Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-07-20
WATER PLENTY.
But IT Was Used Over and Over ontracto,
Fools Uncle Sam.

Boston, July ia special dispatch
from Washington to the Boston Jour.
| mai says:
| \ remarkable story of fraud aeains,
| the government has come to light
| which illustrates the case with which
| the eyes of the government officials
| may sometimes be closed 1t is not a
| gigantic job, but it involves enough
money TO make it decidedly interest
| ing.
Fort Myer lies just across the river
| from Washington, adjoining the Ar
! lington National cemetery 4 regiment
| of United States cavalry is quartered
| there. Several years ago it became
| evident that it's water supply was in
| sufficient. and Congress appropriated
s100 0o0 to improve it. The scheme was
| to tap the aqueduct which supplies
Washington with water. and carry the
supply thence to Fort Myer by a con-
| duit.
1t seemed a good deal of money to
spend. and various alternative propo-
sitions We're submitted. The proposal
which was finally accepted was to dig
| well on the premises that would fur
nish at least 10000 gallons of pure wa
ter every "A hours,
The contract price was $4,000. which
meant a saving of S92 900. and IT was
stipulated that if the flow should be
less than $4,000 gallons a day or if the
quality should not be satisfactory. not
cent was to be paid
\ site for the well was selected by
Quartermaster General BatcheIder a
company was organized with ex-Rep-
resentative Maish of Pennsylvania as
president, and work was finally begun
in 1893 1t had not gone far before a
stratum of granite was reached and
the site was abandoned.
Another site was selected short
distance above the first The work
vas sub-let to a professional well dig
ger from Pennsylvania. who was so
much interested in il that he agreed
to secure the desired amount of the
proper quality for one-half the sum
named in the original contract A sec
ond wen was dug, and the sub-con-
tractor claimed to have found water
al much shorter distance from the
surface of the earth than any one had
thought possible.
The water tasted all right on the
first trial, and was to have been tried
again every month in the summer of
IVA Before the second test came
around the sub-contractor reported
that the well had been filled up by
some malicious person with scrap iron.
Thereupon, Gen. Batchelder named a
third site and work was carried on
again last summer
The third we'll had only gone down a
short distance before the sub-con-
tractor again reported that he had
found water in plenty. 1t stood the
test as to quality all right. and al
though Batcheldcr was suspicious on
account of the shallowness of the well.
1a-hour test showed that the water
was flowing at the rate of 900 gal
Ions a day, an excess of 10000 gallons
over the required amount.
The quartermaster general insisted
that the water could not be there. but
Gen. Doe. the assistant secretary of
war, recommended that the money be
Paid, and this was done. last Novem-
Der. The well was not used until re-
Gently. for some reason. and then it
didn't seem to work. Gen. Batchelder
began to look into the thing, and in
course Of exploration few days ago
they dug out the second we'll which
had been abandoned after it had been
filed with scrap iron.
About six feet from the surface the
workmen came upon fOur-inCh terra
Gotta pipe leading into the well. 1t
was followed along for some distance
in neighboring stream About 100
feet from the mouth of the well. and
down stream and around a bend hid
den away by a clump of bushes, was
4 small dam which turned half the
water into the pipe, and ST. with a
slight downward drop into the we'll it
self
The mystery was solved. The water
that was pumped from the well during
the test had not been used for any
purpose. so that whenever the pump
was set to work, 10000 gallons day
ran back into the little stream down
to the dam, back to the WELL down
wooden trough, which was so CON
that not drop was lost. The
well could go on this way forever so
long as the water was not used by the
fort.
The third well was found to be built
the same way. There was actually no
water in any of the three wells but
he government has paid $4,000 for dig
sing them. The sub-contractor who
Hid the work is said to be digging
wells in South America, and the war
department is hunting him.