St. Paul daily globe., 1889-02-27
THE AQUEDUCr REPORT.
The LongLooked F. or Document
Submitted at Last.

Submitted at Last.
Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON, Feb 26.-The long
looked-for-report of the joint congress
sional committee on the aqueduct was
presented to the senate by SEN
ator Edmunds, the chairman of the
committee. this afternoon. The report
is yoluminouS, and is accompanied by
testimony, and by the report of the
committee of experts which under di-
rection of the committee made an in
yeStigation of the condition OF the tun-
mel. The committee says that it ap-
pears from the report of the experts
and from the testimony taken,
to be beyond all question that
substantially the whole and every
part of the lining of the tunnel
is absolutely and enormously defective; !;
that there is not ten feet of the lining
where the backing is not wanting. The
committee has no just grounds to be-
lieve from the evidence that either
Maj. Lydecker or Lieut.. Townsend was
guilty of any corrupt practices or had
any personal knowledge of them; but
they. with the chief inspector. must
have been guilty of negligence of duty,
for it seems impossible to conceive that
the sham work could have gone on
without being discovered if any of the
engineers connected with the work or
the inspectors had done their duty.
The committee thinks it would cost
100000 to put the tunnel in the condi-
ton in which it should be. The report
criticises the original plan of the work,
and says if it had been submitted to the
board OF engineers at the time the work
was undertaken it would never have
been adopted. The fact that great an
amount of money has been expended,
the committee says, does not furnish
the ground for spending more. The
committee does not favor spending any
more money on this tunnel, and thinks
that for the present it should be left in
the condition in which it is. The COM
mittee, therefore, reports an amend
ment intended to be reported to the
deficiency bill, appropriating $4,000
for the survey of a line for substantial
surface gravity conduit from the present
distributing reservoir above George
town to the new reservoir in the city of
Washington to be made by the chief of
engineers under the direction of the
secretary of war. This survey, when
made, shall be reported to congress. to-
gether with detailed plans and drawings
showing its location. character and state
| ment of the length of time required for
it's construction, with a detailed
estimate of the cost including land
damages, and all other things pertain
ing thereto, for the information and
consideration of congress. One half of
the appropriation to be paid out of the
United States treasury and one half by
the district of Columbia. The plan
suggested by the committee for the
present is the laying of a forty-eight
inch cast iron pipe laid from the dis
tributing reservoir. eastward through
Georgetown, connecting with the higher
level service pipes of the city, which
will furnish an additional supply of wa
ter through length of 2s,000 feet. of
100000 gallons per day, at an eleya-
ton of 135 feet above the Potomac river,
and II, 100000 per day at an elevation of
141 feet. Col. Casey, chief of engineers,
estimates the cost at S524,417, and be-
lieyes the main can be put in use in
twelve months from the signing of the
contracts for the pipe.