The Red Cloud chief., 1889-06-14
THAT r DAM.


= OPdnioa Il - Expert - % tt 0a1se1
and Proper Constructor.
~JoaxsfowK, Pa. June IA n. Vol.
. ington. one Of the most noted civil engin.
eers OF the country, and E p. Burt 1850
tiase editor Of the Engineering News Of
New York, have just completed an exam.
inafion az the dam which caused the great
disaster hero
Wellington states that the dam VA in
every respect Of inferior constr notion and
ofe kind wholly u~nwaEranted bv rood
engineering practices OF thirty years ago
Boeh the original and reconstrucSed
dams were OF earth oniv with
no heart WALL but onlv Unnamed
o. the slope. The original dam,
however, Wa mad in rammed and
wasered layers which still showed dis.
tinctiy in the wrecked dam It was
better than the new and greatly
added to its stability. but it was
to all appearance simply dumped in
Hke An ordinary railroad fill OF. il
rammed, shows no evidence Of good effect
from 1t Much Of the old part 10 standing
intact, while adjacent parts OF the new
work are wholly carried ID. There vas
no central wall Of puddle or masonry
either IN the new OF old dam II has been
the iavariabie practice Of engineers for
thirty or forty years TO use one or the
othN in building high dams of earth. Ii
Is doubtful if there is q single other dam or
reservoir in any other part Of the United
States Of over fifty feet high which lacks
this central wall. The reconstructed dam
also bears the marks Of great ignorance
or carelessness in having been made
nearly two feet lower in the middle than
at the ends. Ii should rather have been
crowned in the middle which would have
concentrated the overflow, if il should
occur, ct The ends instead of the center.
Had the break begun at the ends the cut
OF the wafer o rave been so gradual
that Little or no harm might have resulted.
Had the dam been AT once cut at tbs ends
when the water began running ever the
center the sudden break OF the dam would
have been q, least greatly diminished.
possibly prolonged. so that little harm
would have resulted The crest Of the old
dam had not been raised in the reconstruc.
tion Of ISL.
Wellington said that no engineer OF
known and good standing for such work
could possibly nave been engaged on il,
since in The particulars mentioned it vic.
lated the most elementary and universally
understood requirements of good prac.
tice. He did not believe that any other
dam of equal height had ever been con.
strucsed in this country wholly of earth
without some kind of special protection
against leakage or abrasion by water in
the center OF the dam Tue estimates OF
the original dam Indicated that il was
made of about half earth and half rock,
but il so there WAS little evidence Of il in
the broken dan- The riprapping was
merely q skin on each face, with more or
less loose spauls mixed with the earth.
The dam was , fee, above the water. 9 to
! inside slope, II 70 / outside slope,
20 feet wide on top. The rock through.
out was about one foot below the
surface. The earth was pretty good
material for such q dam il il was to be
built at al, being Of a ciayey nature, max.
ing good puddle. To this the fact of its
standing intact since ISL must be Is.
cribed. as no engineer of standing would
have ever tried to SO construct il The
fact that the dam was a reconstructed one
after over twenty years abandonment
made il especially hard on the older part
of the dam to withstand the pressure OF
the water.
At South Fork dam the community is in
. wild state of excitement as a result Of
fSne dood- The blame Of the entire affair
been placed upon the South Fork
hssNting and Fishing Club. and sc
A><N are some Of the people that
trouble 10 feared for W. s. Boyer, So.
perintendent of arrangements on the
lake. Some Of the cottages have been
broken into by marauders and the furni.
ture demolished. The boats owned BY the
club have been stolen IN broad daylight
and reduced TO kindlins wood By the IN.
fur.ated crowd