Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-01-08
WHO is G. N. MORRIS !?
HE CLAIMS TO HAVE A CONTRACT To
CLOSE THE LEvEE BREAK,
And Bargains for Stock of Groceries
His Whole Story Proves to be With
out Any Foundation.

who is the fellow that's going to fix up
tag Payne break in the leyee down the
river?" asked well-known pump -engi-
neer of RECORD UNION reporter yesterday
at isn't going to be fixed until the water
goes down." answered the reporter.
Pm surprised at you newspaper men -
continued the (un-civiD engineer. Here
you folks have been telling US the Govern.
ment will not do anything for long time,
and are making people think the river will
change its course, when in fact man is
right here in this city who is going to COM
mence the work closing the break next
Monday"
where is hep" asked the reporter.
you'll find him up at my house. He
has engaged my sons-one to run an en-
CINE and the other as cook, and guess he
means business"
The reporter Immediately set out and
soon reached the house, where he asked
permission to see the unexpected contractor
of the big undertaking. That individual
at once arose from table at which he was
eating his dinner and stated to the news
gatherer that he was ready to give him any
information on the subject He then made
the following statement as to how he OBJ
tanned the contract and as to his plans:
WENT TO HEADQUARTERS.
II heard, said Morris, that the Gov
eminent had taken in hand the matter of
fixing the break, and. being in Oregon at
the time working at levee building on
Snake river, telegraphed to Washington,
stated that | would do the work for so, 900,
and they notified me to go ahead"
But where is your contract?'
"My brother has it, he answered, land
is on his way here now with forty span of
horses to do the scraping. NV name is G.
NJ. Morris and my brothers E. NJ. Morris.
We have made levee- building business all
through the Northwest. and have Just fin-
ished job near Huntington. up in Oregon,
which took US five and half months. We
propose to stop the water from running
through the break with piles, and we have
already four carloads here. On the next
train from Oregon
ALL OF OUR APPARATUS,
Including piles, engines, timber AID tools,
will arrive and we are to commence next
Monday. l have contracted TO build 700
feet of levee for the amount mentioned
$500 000), and intend to employ between
fifty-fiye and sixty men on the work. 1t
will probably be about the middle of May
before the work will be finished"
Have you taken soundings of the depth
of water at the break Pr
"Oh, yes; I've been down there" an
swered Morris. "The water is on an aver
q oh faat1 W. a.
drive piles four feet apart across the break.
At every other pile we drive another in
front, and when this is done we will COM
mence at the bed of the river and nail on
three-inch planks from the bottom up
above the surface of the water. and thus
shut Oft the break completely. This done,
we get our scrapers together 1--WE use the
wheel scraper) and throw up the legee
and the work is DONE"
THAT MYSTERIOUS CONTRACT.
The reporter was rather curious to see
that mysterious contract, and wanted to
know who, on the part of the Government,
had signed it and how IT was that the news
papers had not heard of 1t: but Morris
would only state that his brother had all
the papers, and that they hadn't talked on
the subject to news-gatherers.
At the house in which he was stopping
the two young men whom he had en-
ployed seemed glad of the opportunity
thus afforded them to work, and though
they considered Morris somewhat young
Che was about twenty-three years old to
undertake such an important piece of bus
mess, they seemed to think everything
would go along smoothly
I'll employ all my men right here in
town." were the last words he said, as the
ron donortAd 10 "a s
the Oregonian the impression that he had
swallowed the whole story, but with the
conviction that there was something
wrong.
COLONEL MENDELLs DENIAL.
A dispatch was first sent to San Francisco
asking whether or not such contract had
been let, and upon inquiry there at the
Office of Colonel Mendell it was ascertained
that nothing had been done in the way of
letting contract to any person to close the
Payne break.
The railroad freight office was the next
place visited, and it was ascertained there
that no carloads of piles were among the
freight, and that none were on the road
{ The pump-engineer, who first gave the in
formation. was next seen, and he told there
porter that Morris had told his sons that he
had bought $3.50 worth of groceries at the
American Cash Store and paid for them.
WORKING A GROCERY STORE.
The grocery store was then visited, and
there sure enough, were the groceries
$3.50 worth-piled up and ready to be called
for. The proprietor of the store was asked
if they were paid for, and replied that they
were not, and he didn't expect that they
would be called for either. A man named
Morris had come to him and at first stated
that he was in the cattle business and
wanted to take lot of supplies off to bis
ranch. The following day he called and
told the same story he gave the reporters.
He was to have called for the goods last
Sunday, but he has not shown up yet.
COFFEE STAND SUFFERS.
1t is said the same individual beat the
proprietor of little coffee-house on Eighth
and K streets out of two meals He
wanted to borrow some money, but the
owner of the stand thought something was
wrong, and refused him.
Morris meanderings could be traced no
further. What his purpose is can possibly
be correctly guessed at without much
stretch of imagination.
WHAT THE OFFICERS SAY.
Since the above was put in type the
RECORD UNION received the following tele
gram from San Francisco: Colonel Men
dell and Major Heuer were seen again this
evening. Trey say that no contract has
been let for closing the break in the Yolo
levee on the Sacramento river. When 8
contract is to be let bids will be advertised