St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-01-20

under the proposed plans the water power
| of ST. Anthony falls would be interferred
with if not ruined. Were II not for this
consideration he believed majority of the
citizens Of Minneapolis would be IN favor
of stOne-arch bridge. He explained the
situation at some length, and thought that
if there was even possibility of the water
power being damaged. that the friends of
the bridge would favor giving up the
project.
AID. JoHNsoN's STATEMENT.
Aid. johnson stated that no attempt had
been made yet by the friends of the bridge
to secure counter affidavits to those filed in
the interests of the mill company. and that
II the latter were to be considered the other
SIDE should wish to present counter affi-
davis, but supposed the board wanted only
Iacts. In general it might be said that both
sides OF the city felt the need of greater
Drldge facilities. Long before the govern
ment dyke was built Just after the first
disaster. the question of a stone arch bridge
was raised and was decided upon adversely
DIV Maj. Farquhar. engineer in charge but
AFTER the dyke was put in and the memory
OF recent disasters had i'm part passed away,
the major expressed a different opinion.
AID. johnson briefly reviewed the history
OF the present scheme; emphasized the
necessity OF adequate bridge facilities. Civ
ing statistics of population on both sides of
the river, and assured the board anew of the
confidence felt by all in the impartiality of
the boards finding. He asked the board to
| specify what information they wanted and
promised 10 get it for them.
Gen. POe-This board wants all the facts
it can get. and does not value opinion very
highly, even when in the form of affidayits
Statements from reliable people, that the
construction of such bridge would not en-
danger the falls and that fears of dangerous
erosions are grOundless, would help Us ma
terially, if furnished within the next two
DAYS. We want facts enough to form an
intelligent opinion upon.
City Engineer Rinker said-Had had
nothing to do with selecting the site, except
to give an opinion that it was practicable to
build such bridge as was desired at that
point. One reason why such a bridge
would not injure the falls in his opinion.
was that the bridge Immediately above the
Manitoba was built with about the same wa
ter way and about the same angle and the
sOundings recorded i'm the Manitoba Office
and taken about that bridge for a series of
years 90 to show that the bridge has not
caused the slightest decrease in the amount
of deposit upon the sand-rOck bed of the
river. The original soundings showed a
deposit of silt of ten feet thickness;
soundings made yesterday show the
same thickness. The water area at the
suspension bridge is greater than that at the
Manitoba. The railroad records show
gradual filling up. instead Of a scOur, on the
west side of the river at the bridge. He re-
ferred to the evidence adduced by the
various tunnels made through the sand
l. I, -. l.. - r.
which were eXcavated entire before being
lined up, and found from it that there was
no appreciable percolation through the sand
rock.
THE CLAY SEAM,
which is said to be impervous to water.
and which overles the sand rock. is proved
by experience TO permit the percolat ON of
water; it holds water so that the liquid can
be squeezed out of it. and this would be
good evidence that the water i'm the tunnels
comes from the surface and not from the
river. The temperature Of the water would
seem to indicate the same thing. In many
places above the falls water is found i'm the
sand rock at a higher elevation than the
river level and just under the lime rock.
There is discharge of water from the face
of the bluff along the sand rock at the bot
tom of the lime seam.
His theory was that the water with which
we are cOntending in the tunnels comes
through the seams i'm the lime ledge He
regarded the tunnels around the mills and
under them as more dangerous TO the falls
than the bridge.
Gen. Poe said that the great point was
that if the building of these piers should
cause an erosion of the river bottom and
thus admit water to these water-bearing
sand strata, these streams thus admitted
might work around the wings of the dyke
and thus cause injury to the falls.
Mayor Pillsbury stated the results of
work in the sand rock in digging wheel pits
at their mills had been to show that this
sand rock carried water freely; one wheel
pit leaked into another and came very near
washing out the foundation of the mill;
they had to fill up the pits with concrete to
save the mills. After the presentment of
points for the bridge was concluded Gen.
Poe called for the statements of the OPP
pOnents, prefscing that. in all arguments
based upon the Manitoba bridge. it must be
remembered that the greater distance from
that bridge to the upper end of the ledge
than from the proposed Stone-arch bridge
would be an element affecting the judgment
of the board upon the question of danger
from the latter structure to the falls.
After some informal talk on the matter
of riprapping the river bottom to prevent
any breaks. the conference was dissolved,
Col. Ripley having been granted leave to
introduce statements on the other side this
morning.