The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-01-19
THE BURST WATER MAIN
CLAIMS PRESENTED AGAINST THE
CITY AGGREGATING $1,000.
Five Thousand More to Come-The
Combined City Council Commit
tees Hold an Investigation Last
Evening.

Inc combined city council commit
tees on claims and waterworks last
night had the claims for damages sub
mitted by Remington & Johnson,
Walker Brothers, Union National bank
and Hogle Brothers, under considera-
ton, the session lasting over two hours
No report was drawn up, the testi-
mony not being all in yet, and
another meeting will be held tonight
There were present of the committee
Messrs. Clawson, O'1deara, Young. Wat
son, Lynn, and DAILY. City Attorney
Hose was there also in his official ca
paclty and conducted the examination
OF witnesses. The Walkers and the
Union National bank were represented
by j. Il. Walker, j. r. Walker, jr.,
and Il. F'arnsWorth, neither of the
other claimants being represented in
person or by attorney.
Four witnesses, Chief OF. Fire Depart
ment Stanton, Superintendent of
Waterworks Griffin, L. A. Dole and
is. B. Ripley. We're regularly examined
during the session, and J. r. Walker
made personal statement of what he
round upon his arrival on the scene
and told OF the methods which were
adopted TO shut off the water and
pump it out of the cellars of the build
ings.
The claims now before the committee
aggregate $4,000, to which must be
added that of the bank and Walker
Brothers, which has not been formally
presented, but which is estimated at
$4,000. The claimants hold the CITY re-
spons1bie for the entire damage and
allege that the break was due to the
use of defective water mains.
The testimony of the witnesses ex-
amined was in direct line with the
stories of the flood which have already
oeen published by the press, with the
exception that it went more into de-
tail. in the hopes of fixing the blame
Tor the catastrophe. Superintendent
Griffin of the waterWorks department
gave as his opinion that the blrsted
section OF pipe was new and had not
IAN In the ground many months. for
the reason that the gloss was still un-
on the outside, indicating that 1t had
been put in but recently. He was also
OIL the decided opinion that all that
could be was done by the CITY en-
ployees to prevent the further damage
OF the buildings and stocks. Mr.. Dole.
a former employee of the waterWorks
department under the Ryan admins
tration, testified to having assisted in
the laying of the pipe in question last
year. Nothing but new pipe was used
III Inc nelgnporhood of the break and
before being put in the ground even
that was given thorough test. Chief
Stanton told in detail of the alarm
being received about o'clock, the run
which was made by the department
and the subsequent work of the de-
partment in pumping out the water
from the cellars. There was over five
feet of water in the basement of the
bank when the department got to work
but with the two steamers the DEPART
ment was enabled to check the rise and
lower the water some eighteen inches.
even with the full stream flowing from
the main.
In giving his testimony Mr.. Walker
expressed the opinion that there should
have been more employees of the
waterworks department on the scene
in order that the flow of water might
have been cut off within five hours.
But one man was in evidence for two
or three hours and he was unable to
turn off the water.
The question of liability is still far
from settled and the members of the
committee refused to listen to a pro-
position made by the Walkers. to an
point appraisers for the purpose of
determining the amount of damage
done by the water and also to name a
subcommittee to inspect the premises.