Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-10-12
S 0 ME- THiNG WRONG
Vanishing Act Performed at the New City
Post Office.
Over Half q Hundred Men at Work
This Morning - Digging
the Trench.

1nere Is something seriously wrong at tne
post Office site. There has. to be sure, been
something wrong for some time-wrong
with the system of work, wrong with the
rate of progression. wrong with the general
aspect of things; but this is more serious
than any of these. There is a discrepancy
in figures, which may wreck the confidence
mates put forth by the officials. It may be
remembered that The Star announced yes
terday that there were nineteen men at
work on the building. This was a rock-bot-
tom fact There were not more than twen-
ty-five persons inside the fences, counting
the clerks and contractors and superintend-
ents and all. Nineteen of these were the
men of Drawn on whom the public of Wash
ington is depending.
But this figure Is seriously impeached by
the officials this morning Superinte ndent
kinsey said to The Star reporter that there
were fifty-one men at work yesterday, of
whom thirty-seven were on the iron con-
struction.
Il know that there were thirty-seven men
paid yesterday for that work." he added,
convncingly.
This is a horrible thought. Here is the
problem: II there were fifty-one men on the
Fay rolls. what did they do with their time ?
Thirty-two men must have just stepped out
to relieve the thirst that they have been ex-
periencing ever since the water boy was re-
moved for innocuous desuetude. They must
have done this just as the reporter entered
the lot, for they were not in sight Perhaps
they had arranged a signal and slid out
like children playing hide and seek at the
right moment. If SO, they should immedi-
ately apply to kellar or Hermann for posi-
lions in the celebrated vanishing acts
those CLEVER ma mn
such an art. Such an exhibition of evapora-
ton has never before been witnessed i'm
Washington.
But, seriously. there must be some mis-
take about the pay rolls of the contractors
II this claim be true. There was no trench
work being done yesterday, the iron work
was not being pushed half as rapidly as to-
day, and there were no odd jobs being per-
formed. 1t is just possible that the fifty
one men of Dir. kinsey's claim included the
drivers of Lit.lefield Il Alvord's wagons
hauling the stone from the wharf to the
site II so the official figures need revision,
Tor II Is none of the business of the mathe-
matician engaged i'll this difficult task TO
ma out how many men there are employed
IN getting the materials for the building to
the site III that factor We're included it
might be necessary to get the number of
m en- employed on the railroad trains that
carry the iron from Pittsburg and Indian
apolis the number of men on the schooners
that bring the stone and the number who
"A
is Just as slow as its slowest ship, and so
the speed of the work on the post Office
luilding is the speed with which the ma
terials are put together. The number of
men actually engaged at manual labor WITH
IN the FENCES, therefore, is the foundation of
the estimate, as the only true basis.
Today the reporter counted fifty-three mon
at work. This is the highest number EN-
Iloyed on the building since The Star be-
gan to note the progress a week
ago last Monday, and presumably the
largest number for many weeks. This in
crease OF men is caused partly by the re-
sumption of work on the trench in the
mont of the building, at the west end. n
has been found, after all. that this work
can go ON without interfering with the
dehvery OF the stone. and so fifteen men
were hired this morning, thus bringing the
totals up very nicely. Then, too there were
more men at work on the frames one more
engineer. and several new men had bean
brought In TO handle the great stones that
came yesterday evening for the main en-
trance. A
The fifty-three men at work TODAY estab.
hsh a rate that, IL continued unbrokep
would nnish the building on or about the
,th OIL June. 1877. This, 1T must be remem-
bered, Is on the basis of the original 90 Ic,,
lation. which was instituted without tbers
ceihs any idea that the number of men
would be increased so splendidly. under the
lhnuence OF The Stars persistent crusade
against the snail methods that have bitbar
10 been In vogue. That original commute .
tion, as has already been said will proba bIv
rave to be revised il the Burst of Enerev is
Kept in the field. According TO todsy's
iSule IL would seem as though the conyaI-
escence Oh the Burst had already begun.