The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-05-06
Great AID TO COMMERCE
Canal Digging is Made Simple and
Also Economical.
REVOLUTION IN ENGINEERING
Tho Twin Problems Of Deepening Shallow
Rivers ond Cutting Canals Arc In.
Genious1y Solved BY Lindon
W. dates, Of Chicago.
REVOLUTION IN ENGINEERING
From the Chicago Times.Herald.

brom the chicago Ttmes.HerAld.
Washington. April 12.--An engineer
Ing revolution of inestimable value to
mankind has just been effected by a
youHg man Of Chicago His name Is
Lindon W. Bates. What he has done
may be described In few words, but
every word is pregnant Of important
reSults TO commerce, transportation.
the spread OF civilization and the con-
quest of the earth by restless man.
He has solved the problems Of deep
ening shallow rivers so that innumer-
able streams now unused by COM
merce may become highways Of cheap
transportation. He has solved the
problem Of canal-cutting at a cost low
enough to insure .he commercial sue
cess Of the Nicaragua project and ul.
tinately Of many similar plans for unit
ing sea with sea. He has assured the
permanencc Of o navigable channel In
the Mississippi from st. Louis to the
Gulf Of Mexico without the expenditure
Of millions OF money. Hs has prepared
the way for the opening Of a water
route Of incalculable value from Chica-
so to the sea through the drainage
canal, the Illinois river and the Missis-
sippi.
All this has been done by the process
Of combination, adaptation and devel-
opment peculiar to the present genera
ton Of workers and builders In the city
OF Chicago. II Is an outgrowth Of the
marvellous achievements which made
the drainage canal itself an engineering
revolution. and which fixed upon that
enterprise the attention Of the expert
ana financial world.
WORK DONE AT Low COST.
Mr Bates. as q hydraulic engineer.
occurred q contract upon the drainage
canal. He was paid 25 cents per cubic
yard for removing earth, a price at
which Is was predicted he would meet
bankruptcy. The actual cost to him.
however. has been less than one-half
tho contract figure. This result he was
able to reach by means Of his hydraulic
drodger. He used machines which were
vastly larger and more powerful than
any other similar machines the world
had ever seen. These machines were
not quick invention, not a discovery,
but q development and combination
made necessary by keen competition
and made possible by the sharpened
wits Of the most alert and resourcefui
young men of the present day. En-
gineers Of all countries were amazed
at the ease and small cost with which
earth was thrown from that canal by
| the hydraulic marvels.
This, however, was only the first step.
It was not long before Mr. Bates was
sent for by the Mississippi river COM
mission government board, which had
been struggling for years with one Of
the greatest modern Problems. that of
| keeping a depth In the father OF waters
sufficient to permit even light-draft
steamers to ply between st. Louis and
New Orleans. Twenty millions Of dol
| lars have been spent for this purpose,
| and in q recent official communication
| the secretary Of war said the only re-
suit was eighteen inches more of water
for distance Of fifty miles. The dis
couraging result was not the fault Of
the commission. which had done as
best It could with the means at Its COM
mand and 1t really overcame many
great obstacles. 1t was to the credit
| OF the commission that 1t alertly, and
| in disregard of the traditions with
| which 1t was more or less incumbered.
sought out the young man who had
achieved so much on the drainage canal
and asked him to build hydraulic
| dredger for use IN deepening the Mis-
sissippi. In fact, the members OF the
| board huilded wiser than they knew.
They were after an Improvement, but
they have found revolution.
SATISFACTORY TESTS.
Mr.. Bates built a machine under con-
tract. He was to have $172,000 for 1t If
it should be found capable of removing
1000 cubic yards of earth per hour. II
II was able to remove 2,400 cubic yards
he was to have bonus, or premium. of
so cer cent of the contract price. The
official tests have just been finished
near Memphis. and his great dredger
has demonstrated its ability to do
things that are well-nigh incredible.
but they are official and must be be-
lleved. An average OF the tests In Or
binary river sand according to the re-
uuirements gave results of little over
5000 yards per hour The maximum
was as high as 7,79s yards. Mr. Bates
therefore. gets his bonus of $4,000,
which he has been in Washington ar
ranging to receive from the treasury.
If, however he were paid according to
the capacity Of his machine. pro rata,
he would receive the enormous prem
ium Of 100000.
In other words this machine Will go
through sand bar at a speed OF from
| five to ten feet q minute, cutting its
way through a solid bank and leaving
behind II a channel forty feet wide and
twenty deep. To grasp the idea one
must imagine himself In n Chicago
street. 1t Is forty feet from curb to
curb. ny looking UP q story and half
OF q building one gets the width and
depth Of the swath this monster cuts