Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-05-04

Ply became abundant Before this main
was laid water could not be obtained on the
lower floors of houses on Capitol Hill dur
ing the greater part of the day. Although
the use of cast iron mains was first suS-
Sested, the plan was hotsadopted until the
tunnel-reservoir plan chad been tried and
abandoned q ii
While in charge of the aqueduct Gen.
Casey also introduced the system of re-
porting the clearness of the water of the
river by means of numbers, which system
has been continued ever since. These fig
ures are reported in The Star every day,
and are of great benefit to fishermen. to
when they mean so much
The Washington Monument.
Perhaps Gen. Caseys most important
engineering work, however, was in placing
new and enlarged foundation beneath the
Washington monument and carrying the
shaft from height of 100 feet to a height
of 800 feet and browning it with a pyra-
midion % feet in'height in place of the fiat
terminal of the proposed original design.
He was placed in charge of this work in
1873 by the President OF the United States
and the joint commission for the COM
pletion OF the monument. The corner stone
OF the monument was laid in 1913 and the
work upon it progressed slowly until its
suspension in 1896, when the shaft had
reached height of 1876 feet In 1876 Con-
gress made provision for resumption Of
the work Its unfinished condition was a
source OF general regret, and Gen. Casey
took patriotic pride in the work of push
ing it to completion.
His plan for the completion of the monu-
ment contemplated, first, the digging away
OF the earth from around and beneath the
outer portions of the old foundation and le
placing it with Portland cement concrete
masonry; then. in removing a portion of
the old masonry foundation itself from he
neath the walls of the shaft and subst
tutlnS therefor continuous Portland ce
ment concrete enlargement extending out
over the new subfoundat ion. The weakness
OF the old foundation lay in the fact that
1t was too shallow and covered an area Of
ground insufficient to sustain the pressure
OF the completed work. The strengthening
consisted in the enlargement of the founda-
tion by spreading it over a greater area
ana sinking 1t a greater depth into the
earth. The work of excavating beneath
the monument was commenced January IS,
1919, and the new foundation was finished
May %, 1850.
AS completed the new foundation covers
TWO and half times as much area and
extends thirteen and a half feet deeper
imam the old one Indeed, the bottom of
inc, ine new work Is only two feet above the
level or high tides in the Potomac, while
the water which permeates the earth of
the monument lot stands six inches above
TINS bottom The foundation now rests
upon BED or fine sand, some two feet in
thickness, and this sand stratum rests
upon bed of powders and gravel Bor-
lrss nave been made in this gravel deposit
tor depth OF over eighteen feet without
character of the material upon which the
foundation rests that the settlements of
the several corners of the shaft have Diff
fered from each other by only the smallest
subdivisions of the inch. The pressures
on the earth beneath the foundation are
nowhere greater than the experiences of
years have shown this earth to be able to
sustain, while the strength Of the masonry
in the foundation itself is largely in ex-
cess of the strains brought upon it. The
stability of this base is assured against
all natural causes except earthquakes or
the washing out of the sand bed beneath
the foundation.
Having enlarged the foundation the
work upon the shaft was speedily COM
menced. The summer of 1880 was mostly
taken up in building an iron frame within
the shaft, preparing the hosting ma
chinery and collecting the granite and
marble needed in the construction. The
first marble block was set in the shaft on
the 7th of August, 1880 and the last stone
was placed at the level 500 on the 9th of
August, 1884, thus consuming four seasons
in finishing the shaft. The topmost stone
of the pyramidon was set on the 9th of
December, 1884. thus essentially completing
the obelsk y
State, War and Navy departments.
While engaged in this, work, Gen. Casey
was also in charge of the work Of COM
pleting the State, War and Navy Depart
ments building. He began this work in
March, 1877, after the south wing had been
completed and the walls of the east wing
We're up to the cornice. Architect Mullett
built the south wing and commenced the
east wing. The work on the east wing up
to the bottom of the roof was continued by
Col. Babcock. Gen. Casey put on the roof
of the east wing and built the north, west
and center wings entire. The total cost of
the building was S1O,03S, 49,. The south and
east wings and approaches cost SG,u46 2a6,
and the north and west wings and APP
proaches and the center wing Si,992, go. In
other words, Gen. Casey did three-fo Irths
of the work for about 100000 less than
the other fourth had cost. 1t was COM
menced in 1871, and was completed and
ready for occupancy throughout March l,
1855.
In the summer of 1873 Gen. Casey visited
Europe as member of board to make
contracts for torpedo cables and to examine
the systems of torpedo defense adopted by
Great Britain, Germany, Austria and
France. He was also member of various
boards to devise an improved system of
ventilation for the House of Representa-
tiEeS from 1877 to 1886. He superintended
the erection of monument over the grave
of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello Va, in
1856. and also assisted in the work of
marking Washington's birthplace at Wake
field Va, and his headquarters at New
burgh. N. y. He Superintendent the con-
struction of the Army Medical Museum in
this city from April, 1885. to October, 1885,
and he had charge of the erection of the
statue of Garfield at the foot of the Capt.
house board and had charge of several i'm
portant engineering works in New York
harbor.
The River improvements.
Gen. Casey has also been identified with
the improvement of the Potomac river
In June. 1878, he made report to the chief
of engineers for the information of Con-
gress in regard to the practicability of
erecting dixie along the western edge of
the Potomac flats, to improve the sanitary
condition of the city. He said the dixie
was entirely practicable.
After the great fire at the patent Office in
1877 Gen. Casey was appointed by Presi-
dent Hayes a member of board to en-
anime all the public buildings in the city
and determine the nature and extent of
their security against fire. He was also
member of a board appointed under au-
thority of an act of Congress of March,
1873, to superintend the fire-proof recon-
struction of the patent office. In 1882 there
were serious apprehensions as to the safe
ty of Winder's building on 18th street. &C.
cuped by the second auditors Office, and
Gen. Casey was president of the board that
examined the building and suggested meas
ures for its security.
In October, 1855, he was placed by Con-
gress in charge of the Instruction of the