The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-06-15
THE PUMPS IN PERIL.
Possibility Of IN Explosioa 1t
the City Water Works
CHARGES AGAINST eMorsEER.
- 1opssys - - Dspasso1ss DIS
seesesa - ofvaae Wsssiag - shs
0sosA - Rahaas works.

A WAT - reaAeed ~ William XcNamaxa
concerning the city water department.
% true, the board u public works should
.oss no time in remedying the deSecta
TOT nearly year thsse have besa Fumors
OF damage 70 msehtnery and vssts Of ma-
ssf'A q the pumping stations Of
tue dsy vstsr woeka They became
% pronounced that the board as
ien9sn ealisd in some experts.
WHO pronounced the machinery "All
nsns' Then Mr.. J. u. Colman.
with great public spirit. devoted consider
soae fsms TO ascsrtaininG Whist vas wrong.
and without doubt rsmsdisd . very serious
wrong. This. however. 10 the nsst time
toss . comprehensibie statement has ever
oesn msds - - the cause Of the trouble.
W. AeNamafa, until iatsiy employed In
the water department. yesterday flied
charges against Chief Engineer Alexander
wAi Of carelsssnsse and incompeteney,
ana In IN Interview With the PosT.IyrxL-
licxsc1a supplements the ofieial docu-
fnent By some very startling information.
IL 10 due to NJ. Wall 70 withheld jude-
mens until he has been heard bat the cut-
psbuity Of Mr.. Wail or any other person il
just now Of far less Consequence TO the
public than the truth OF faisity Of the
statements - 20 the condition Of the
boilers.
The following Is the text Of Mr.. No
Namara's communication 70 the board:
make the following charges against Aisxan-
Ser Wal. - chief engineer 81 The city wssss
works.
Through his earelsssnsss ana neglect Of duty
As va the msans OF breaking TIE big eAsek
vsivs on the Holly pump By pumpins asainss
- ~ h. efpnA ka~ kfNOf - n~AA
He eAussd shs Dressing Of the Holly gate .
second time ~ bis caseisnness In not closing
the ats valves on the Air chamber.
He also caused the bursting Of the Dow pump
oy not opsuisg the passover valves The rssnls
Is that there 10 . big crack II the cold water
chamber cvss hail m inch wide. stuffed With
waste. and IN iron bar he's had 10 b riveted
over the top Of The psps 70 kssp the Dow from
ee1ns TO pieces
He hes also failed 10 have he boilers elsaned
Tor ssven mootha, snd has allowed scales
70 sccumuiats two inches thfek. On the blow.
on OF No boiler them was - much dlth In .
sour-neh pipe thsa Il GOT plugged up
Through his carsisssnsss the boiler Of No 10
biissered
The saisty valves ars - closysd that although
supposed to blow OF ct 100 pounds Of steam they
viii not blow Oh ut l2o poundA
All Of which ! an prepared 70 suhssans!ass
with several Witnesses
Mr.. Mcnamara was asked - 20 these
charges By OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES reporter.
He states that every break which had oc-
CURED to the pumps, except the breaking
OF the shaft the first time, has taken place
during Wallis watch.
THE boilers are in such condition, =" he
continued. that they are not safe. II
one Of them should burst Is would 10
worse than dynamite, and would probably
destroy the entire plant.
THE trouble began long before the sx-
perts made their report There VAS talk
Of trouble and incompstency but the re-
port Quoted them down. Then the shaft
Of the Holly broke, the boilers biistersd,
and the Dow burnt. The bursting Of the
Dow vas caused By Wallis carelessness in
not opening his passover valves Any.
body can see the great crack with the
waste stuck In Is. and they had to put q
steel band over her head 20 keep the crack
from spreading and the pump from falling
10 pieces. This was before Colman made
his examination.
Every engineer mp there knows this to
b true. II can DO proved. too. that dur
ing last summer Wall used about LOO
tons Of coal . month. They ought to have
used about 100 tons. Mr.. Colman found
this out and raised the vacuum from be-
low Is to -. and there isn't over half the
quantity Of coal used. tell you the Dow
was . man killer until Colman took her
In hand. She used :wo cords Of wood to
one now. II IL weren't for the break In
her she would be a fine pump now.
THE city would have been ahead II il
had paid good man t5,010 year instead
Of having Wall mean on fuel and extra
work Of repairing. He is ali the time hav.
ing mechanics out a. the pumping station
tinkering up. The Worthing,ons have
twice been TO tho foundry
within eight months. There
has never been word Of all this. ye. the
job cost the city suppose about $1,000,
tearing down. fixing un and 50 on. The
only piece OF mechanical work ever saw
Wall do was door tor the furnace of No.
3. and any school boy could have done
better in drawing the plans. The Innings
70. the door had to be Clipped with .
cnisel to make them III.
"A licensed inspector Of boilers ought
10 60 out and sec that the boilers are not
hlssered and that the safety valves are
working, or some day there will be an ex.
plosion and, besides killing every man In
the place. il might kill people quarter Of
q mile awav.
If this will not scare the city officials
perhaps the fear that tens OF thousands Of
dollars of damage 10 property would be
done, and the city would be badly crippled
in case al fire. even If ali the pumps were
not blown 10 atoms and the city wi,hou,
water for few weeks. viii.
If such an explosion did take place
through such criminal neglect the in.ur-
ance companies might take OFT the insu,
anee and leave every body 10 guard his own
property.
you will Be told that was fred. Well
this 10 vhss happened: We all know on,
there just how things are, and We know