Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-06-14
OPINION orEvoryrEnISa EXPERTS.



instion of the Johnstown dam, and cf In
quiries In Johnstown ami Pittsburg. by
which various facts not yet n,sdo public
were asccrtai0cd:
Tho first break in the dam occurred in
July, 1852, aud was caused by defect In
the culvert through which two-feet dis
charge pipes were carried for letting out
water from the bottom of the reservoir.
This break did comparatively little damage,
the discharge having been quite slow,
wholly from the bottom, and cbokcd from
time to time by the fall of material from
above. II carried out only about half as
much material from the dam as the last
break, or about $1,000 cubic yards. Enough
Of the dam remained to make little pond
about eight feet deep above the dam, which
stayed unused until i'm May, 1915, the prop
erty, consisting Of somewhat over 800
acres, was sold to Congressman John Reilly.
The lake itself WAS i,W acres in size, not as
large as has been reported. -
After holding the property unused until
1879 Mr.. Reilly offered II to the late Colonel
Is. r. Run, an old and successful raIrold
and tunnel contractor and the originator of
the South Fork Fishing and Hunting club,
for the sum of s2,OOO. Colonel Ruff int r.
cstcd two other Pittsburg gentlemen in The
project, and stated to them that tho Il I'M
could no reconstructed for not over 81 800,
and that he would take the contract Ia do IL
for 81, 700. We have this and the following
facts on the most unimpeachable authority
On this basis the club was organized. and
for some time these three gentlemen were
the only persons in II. No ono of them is
now connected with 1t. Colonel Ruff =
lea had been To reconstruct the dam much
lower, only 10 feet high, but IL soon APP
pearcd that to cut down the spiIlway or
waste weir. which is through rock, Would
cost moro than to reconstruct the dam to its
original height, and, by the time this had
been done, the total expenditure, rs shown
by the pay rolls had been slightly over $40
900, or about 20 cents per cubic yard.
There still remained the work of rip
rapplng the slopes and other miscellaneous
work, ~ 10 which our information IL less
precise, being only that IL "may" have
cost $1,000, but not more; bringing the
total cost mp to tho very small figures of
sl7,0D, which have been given on other
authority I'm newspaper dispatches. This
work was all done In the summer of 1850.
Tho original dam was estimated to cost
slSs.WO, and actually cost nearly s2iO,OO0.
Colonel Ruiz engaged as foreman and
superintendent for this q Mr.. Pearson, a
cousin of the present mayor of Allegheny
City. II is the general impression around
Johnstown and Pittsburg, among those
who know anything about II, that Mr..
Pearson was the "engineer' of tho repairs,
but this II incorrect. He has never been
an engineer, but atter 1850 was employed
i'm the local freight department of the
Pennsylvania railroad, at Pittsburg, until
he formed his present connection, which Is
with the firm of IIaney a Co., general
teamsters for the Pennsylvania railroad
freight department. We were also told by
some that Colonel Run was the "cngineer,'
but this also is incorrect, So far as
we can ascertain by diligent inquiry
he not only was never an engineer,
hut he had never been engaged be-
y re even as n contractor on water works
mr. n I'M, s..u. II rot In IN
employed nj all it would appear that il
must have been To AN unimportant extent
In fact, our information is positive, direct
aud uDimpcachable, that ut no time during
the process of rebuilding the dam was an
engineer whatever. young or old good or
bad, known or unknown, engaged in or
consulted AZ to tho work fact which
will be hailed by engineers everywhere
with great satisfaction, as relieving them as
body from a heavy burden of suspicion
and reproach. The precautions taken
against failure were only such AN old
railroad contractors knowledge ofhylrau-
lie engineering indicated were admissible
without further increasing contemplated
Investment of Si,7 700, which had 10 be in
creased at last by over $4,000.
Information gathered for us by Mr.. Il. s.
Miller, NJ H., of tho Lidgerwood manu-
featuring company, corresponds with that
gathered by us from other reliable sources,
that the work Of reconstruction was done
with the slight care hich these facts max, 4,
probable. Tho old material which had
caved In WAS let untouched the top of the
dam was worked down onto il the old
pipes and cuivcrt, which still remained in
u somewhat injured condition, were Gov
cred over with earth and permanently
closed, double row Of hcnlock plank
sheet piling being driven across the old
channel. There WAS no careful ranitning
in watered layers Leaking during the
process was great, and some tons of hay
and straw were filed in To- stop it, The
dam was finally made fhirly tight, but
always leaked nj tho bottom, and
of late years the leakage had been incrca, =
ing. Tho original crest height of the dam
WAS decreased from ! t. 3 feet, and the
spillway was shortly after obstructed, with
gratings To retain fish, and n trcstlc bridl G
built across tho opening. The spillway
was ohstructcd l) by sill about inches
high l2) 10y an iron iishguard Is inches
high, composed of half inch rods ! inches
apart, or inch in the clear or close enough
To readily catch leaves and fine brush (3)
by an 10y inch stick floating Coruerwise,
Siding vertically on rod AT each end, and
armed with closely driven nails tn keen
f'sh from jumping over; ~ Ivy the posts
ot the trcstlc bridge closing about Il per
cent. OF the opening, and 90 NJ the time of
The break by ragged piece of drin 10 feet
long and feet in diameter.
Had the bridge and all its ohstructing at
tachments been cut away in time, the dis
asicr might possibly have been aycrted.
We have investigated carefully the va.
rious specific reports that the dam was pc.
riodicaliy or occasionally inspected 10y en-
glneors, but find no evidence that IL was
ever Inspected and approved, even once
ny any engineer commissioned for that
purpose who by any stretch of charity
would bo regarded as an expert. 4 lcw
inspections by local or junior engineers
have from time To time been made, somt
approving, but none Of either kind came
from sources which would command much
weight in the profession. The report that
certain Pennsylvania railroad engineers
regularly inspected the dam is de
med by number of officers who should
know, and IL unqucstionahly without
foundation, The dam was a contractors $
dam. Engineers had nothing To do either
With its construction or its maintenance.
Mr. j. =. Parks, it is true, who was in
charge of the efforts To save the dam, was
an engineer by education, but he is very
Young man, only year or two ont OF
college, and did about all that could hay q
been done except To clear away the will
way.
To raise the whole area of the lake ten
Inches per hour, which is the reported rate
before the Hood, required an accumulation
OF only i,nS feet per second, and that much
more splllway capacity would have saved
the break. Two feet more height of crest
was therefore the immediate destr owing
agency.
sent n Carload OF Bread.
ln It1tA t.Y .,tI