Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-03-25
THE BAD TUNNEL WORK.
Trial of Major Lydecker on q Charge Of
Neglect of Duty.


Neglect of Duty.
THE COURT MARTIAL CoNyENEs AT THE WAR
DEPARTMENT To-DAY--ITs PEBsoNNEL-rHE
CHARGES AND sPEC1FIcAT1oNs-LIEUrr rowN-
SEND THE FIRST WITNESS.
There was an unusual hustle in the War de-
partment corridors this morning centering in
the north wing Of the building, around the old
offices of the Secretary of War. Clerks and
messengers were busy clearing the large room
in the center, on the second floor, of the goods
and chattels OF the army tactical board and
putting the room in shape for the Lydecker
court martial, which was ordered to meet at IL
O'Clock. 1t was quite task to make a table
long enough to accommodate the thirteen Of
fcers who, besides the recorder. compose the
court, and one long table and two smaller ones
were put together. The small room to the
west, formerly used by Secretary Endicott's
private secretary. was fitted up as retiring
and consulting room for the officers.
THE ORDER coNvENING THE COURT
reads as follows, under date of the War depart
partment, March 2, 1889:
by direction of the President a general
court-martial is appointed to meet in this city
at II o'clock a. m, on Monday, the 25th day of
March, loo9, or as soon thereafter as practical
Bile, for the trial of such persons as may be
brought before it. Detail for the court-Major-
Gen: Geo. Crook Col. II. NJ. Black, twenty
third infantry; Col r. l. Dodge. eleventh in
fantry; Col. Z. Z. Townsend twelfth infantry;
Col. j.. NJ. Whittemore, ordnance department;
Col. Alex. Piper, fifth artillery: Col c. B. Com
stock, corps of engineers; Col. o. NJ. Poe,
corps OF engineers; Col. J. Mendenhall
second artillery; Lieut.. d. W. Flagler,
ordnance departments; Lieut.-Col. II. Nj. Rob-
ert corps of engineers; Lieut.-Col. W. E. Mer-
rlll. corps of engineers: Lieut.-Col. G. L. Gill
lesple, corps of engineers; Major Geo. B. Davis,
Judge-adyocate, judge-advocate of the court
The court Is empowered to proceed with the
business before it with any number of mem
bers present not less than the minimum pre-
scrlbed by law. Upon the final adjournment
OF the court the members will return to their
proper station"
THE COURT AND COUNSEL.
Col. Dodge was the first officer on hand this
morning, always excepting Major Davis, and
for time the colonel looked lonesome in his
glitter. The majors quiet fatigue dress con-
trasted somewhat with the abundance of gold
that soon began to fill the rooms and served as
q distinguishing feature well as rest for
the eyes,
quiet little gentlemen with a gray beard
sat in one corner of the room with his hand on
his forehead, pensiyeiy reading long, legal
looking document. The traditional green
baize bag on the table before him proclaimed
him of the legal fraternity. He was Gov.
Boutwell,, OF this city, who, with Mr.. Swift, of
Detroit are to act as counsel for Major Ly-
decker in his trial by the court on charges of
neglect Of duty.
The Charges and Specifications.
The paper which the governor was reading
was the ''charges and specifications preferred
against Maj. Garrett j. Lydecker corps of en-
gineers United States army" These, in the
full expanse of their military-legal lore, oc-
cupied four long pages of fine print, and set
forth with extreme precision and after an i'm
mense amount of repetition the ways and
means of Maj. Lydecker's wrong doing.
The charge is: Neglect of duty, to the
prejudice of good order and military dis
clpllne, in violation of the sixty-second article
of war;
THE FIRST SPECIFICATION
sets forth that Major Lydecker having been
assigned to the charge of the Washington aque-
duct, and having entered into contract with
Beckwith Quackenbush for the lining of
the tunnel, and it being his duty as the engi-
neer IN charge to require and see that the
specifications of the contract were faithfully
executed, did. from on or about the 14th day of
March. 1887, until on or about the 30th day Of
September, 1887 neglect his duty by culpably
failing to exercise the proper and neces-
sary personal supervision, and by
cuipably neglecting to give the work the per-
sonal inspection which it required, in conse-
quence of which neglect of duty the con-
tractors were enabled to, and did, evade
the requirements of the contract by leav-
ing IN the tunnel many and extensive cavities
untitled, and filling others with dry packing
ana thereby causing great injury to and i'm
pairment of the value of the tunnel, serious de-
lay in furnishing to the city of Washington the
nt ypafA Irfa An1 hxy
Congress, and great pecuniary loss to the
United States.
This specification stated that the contract
required that the packing between the side
walls and arch of the lining of the tunnel and
the sides and roof of the excavation should be
of rubble laid in cement mortar or with fine
concrete packed solidly around larger stones so
as to solidiy fill the space between the side
walls and brick arch of the lining and sur
rounding rock through which the tunnel was
eXcavated.
THE SECOND AND THIRD SPECIFICATIONS.
The second specification is practically the
same as the first with the exception of stating
Major Lydecker's neglect of duty to exist be-
tween May 8, 1888, and October 3O 1888.
The third specification sets forth that the con-
tract between Major Lydecker and Beckwith &
Quackenbush stipulated that ten per cent of
the amount due the contractors on each pay
ment tor work done should be retained until
tAt HlldI com plSsiOH anu acceptanc OF the whole
work; that Major Lydecker, without using the
proper and necessary diligence to satisfy himself
that the contractors had faithfully performed
their work on the 5th of December 1887 en-
tered INTO a supplemental agreement with
Beckwlth and Qaackenbush that in considera-
ton of the work done to the satisfaction of
Major Lydecker ne should pay the contractors
the sum of S7S.279.51, being IS per cent of the
percentage retained and withheld from the
contractors as d guarantee of good work. and
did pay that sum to Beckwith and Quackenbush
on the l4th of January, 1888, whereby. through
the. culpable negligence of the said Major
Lydecker. the said contractors received paw
for work not performed as contracted for, and
the United States sustained great pecuniary
loss"
THE FOURTH SPECIFICATION
is to the effect that Major Lydecker from on or
about March IA, 1887, to September 80, 1887,
failed TO take adequate steps to ascertain
whether the inspectors and sub-inspectors en-
ployed by him were faithfully and honestly
performing the duties for which they were en-
pioyed, by reason of which the contractors
evaded the requirements of the contract.
THE REMAINING SPECIFICATIONS.
The fifth specification is of the same nature,
setting forth neglect of duty as occurring
between May 8. 1888, to Oct. 80, 1888.
The sixth and last specification, after re-
citing the conditions of the case, sets forth
that lit being his duty (the said Major L.), in
view of the character of the work under his
charge, to exercise great care and diligence In
ascertainiDp whether the work which yvas haip,y