The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1889-11-07
BRIDGE J0LTS.
SOME SHORT STOPS ABOUT AN oscIL-
LATINO WOODEN BRIDGE.
Visions of Newspaper Reporter and
Graphic, Jerky Pointers About
Perfectly Safe Bridge

THE STATEsMAN's no bridge expert.
Doesn't pretend to be. County COM
missioners are. Or pretend to be.
STATESMAN has been told things, how
ever. By practical. Bridge men. Years
ago was told. Over and over again.
Has been told. Has heard. Bridge
men. Tell others. That bridge.
Should not oscillate, Dangerous Tor
them to do so. Very. Great hazard.
Insecurity. Risky. Oscillation very
bad Bridge as it were. Hangs by ga
thread. Thread breaks. Bridge falls.
Great disaster. Lives lost. People
manned. Practical bridge men.
Emphatic. Earnest. In say
ing. Oscillation. Is dangerous.
Reporter has put. Question. To
bridge men direct. They are positive.
Practical bridge men. Said. And
they still say. Oscillation. Causedt
Wooden structure. Once at foot OF
Avenue. To fall. They said it at the
time. They still stick to it. Practical
bridge men. Know what they talk
about. Now for facts, STATESMAN re-
porter. Last evening. en- wooden
bridge. Over Bouldin's creek. Cotton
wagon. Load. Five bales. Drove on
ridge. Came down hill and onto
structure. With rush. Span oscil-
lated. Moved. To and fro. Wibble-
wabbied. Creaked. lGroaned. Re
porter. Thought OF accident. Dished
up. In newspaper. Big head lines.
Reporter shut his eyes. Had vision.
Saw Doctor Swearingen. With meat
ak. Going to chop off reporters leg.
Doctor Bragg. Was there in
vision. With a barrel of pellets.
Reporter thought of his prayers. In
vision. Saw write up. By reporters.
Noble fellow. Pure. Unselfish. Vir-
tuous. Gone to heaven. Never see
Doctors Swearingen and Bragg again.
Never. So report read. In vision.
Joking. Aside. Truly Bridge. Os-
cillated. Dangerously so. With very
heavy load. Oscillation be much
worse. And, may be. Twist off span.
Reporter. Mention this. For what
it is worth. THE STATESMAN tells facts.
; Tells of bridge. Ii bridge men know
anything. That is not safe. OF course.
No advice is offered. No suggestion.
No recommendation. Only calls at
tention to bridge. County commits
sioners no better than STATESMAN.
Whatever may be said of them. No
matter. How much fun. You poke
at them. Commissioners know a
safe bridge. They know.
Exactly. How to have safe bridge
constructed. Very wise are commits
sioners. Find place for bridge. Point
where people. Willnot cross it. Put
it. Remote. From population. Few
crossings. Big factor OF safety. Happy
thought. Another happy thought
strikes commissioners. Humane men.
Won't have risky bridge. Even in
brush. Somebody fooling around.
Might. Undertake to crossit. Fence
crossings. AS said Big factor of
safety. But will add another. Com
missioners will. Get heads together.
viii have perfectly sale bridge.
Wise men. Very. Have got
the brluge. lCS just us Iney WaHI
it. Constructed under the daily.
supervision OF their own engi-
neer. Inspected from time to time.
BY commissioners. Work completed.
receive !. Paid for. Bridge perfectly.
safe. No safer bridgein all the world.
Impossible for it. To oscillate. To
shake. To be plastic. To vibrate.
TO waggle-woggle. TO tumble down.
70 brighten innocent reporters. And
cause 'em. To have visions of hor-
rible doctors. Nothing of the sort
about commissioners bridge. None OF
them things. Can occur to it. Good
reason. Their bridge. Is on bottom
of river. Not over it. Impossible to
fall off commissioners bridge. Should
you be able to find it. You could not
cross. Hence, it is perfectly safe.
For the sum OF $47 900. In hand
paid. It's the safest bridge at this
time. Ever drea med Of. The Bouldin
creek bridge. For heavy loads. u
not safe.