Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-03-26

was regarded as absolutely reliable. and he
always fulfilled his predictions and fore,
casts in this regard. The work that he
did In connection with the completion OF
the great department building west of the
White House first attracted the attention
CT Congress and the executive authorities
to his remarkable talent for accuracy The
work had been begun in 1871, and in tho
SIX years OF its progress up to the time he
took charge, the south wing had been com.
pleted, and the east wing had been finished
up to the roof, this being about one-fourth
o! me work. Il had cost at that time ST.
o4o2 III Gen. Casey built the north, west
ana center wings. and completed the root
OF the east wing, and finished the an
proaches for $3,992,25G or about two mil
mons less than the other fourth of the
structure to the government for complete
occupancy on the list Of March, 1885,
completed the Washington Monument
Inc Washington monument had for TWEEN
ty years been a blot on the landscape Of
washington. 1t stood on the marshy banks
or the river squat tower, with the DESC
late appearance Of being unfinished and
abandoned, and in 1876 Congress, being
actuatei largely. it is thought. by the wave
OIL patriotism that swept over the country
in that year, inspired by the centennial ex-
position. provided for the resumption, un-
der strictly national auspices of the work
which had teen begun in 1913. under semi
personal jurisdiction. In 1873 President
Hayes and the joint commission of Con-
gress, In charge of the completion of the
monument directed Col. Casey to assume
charge of the project of completing the
smart A thorough survey of the work
Whlch mad been dcne convinced him that
the foundation originally provided was en-
tirely inadequate for the gigantic mass tina t
was contemplated by the design. Conse-
quehtiy his first project was to strengthen
the base which he did by practically re-
moving it from the standing shaft and re-
placing 1t with a foundation of concrete
| masonry. The weakness of the old foun-
datlon lay in the fact that it was too shall
low, and covered an insufficient area. The
new base covered two and one-talf times
as much area and extended thirteen AMI
one-halI Feet deeper than the old one. TIE
work OF excavating beneath the monument
was commenced January 2S, 1879, and the
rev founda ton was finished Nav Is 1880
me summer OF 1880 was mostly consumed
IN preparing the hoisting apparatus and
the greater part of four seasons was oc-
cupied in finishing the shaft The capstone
was set december g. 1854 and the monu-
ment was dedicated February %, 1885.
so thoroughly was this work DONE and
so We'll were the plans carried out tina t
even II OF gh the monument was practically
undermined at all points 1t did not settle
peyond the lrnit provided in the plans, and
mas SINCE preserved an absolute stability
1t Is now regarded by the engineers of the
world as one of the most remarkable pieces
or work ever accomplished, standing as one
of the engineering marveIai AZ this oan
| tury.
Became Chief of Engineers. .
These two accomplishments, the comple
ton of the departments building and of
the MOI ument, fixed Gen;YCasey's fame
with Congress for all time to come, and
"hen he became brigadier general and
chief OF engineers July 6, 1883, shortly af
ter the completion Of the ,departments
building. and thereby assumed charge of
the river and harbor improvements
throughout the country, the confidence that
was felt In him was annually expressed nv
tne treatment of his estimates for the
ssei anu haIpor tlli, which were invara ably
~ oy the fullest appropriations thai
NIT. "u pei
Throughout General Casey's career as an
engineer on duty In this city he evidenced
the greatest interest In the minor matters
Fertalning to this section, snd while in
charge OF the public buildings and grounds
ne practically reorganized the entire sys-
zen VI parks ana reservations, identifying
n-any OF the places of rest and recreation
in the various sections He caused the 70
clamation Of the White Lot, as it was for
merly called, now known as the E,llinse
south of the Presidents house. which. until
1t attracted his attention and enterprise.
was eight feet below the present surface,
marshy and unwholesome. He always took
great interest in the question of proyid-
ing sufficient water supply for the CITY
and District. and in August, 1879, he rec
commended the installation Of an additional
four-fcot main TO supply Capitol Hill. His
RECOMMENDATION was at first disregarded,
and the Lydt cker tunnel project was substi-
tIted Tor It, On the abandonment of the tun.