Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-01-28
AQUEDUCT TUNNEL FRAUDS.
The Investigation by the Military Court
Einished-What VIII the Verdict Be?

t1n1shed-WhatW VIII the Verdict Be?
Secretary Endicott will, in few DAYS, be
furnished with some very striking official read
ing matter by the court Of inquiry that has
been investigating for many weeks the frauds
that have been perpetrated in the construction
Of the Washington aqueduct tunnel. The tes-
timony has all been taken. Expert Sounder
Sparrow has described the last hole in the roof,
the officers involved in the matter have made
all their explanations, and the members of the
court are now
FORMULATING THEIR FINDINGS
for the purpose Of reporting them to the sec
Rotary. The court was assembled for the pur-
pose of investigating and fixing the RESPONSE
biity for the condition of the lining in the tun-
mel There was, in the order, decomposition
OF bad work, but it was left to the court to
learn for themselves just how the work had
been done. They discovered, at the very out
set OF their investigations, that gross frauds
had been perpetrated; that the inspectors en-
Ployed by the government agents, Major Ly-
decker and Lieut.. Townsend, were careless in
their supervision; that there was
SUSPICION OF COLLISION
between some Of these inspectors and other
parties interested in the construction of the
lining; that the workmen were selected with
pushed ahead by the foremen Of the gangs so
that good work was impossible, and that the
contractors themselves had exercised but little
supervision over the work to see that it was
done properly. A personal inspection Of the
tunnel revealed immediate signs of rottenness,
which were strengthened and proved by the
recent evidence Of Mr.. Sparrow. This expert
has gone through the entire length of the tun-
mel, first sounding the wallis with a rod, and
then opening the brickwork at suspected spots.
EXTENT OF THE ROTTEN WORK.
It may be safely said, judging from the notes
Of his work, that fully one-sixth, or perhaps
even one-ffth Of the lining Of the tunnel above
the key Of the arch has no packing above it,
Had this state of things not been discovered in
time, the pressure of the water, when turned
on, would undoubtedly have blown the lining
out like pasteboard, and the tunnel would have
choked Immediately with the debris, bricks
and stones, leaving the rock exposed, soft and
eeamy, through which the water would leak
away and be lost.
TO FIX THE RESPONSIBILITY.
The court was ordered to fix the responsible
ity for whatever might be found 1t has found
the worst kind of work, a useless Job, and its
duty now is to fix the responsibility therefor.
The officer in charge of the project is Major
Garrett J. Lydecker, and his assistant. Lieut..
Curtis Med. Townsend, both of the engineer
corps Of the army. The former, Of course is
morally and officially responsible for the nature
of the work done under his charge. He is also
responsible in the same degree for whatever
may have been done through the carelessness
or neglect Of his assistant and his subordinates
THE QUESTION TO DECIDE.
The question which Gen. Ruger, Coils. Craig
hill and Hodges are called upon to decide, is
whether or not this moral and official respon-
sibility is such as to justify court-martial of
the officers who are at the head of this under
taking. 1t may be that they will report that.
in their opinion, no amount of care or skill
could possibly have prevented the frauds per-
petrated, owing to the nature Of the work; they
may find that the trouble arose from too small
a force of inspectors for which the officers
were not responsible; or, they may be Of the
opinion that the work might have been prop
erly constructed with the means on hand and
that the bad state of things is the result of
lack of administrative care and ability on the
other in the Sat Se
court may select.