St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-12-04
PUMPS AGAIN.
Tweedie and Rinker Will Be I'm
tangled by the Committee.

IWeedie and tinker VIII Be Un-
tangled by the Committee.
The pump investigation will begin
again today at 2 o'clock. Aid. Bradish
has returned from ChisagO county, and
there is no longer any bar to the re-
sumption of the inquiry. The investi-
CATION seems to be taking on the nature
of personal controversy between Engl-
neer Tweedie, of the North Side station,
and City Engineer Rinker. Mr.Tweedie
told some things and expressed some
opinions before the investigating COM
mittee that made Mr.. tinker look like
man that did not understand his bust
ness when he advised the purchase OF the
WorthingtOn pump and when he built
the pump house. He followed that up
with an interview in which he said that
Rinker was trying to make a scapegoat
Of the men in charge of the pumps. He
also said good deal calculated to con-
Vey the impression that the Worthing-
ton pumps are not the pumps for Min
neapolis: that they have never been sat
!stactory; that they are eXpenSiVe; that
they are in danger of going to pieces at
any moment. After saying that Rinker
blundered in recommending the pumps,
Tweedie adds:
If the test had been kept up six days
the city would not have been sqddled
with these expensive pumps. They ran
the pumps ten hours, and got Herewith
the aid of WOrthington's whisky and
champagne, but it was by The skin of
their teeth at that. A six days test was
impossible. and WOrthingtOn knew it;
but Rinker did not, or else he fooled the
city. could also tell about the bog
hole on which the house is built, and
how it sinks and cracks. If he has got
TO have Scapegoat he'd better try some
other fellow, as / decline to be immol-
ated on his altar"
Mr.. Tweedie's supplementary state
ments will probably be taken cogniZance
of by the committee. There is fun in
the air. The city engineer comes back
at MIR. Tweedie in this style:
Il consider myself fully competent to
shoulder any responsibility that may be
placed upon me for the purchase of
these pumps, and, if | cannot do so. |
shall not call upon Mr.. Tweedie to help
me out of the trouble. He says that he
was attempting to screen me: why, as
matter of fact, do not even know the
man. L have never spoken to him. and
II l have was not aware who | was
talking to. do not propose to enter
into a newspaper controversy with Mr..
Tweedie, but when the proper time
comes, and before a properly consti-
tuted body, l will tell my side of the
story, that is, if l can get hearing"
The tongue of gossip has been wag-
ging ever since this investigation be-
gan. Engineers who do not occupy
official positions have had word to say
about the WorthingtOn pumps. 1t seems
TO be the general, or almost general,
opinion among the engineers that the
old style of Worthington was a standard
pump. 1t seems, however, that the
pumps now in use in Minneapolis were
among the first of this style to be built
by the WorthingtOn company. That
may account for their inefficiency.
1t is also germane to the subject to
ask at this time what could be done if
the North side pumping station were to
take fire tonight? The only possible
answer is that it would have 10 burn up.
There is no road to the pumping station
by which an engine could go there in
case of fire. Should such an occasion
arise, the quickest way to get an engine
there would be to load it OH special
train and ship it by rail.