Omaha daily bee., 1889-01-25
BRICKS WITHOUT MORTAR.
The Asylum at Nebraska City Said
to Be Unsafe.
BAD WORK BY CONTRACTORS
Who Drive ont Honest Men By I'm,
dcrbidding aud Then Get Even
By sighting the I'm
dcrtaking.


NEBRASKA CRY, Ncb., Jan. ~ Special
to The BEE. For some months past PHu
BEE correspondent has been requested and
urged by leading citizens to write up the
work done on the recent addition built to the
State Institute for the Blind in this city. 10
had been rumorcd that the new building was
unsafe and in dangerous condition. An
effort was made, while the work was being
done, to learn something about the alleged
facts, but it was unsuccessful, owing to the
reticencc of the parties who were sup
posed to know all about it, Recently how.
ever, the rumor of a poor job was again
started by the return to the city of a gentle!
man who had been employed under the con-
tractors, Ellis, Reynolds Il Sprcchcr ana ne
related to a number of prominent gentlemen,
within the hearing OF the correspondent, that
he positively regarded the new addition to
the blind asylum as exceedingly dangerous
and unsafe. He said that III walls where
there should be anchors ut a distance OF
every ten feet mt the farthest, there were no
anchors at all; that half the brick in the en-
tire building were laid dry-that is, without
mortar The gentleman asserted that the north
wall, as 1t now is, would surely fall some
day, as he could move it with his own
strength. He said that during the course of
construction he had frequently called atten-
tion TO it, and that the superintendent OF
building had made complaint, but tho board
of public lands and building came hero
right. I
The addition is a three story building and
that it should be in such condition as de-
scribed seemed hardly credible. So Mr.
Wales who had been superintendent was
called on for his opinion. He replied that he
did not want to stir up muss and would
not be dragged into ouc but he would
say, and stand by it, that the asylum
for the blind in this city was the poorest Job
of work he had ever seen in his life, and he
had seen quite Il number. He said there
were thousands of brick in the building that
had no mortar, and was sure there were no
anchors in the walls He would not put up
such building for fear it would fall down
before he could get out. He had complained
repeatedly about the work done and mad
deem damned for it by the state board and
the local paper, which declared it good Job.
He had stopped work on the building and
called the board of public lands and buildings
down to examine 1t. lie SAID Scott
constituted the entire board and as
soon as that gentleman saw the work done,
he thought it so much better than that done
at Norfolk that 1t must necessarily be good,i
and the superintendent was sat down upon
and the miserable work continued.
Mr.. Wales thought the worst buildings in
Nebraska were owned by the state, and the
reason of this was that an honest man would
not do work for the state; that shyster con-
tractors would do the work ID per cent lower
than il could be well done, and poor build,
ngs and Wholesale robberics were the reI'
suits. Mr.. Wales has been superintendent,
of the wood work of the new governmenC
building, which is pronounced oy the United
States inspectors to be the best of any gov
erument buildings.
Prof Parmalee, superintendent of the in
stitute, was seen and he thought the build
ing as good as the average state building,
which was not saying very much He did
not think it in u dangerous condition, but the
work was not the best and did not suit him.
The contractors required considerable watch
ing to get half decent work out of them.
If the facts are as related by others best
situated to know, it vii! be a sad blow to the
friends of Ellis. Reynolds & Sprecher, and
those who have been pointing to the institute
for the blind as the only good building owned
by the state. The report of the condition Of
the work has long been doubted by many,
but the opinion of the workmen and superin-
tendent of construction would indicate that
the work is no better than that on other
state buildings.