Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-12-04
ANOBNOXIOUSODOR
Committee at Last Detects 1t in
the Storm Drain.
JOB HAS A BAD APPEARANCE.

Make Ris Charges stick-Last Nights
MsetiDE-Report to bs Ready for the
Next Council Session.
That there is something rotten in
Denmark. the probing fthe Twenty
fourth street sewer seems surely to
develop. The committee originally
assigned the duty of fully investi-
eating the matter and who reported
last Tuesday that everything was all
right, and that the aliegati ons
alluded to from time to time in The
Argus previous thereto. would col
lapse, seems to have discharged its
part as recklessly "a, it appears now,
did the contractors entrusted with
the work. At the second meeting of
the finance aud sewer committees at
the city hall last night Aid. Kennedy,
who preferred the original chars es
as to the nature of the work. brought
evidence to bear that gives the
contract very shady appear
ance, TO say the least. De-
spite the recent assurance Of
the mayor to The ARGUS that
there was nothing in the allegations
relating to the storm drain contract,
the committee q. its session last
night heard evidence that affords the
strongest ground for the suspicion
of fraud.
There we're present at the meeting,
which was held behind closed doors,
and before which the witnesses were
City Attorney Haas. AIcs. Kennedy,
Foss, johnson aud Dauber and a ste
nog0a her. The evidence adduced
was not only TO the efftc; that tee
sewer was imperfectly constructed
and this according to tae dis
coveries Of an expert from Chicago,
but that the quality of cement had
been changed, after tia time OF ceas-
ing work at night, in the quiet hours
Of early morning and Sundays; and
an inferior grade substituted in the
sacks containing what was supposed
to be the first class, specified brand /;
in other words. that Milwaukee &C.
ment was put into the sacss branded
Portland cement, and that these
sacks SO labeled were used over aad
over again until they were nearly
worn out. Further than this, it ap.
pears, the speciiications were disIe
garded in the matter OF concrete,
and the general structure as far a.
masonry is concerned.
Evineuce Before the Committee.
Mr.. Chandler, ar expert engineer
hA 10
work yesterday, wss a witness before
the committee, as were Messrs.
Brown, Crowley. st oehle aud Mont
gomery, men who were employed on
the job. Mr.. Chandler said that an
inferior grade OF cement had been
used, in which charge he was sus
tanned by the other witnesses.
II developed before the committee
that Portland cement. the quality
called for in the specifications. was
only used for a short distance near
the terminus of the drain, or raih, T
the starting poiut in the construction.
After that, it is charged, Mi.
Waukee cement was mixed with The
Portland product. 1t is claimed thai
the Milwaukee cement was changed
into the Portland sacks q,
the storage shanties by mer
who came to work about 4
O'Clock in the morning, and that one
section of the drain is laid exclu
sively with the inferior grade, while
in another strip but one-third Port
and is used. Mr.. Chandler said
that at one point on Ninth avenue
where he examined the work h.
found the structure itself so weak thai
when he stamp d his foot on it il
went through. And it was tho
opinion OF the expert that heavy
rain might have caused the bricl
work to collapse. Some of the mer
who had worked on the Job adj
misted under oath having changed
the cement from the SACKS it was re
ceivec in to those Tabled Portland
cement, sni Of the Milwaukee
branded sacks having been concealed
and eventually destroyed. whils
| other woTkmen te-titied that while
they were without knowledge of the
change in the cement, they detected
the difference the moment the deep
ton was begun in the laying OF tn,
brick in the contaminated quality.
The evidence in the possession o
| the committee is to the effect tha'
the Portland first quality of cement
was used only from the opening Of
the drain into the river as far south
as Third avenue; that from there t.
sixth avenue the mixture was abou
half and half, that from there tc
Eigh; h-and-a-half avenue 1t was two
thirds Milwaukee cement and from
there on to the end of the drain tn.
asst vestige Of tne original specified
Portland vanished entirely, ant
straight Milwaukee was employed.
The difference in the cost Of .A'
1.-TWO cements is considerable obiect
TO the contractors. the Portland be
ling worth 50 80 per barrel, and tn
Milwaukee 80 cents.
The committee meeis again to
night to formulate its report which
will be completed by Monday night
the writtenreport of the expert be
;,- ax-oo&aS -, .ha meantime IN n