St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-19
THE SCHOOL HOUSES.
She Board of Education Discusses the
Alleged Defective Material Go
ing into Them.
The Chamber of Commerce Finds a
Short Road to the Fair
Grounds.
Five Prisoners Sent to the Pentten-
tiary by Judge Brill--Other
Court News.
Police Court Siftings--The Taxpay-
ers' Advice to the Coming
Mayor--Cfty Items. q
SCHOOL soLoNs I'm COUNCIL.
Material Used i'm the Construction OF
school Buildings Discussed.


Material Used i'm the Construction o.
school Buildings Discussed.
A special meeting of the board of educa-
ton was held last evening to consider the
matter of construction of our public school
buildings.
COMMUNICATION FROM THE INSPECTOR.
The first thing the board did after being
called to order was to have read commu-
nication from MI. johnson, the building IN
spector. In this he says that at the build
ing on Western avenue and Front street
the bricks were unfit, and he ordered the
contractor not to use them but to get
Others At the building ON Orleans street
he found the foundations badly con-
structed, with insufficient bonds and
the mortar little better than sand and water,
the sand dirty and unscreened, eight parts
sand to one of lime, of a very poor quality.
He ordered better work and material other
wise he would suspend the work.
At the Grand avenue building he found
the work very good, though there were poor
brick on the ground, which ought not to be
allowed. He found the foundation OF the
Washington school building very poor
piece of work. The stones were too small
and poorly laid, and is not such founda-
ton as should be built under school build
ing costing S25, 900. He advises that the
wall be taken down and built properly. At
the Sigel addition he found the founda-
ton wall was up, and that it is a good job
so far as he could see. At the Arlington
hills building he found the foundation walls
allup ready for the water table. The brick
are not quite as good as some OF the kind
(Chaska), but they will be allowed. The
or ci6 Of
avenue, in Winslow's addition, was visited,
the foundation walls of which seem to con-
stitute
A FAIR SPECIMEN OF MASONRY.
The brick in the walls was too soft and
ought not to have been used. He notified
the foreman that no more such bricks should
be used and he promised to comply with
the instructions. The inspector says that
in order to prevent the use of soft bricks,
or in fact any improper materials in the
construction Of buildings for school pur-
poses, when brought on the ground they
should be at once removed from the site of
the building and great care should be taken
that they are not brought back and used liz
defiance of the order rejecting the same.
The inspector concludes by recommend
ing the employment of a good, honest and
steady expert on each of the buildings now
under contract, with instructions not to
allow any poor material to be used. He
should be good judge and have backbone
enough to see that good work is done.
AN OPPOSITION REPORT.
At the conclusion of the reading of Mr..
Johnson's report Mr.. Gilbert, from the
committee On real estate, read report. He
says the architects employed by the board
are good and reliable men, and care was
taken to award the contracts to frst-class
contractors. In regard to the German
school the foundation walls are good and
the mortar is good, and all the work is well
done. The architect condemned one car
of brick that had been hauled there some
time ago, and on Thursday last discovered
that some of these bricks had been put into
this lbuilding, when he promptly noti-
fed the contractor the work would
have to be taken down. Part of this was
done, and few soft bricks were found
The committee was satisfied with the foun-
dations of the Douglas school. The
stone and mortar are good. The brick on
/ the ground are of fair quality for such
work. The Washington school was found
to be all right. The walls are stronger and
in better condition than are those of the Ar
lington Hills school building, which the in
committee closes with the declaration that
it desires to enter its protest against such
unwarranted and unjust criticism as are re-
ported to have been made by the inspector
of buildings.
A DISCUSSION.
A motion was made to adopt Mr.. Gil
bert's report, but Mr.. Willis thought it was
very doubtful if the board ought to do that,
and commit itself to all the conclusions the
committee has come to. He moved sub
stitute that the report be accepted, and that
committee of experts consisting Of four
persons be appointed to inspect the build
ings.
The chair said the trouble was about the
work being stopped. If the board at
tempted to proceed with the work the in
spector would enjoin the board.
Mr.. Gilbert favored letting it go that way
and allowing the law to take its course.
MI. Willis thought it was better to have
committee of experts appointed to inves-
tigate the matter.
Mr.. Gilbert doubted if that was the best
way. The two reports were so directly OPP
posed to each other they should go slow,
and perhaps Mr.. johnson would take the
committee out and point out where the de-
fects are. The committee did not see the
Mr.. Fogg favored a conference between
the committee and Mr.. johnson. Perhaps
they might come together.
DR.. Murphy took the same view and
wanted conference.
MI. Willard, one of the architects of the
board, was called upon for statement, and
in response read a written statement pre-
pared and signed by himself and his part
ner, Mr.. Ullrici, in which he says in regard
to the Sibley, Arlington hills, Grand avenue
and Washington schools, of which he and
his partner were the architects, that there
are no defects in those structures deserving
the inspectors notice. The walls will do
double the duty ever to be required of them.
The great noise made about this matter was
made to
MAGNIFY THE IMPORTANCE
of the inspectors duties. He declares that
the intimation that the board Of education
and its architect were not doing their du-
ties is false. He asks that an impartial
commission of experts be secured, whose find
ings shall be published, as nothing else will
satisfy the public.
Mr.. Gauger made brief statement. He
admitted some poor brick got into the
ground up at the German building, but he
ordered them of. A few of them, however,
got into the wall, which caused him to be
very mad, and he ordered them out.
MIR. Burris stated that he was asked by a
contractor to go and examine the German
school. He found the brick of a fair quail
lty, and the work pretty fair.
MI. Minor said they had brought some
specimens of brick and mostar from the
German school building for exhibition to
the Doard. The specimens were brought in
and exhibited. Mr. Gilbert said they had
selected some poor brick and some that was
better. all of which were exhibited. MI.
Minor was hard on the newspapers which
had snoken of this matter and rerretted