Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-06-03

Mr.. McGowan Says the Work ON the
Terrace is Satisfactory-He Ascribes
the Poor Quality Of Government Work
to the Ignorance Of ssShOemake rs'' In
Congress.
When Mr.. Emery left the stand in the Clark
investigation yesterday afternoon Mr.. Miller
made protest against the length of the cross
examination am the time which he said was
wasted in going over and over the same ground.
What was equivalent to days session, he said,
had been occupied in this way with Mr.. Emery.
If such a waste of time was to be allowed, Mr.
Miller said, it would very much cripple them
in their defense, as they would be unable to get
business men, whose time was valuable, to
come there and testify.
"Your clients" said Mr.. Jackson, 'tare much
better able to lose their time than these work
ingmen are. They are officeholders, getting a
good deal of pay from the government"
81 do not refer to my clients time,' said Mr.
Miller, "but to the time of these witnesses"
Mr.: Michael A MeG;1'wan, stonecutter and
defense. He said there was no stone in the
country better for the purpose, so far as dura-
bility was concerned, than that used in the
Capitol terrace. This stone the witness called
Baltimore county lime stone. AS to color, it
was about the average to be found in any struc-
ture. He thought it was rather better stone
than he had seen used generally. The work.
manship on the terrace he pronounced fair.
nc HUI uOC observed any marked OclecGS In the
work until they were pointed out to him. The
stone used. he said, was better, in his opinion,
than the Lee marble in the wings OF the Capitol.
The Lee marble after exposure to the weather
became covered with little holes, as though
some one had fired at 1t with a shot gun. The
statement that the new terrace wall was crumb-
ling to its fall he said, was all nonsense. On
cross-eXaminatOn Mr.. MCGOWAN said a paper
setting forth that the terrace good job
vestigation was started, but he mad refused to
sign it because he had not inspected the work.
He did not know but that he would sign it now,
although he did not like to sign any papers.
Both the material and the workmanship, he
said, might have been better If more money had
Ga II oSee Mth ahe bsy
have got a lot of shoemakers up there to find
out the value of such WORK, and appropriate
about half enough to pay for it,
Cup where?' asked Mr.. Jackson.
"On the hill,' said Mr.. MCGOWAN, motioning
with his thumb towards the Capitol:
You mean our SolonS," said Mr.. Jackson.
"Our Solons,'' said Mr. MCGOWAN, adopting
the phrase Mr. McGowan said he meant by
the term ''shoemaSerS only that they We're
cost of good stone work. He said he would
have asked for more money if he were arch-
been better in color if selected stock had been
purchased, but that would have cost as much as
Italian marble and would not he thought, be
any more durable than that used. Ii it was eX-
pected that the structure should be perfectly
white it could not be built of either Beaverlam
or Lee marble; The specifications and contracts
were here read showing that the specifications
called for the marble from the Baltimore
county quarries "G even color with no proni-
nent VEINS" There was considerable discus
sion as to the meaning of even color, and
whether it meant perfect blank white or not
The witness said that under the contract he
would have furnished no better stone. He de-
Scribed defect which had been pointed out to
him, known in stonecutters parlance as a
"dutchman"-a patch put into the work-which
he considered somewhat serious defect
At another point he had found "dry" or
crack, which he said he would not have passed
but often such defects could not be detected
until several months exposure to the weather
brought them out. The witness repeated that
the job was fair one for the money.
Mr.. Miller put in evidence reports from Col.
Casey's office, made at the time work was about
to be resumed on the Washington monument,
showing that, under crushing tests, the Beaver
dam marble proved stronger than any of the
other marbles tested.
Mr.. jackson said he did not question the
strength or durability of the best quality of
Beaverdam marble. He attacked only the mar
BILE purchased for this work on the terrace
ARCHITECT WALTER A WITNESS.
When the Clark investigation resumed
to-day Mr.. Thomas U. Walter, OF Philadelphia,
architect of the wings of the Capitol, testified
for Mr.. Clark. He spoke in approval of the work,
saying that it was good as marble work could
be expected to be. In relation to "dries' he
said they appeared in the best marble in the
world even in t Carrara marble When the
stone tested with the view of detect
ing "dries," but Notwithstanding this care
dries did appear in the building. Such de-
world. AS to the Capitol terrace. he said that
if it were his duty to pass upon it for the gov
he would most assuredly accept it. He
thought it quite equal to the work done under
his supervision in the wings of the Capitol.
A portion of the charges against Mr.. Clark
were then read by Mr.. Miller to Mr.. Walters in
relation to the charges accusing Mr.. Clark of
failure to perform his professional duty well in
the Patent office building, and,
among other things, putting on wooden roof
or superstructure, which made possible, if it
did not invite, the fire at the Patent office.
the Patent Office, the only part not completed
when he left being the north portico. "Mr.
Clark" said Mr.: Walter, "is not resp0n-
sponsibe Mf clark was my myss
In relation to the fire. Mr.. Walter read a news
paper report of meeting OF the American insti-
United q paper from Mr.. Van Stamp, a civil
engineer, criticising the architect of the Patent
Office being responsible for damage by the fire.
The report contained also Mr.; Walters reply,
shop of the top of the house were responsible.
IF you go through this building now" said
Mr.. Miller, "you will find stacks on stacks of
papers that would set fire to any building in
Mr.. Walter said in relation to the charge of
bad workmanship and material In the west APP
prOach of the south wing that Mr.. Clark had
nothing to do with that, the work having been
done under the supervision of the witness.
On examination the witness said he was
81 years old. During the cross-examination
Mr.. Jackson laid stress on the fact that Mr..
Clark had never served an apprenticeship as q
stone or marble cutter.
Mr.. Walter said the architect would gain ten
times as much practical knowledge OF stone
work than the man who merely cut the stone.
KILLED HE Sfenfafher