The morning call., 1895-02-19
HOLMES TO THE EXPERT.
REVIEWS THE POINTS MADE BY
DONAHOE AGAINST THE
CONCRETE.
COULDN'T JUDGE OF THE PILES
BECAUSE THEY ARE SUNK
IN THE MUD.

The report of P. J. Donahoe, Governor
Budds expert concerning the ferry founda-
TONS largely untitled a man for business
yesterday. The man was Contractor Nc
Mullen. He considered himself greatly
maligned by the report-and his language
was wholly confined to the realistic school
of expression.
Engineer Howard c. Holmes was calmer
about it. He went over the main points of
the report after little preliminary skir-
mishing, in which ne said he wouldn't; that
the report was not worth answering; that it
answered itself, and that he would reserve
his statement for such time as it might be
called for by the report of the experts more
recently appointed to go into the matter
thoroughly. Then he went on to saw:
"The report is inconsistent with itself
contradicts itself right through, 1t says
the holes were drilled twelve and sixteen
inches deep and at the greater depth moth
ing but solid cement was discovered Now
ANYBODY knows that where the material is
mixed before it is dumped into the caisson,
as this is, it would be impossible to sepa-
rate the cement from the rock and place
one or the other inside or out. But / am
informed-for / never bothered to examine
it myself-that no hole was drilled deeper
than five inches. l know that with the
best facilities gang of men have been all
day drilling one hole in the old seawall,
made exactly with the same material and
methods as the piers.
1.-THE report says the piles are none of
them over twelve inches at the butt, and
are an inferior lot. How he could tell this
is a little difficult to understand, as the
piles are all buried twenty feet in the mud
the tops of them are-and the last pile
was driven last November. Now the fact
is the piles were of extra quality and the
shortest of them was seventy feet. If you
try to buy pile seventy feet long and
twelve inches at the butt you can't do it.
They don't grow that way. A pile of that
length is necessarily not less than sixteen
inches at the butt.
again the report says the rock used is
not washed out. | made some tests when
this work was about to be begun, and
found that the dust of the rock of which
he complains was much better than sand
for the mixture The purpose of the test
was to see if the dust would not serve as
substitute for the sand. | found that it
was better.
ferior, it was accepted by Colonel Mendell,
Mr.. Schussler and other experts to whom
it was submitted.
''The report does not worry me at all -
said Holmes, because | anticipated it..
This Mr.. Doyle, who joins in the report as
president of the Builders Exchange, is a
householder, and doubt if he ever used
any cement in his life.
Another point has been raised concern
ing iron columns required in the new
building. 1t is charged that the Phoenix
columns are stipulated for which, as the
Phoenix are patented, would of course put
the contract in the hands of the Phoenix
Iron Works of Philadelphia, in which G..
P. Huntington is said to hold large in
terest. 1t is only necessary to quote the
specifications to refute this. Here they
are:
Sections etc-The accompanying plans, as
far as the wrought-steel work is concerned,
have been prepared upon the basis of Carnegie
sections as to beams and struts and columns.
Contractors are at liberty, however, to submit
estimates on other standard manufactured sec
tons, such as Phoenix iron columns, Phoenix
steel beams, Latimer or other compound col
umns, or any wrought or cast iron columns, of
an equal ultimate strength to those indicated
in the drawings.
According to the framing plans herewith ac-
companying, all of the first-story columns are
of cast iron Bids may be submitted, however,
on the basis of substituting Phoenix columns
for these, providing cast-iron basesIthroughout
and such wrought steel or other connections
to receive the Orders supporting the second
floor as may be requisite. Cast iron, however,
for the first floor is preferred, and unless there
Is decided saving III the employment OF
wrought columns preference will be given to
the cast iron.
s.As the Phoenix is wrought-iron col
umn. it does not look as though the de-
sign was to give it to that company when
preference is expressed for cast-iron col
umn, does it? 1t is said again that there
are only five ferry-slips provided for, all of
which are occupied, chiefly by the South
ern Pacific. The fact is, as the plans show,
that there are seven slips, two of which
are not occupied and are being provided
for future contingencies"