St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-11-06
Dta0StF TIVE ] tn &tkV
Rollins and His Committe
Have Begun to Send for
Them.
Yesterday they Examined the
Specifications and Con-
tracts for Pumps.
H. Jay Smith Will Test the
Strength Of the Barrels
To-Day.
North Star Club Movement
Booming--District Court
News.

Aid. Rollins pump Investigating COM
mittee held IFS first meeting yesterday
afternoon, and although the session
lasted several hours, it has proceeded
very little farther than to map out a
course of investigation and the points
which are to be investigated. From
present indications it would appear that
the investigation will consume several
days.
The committee first held a brief eX-
ecutiye session to determine upon plans
and il was decided 10 begin with the
contract ana the specifications under
which the pumps We're constructed. The
doors were then thrown open and the
populace admitted.
The contract between Harry r.
WOrthington and the city of Mime
apolis, dated Nov. %, 1887, was then
read.
This contract calls for two compound
condensing Worthington high duty
pumping engines, and some of its more
important specifications are as follows:
These engines win be duplicate in every
essential particular, having high pressure
steam cylinders SO inches in diameter, low
pressure or expanding steam cylinders Sc
inches in diameter, all of 4S-inch stroke.
They Will each be capable of delivering IS
100000 Eited States gallons III twenty-fOur
hours. al piston speed not exceeding 12j
feet per minute. and will deliver this GUAM e
lity against total load on the plunger of -
points per square inch, and will be capable
or working against fire pressure of 125 pounds
without showing weakness or injury of any
kind.
The party OF the first part further agrees
thai when working against above mentioned
load. - pounds, these engines viii be capable
OF developing duty of 1i5.900. 900 foot pounds
with each 100 pounds of fuel consumed"
The contract further provides for
tests at any time during the first year OF
actual service. these tests to be of not
more than six days duration, and to be
conducted by experts chosen by the city
and the WorthingtOn company. The
price named IN the contract is S129, 900.
and the price actually paid to the com
pany by the city rs shown by the rec
Ords was Sd, 4l6.21.
One of the members OF the committee
then inquired of City Engineer Rinker
as to the testing of the engines, and he
replied that on March p and 81. 1890,
they had been thoroughly tested by
Prof. ". A. Pike, superintendent of
the mechanical engineering department
of the state university, and Prof. Barr,
also of the engineering staff of that i'll
stitution. as experts for the city. and
MeSSrs. C0lgrOye and Olds, engineers
for the Worthington company, as ex-
perts for the company.
Mr.. Rinker further stated that he and
Mr.. Cappelan, OF the engineering corps,
and Chief Engineer Bergstrom. now in
charge Of the pumping station. were
also present at the tests, which occupied
twelve hours on each of the days
named.
In this connection MIR. Rinker pro-
duced the report of the tests made by
Prof. Pike, who had assumed charge at
his request, there having been some
talk of his having personal interest in
the selection of the pumps. This re-
port had been published in the annual
report Of the water department.
Mr.. Rinker read Prof. Pixies report,
which gave summary of the result Of
the tests, and stated that both pumps
had developed duty greater than was
called for i'll the contract at less than
the specified piston speed. Mr.. Rinker
stated in addition to this report that at
his request and for his own satisfaction
Prof. Pike had made a test Of the boil
ers. which showed that 1861 pounds of
water were evapOrated TO each pound
of coal consumed.
Aid. Hunter then inquired of Mr..
bers Of the committee appointed to 90
East and select pumps. and Mr.. Rinker
replied by giving brief history of the
way in which the WOrthingtOn pumps
were selected. He stated that the com
mlttee of which he was a member was
appointed to go East and inspect vari-
Gus pumps. Bids were then advertised
for and opened by the council commit
tee on water works, who selected the
WorthingtOn pump. Mr.. Rinker also
called attention to the fact that two of
the members of the committee on water
works were also members of the special
committee which went East. He also
stated that he had recommended to the
committee that the Worthington pump
be selected.
At this point Mr.. Rinker said that if
he were to be examined on this subject,
he would like to be sworn and to have
all other witnesses sworn, so that the
testimony would be correct, and would
have its proper weight. This the com
mittee agreed to, and on motion of Aid.
Bradish it was decided to have the city
clerk subpoena PrOfs. Pike and Barr to
appear before the committee at Its
next meeting to be held this evening
at $50. In reply to a question from
Aid. Bradish. Mr.. Rinker stated that
manner, and that as far as he could as
certain there had been no disposition on
the part Of any one concerned to mis-
represent any particular.
Aid. Rollins then inquired regarding
the boilers. and Mr.. Rinker stated that
the boilers used at the pump house
were, in his opinion, the best that could
be secured. They produced the high
est evaporation, and that was the point
sought. He stated that he had visited
the Cramp ship yards and found that the
boilers used in the great ocean steamer.
the Philadelphia, were the same, eX-
cepting that they had three corrugated
iron tubes where these had two.
In reply to an inquiry from Aid.
Kiichli as to the probable cause of the
breaking of the piston rods of the en-
gines, Mr.. Rinker stated that there were
innumerable reasons 10 which it might
be attributed. Principal among these
was the fact that instead of q total load
of seventy-fiye pounds, as provided in
the contract, the plungers had been
subjected to load of from eighty TO one
hundred pounds. Then there might be
a hidden flaw In the rod itself, or the
engineer might lave been careless. On
motion of Aid. BradiSh the city clerk
was instructed TO subpoena the engineer
and supervisor of water works TO APP
pear, and an adjournment was taken
until this evening at $50.
SMITHS BARREL Palace.