towers there are $40 feet
each side, back to the anchorages The whole length
of the bridge and approaches is 5000 feet 1t is one
| of the widest bridges in the world 85 foot, with
| promenade 10 iset wide, two railroad tracks and
| four carriage and horse car tracks. 1t s
| 1875 feet in the centre above the water
The rock on which the towers rest is about ninety
feet below the surface of the water on the New
| York side aud half that depth on the Brooklyn
ade. the most stupendous thing about the structure
Each tower is 1874 feet long by SO wlde and OF the
ton these dimensions reduced to 120 feet by 40
| or the size of q very large house. Each tower is
| 26S feet above high water. 1t is 1886 feet from
| the beginning of the causeway on Chathann-st out
| to the anchorage on the New-York shore. Tho
architect Of the bridge received his death wound
almost at ts inception standing on the upper frame
work of Fulton ferry slip boat came in and
threw its weight against the piles, which yielded
and crushed his foot. As if the spirit of the old
ferry about to be supplanted had revenged itself on
the innovatorl They buried Roeblng IN that sum-
mer of 1869 of Trenton. NewJersey. near the spot
where poor John Fitch. the Matchmaker, eighty-two
| vears before, had started the steamboat.
But Roebline's true monument s the
Brooklyn Bridge towers, and between them
in the nerves and tendons, trembling like weavers
Web plies the shuttle Of his SOUL You can hear his
own words if you are reverent calling to the ships