Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-04-12
The New Court House.

The criticisms made by THE EN- TERPRIsE upon the construction of the foundation of the new court house, has called forth strict investigation into the matter and if no other result is achieved, it has centered public attention upon the work and will re- lieve the contractors of some of the suspicious that might have attached to them if the present discussion had not been provoked. There is Q wide diversity of opinion even among men who profess q familiarity with the quality of the materials employed in the construction and, while some pronounce the mortar used as totally worthless and from this through the several intermediate grades to fair and good, others fail to see any just or reasonable grounds of complaint. It is impossible to reconcile these differ ences of opinion, and time alone must determine who is right and, as the doctors sometimes say in diagnosing obscure symptoms. "the post mortem examination will settle the contro- uersy."
 THE ENTERPRISE has no disposition to be unfair to any of the interested parties to this matter, but it IS willing and anxious to do justice to all. Its criticism is not prompted by personal feelings or malice, but solely in the public interests. It desires to see the new court house, when completed, an honest building, a credit to the county, an honor to the board of su- pervisors and an enduring monument to the skill and integrity of its build CTS. Therefore these columns are open to a free discussion, and expres- sion of the views, of all persons com potent to judge, having reference to the materials used and the manner of the construction of this building upon the plans and specifications as ! adopted.
 It is gratifying to know that the contractors are now giving the work their strictcst scrutiny. They have rejected portion of the lime in use and have caused q section of the imperfect wall to be torn down and rebuilt, and the quality of mortar now employed has been materially improv- ed. The changes being made from the plans and specifications, with the consent and approval of the board oI supervisors, are better told in state ment made to THE ENTERPRISE by contractor A. J. poran, as follows:
 MT. Doran says that every change made from the specifications hal been made with a view to the sub
 stantial improvement of the building and by consent of the supervisors
 The width of the base of the founda
 ton was purely mechanical question
 and the same volume of stone wa
 required in it's construction. For in
 quired to have 8 width of twent,
 inches on top, upon which sixteer
 inch brick wall and four inch pilaster
 were to rest-consuming the entir
 width of the foundations. The jai
 foundation were to be but sixteel
 inches and the pilasters would pro
 ject over them. We have made tn walls twenty-four inches wide on tol and frnm four to five fset wide on tn bottom which leaves ample room for
 water-table, and Is made for solidity
 The corners have been put in deepe
 and with solid piers not called for il
 the plan, at our own expense, and ar
 good and solid corners. This has beel done for our own protection.
 We found defects in the speciilca | tions which we are remedying at ou l own cost The main rear wall, 10 l feet long, was designated on the plal 3 as twelve-inch wall. This was no considered sufficiently strong to carr . the weight of the dome, as the trusse
 rest upon it, A sixteen-inch wall is
 necessity here and this we provid i without additional cost to the count,