The herald., 1897-03-24
ASPHALT
REJECTED
Result of Main Street Paw
ing Investigation
THE HEARING ENDED
Work Passed With the Exception
of the Wearing Surface
NOT UP TO SPECIFICATIONS
THE MATERIAL DECLARED TO
RE DEFICIENT
NOT UP TO SPECIFICATIONS
THE MATERIAL DECLARED TO
BE DEFICIENT
NOT UP TO THE REQUIRED UNI
FORM THICKNESS
The Action of the Council Unani-
mous-A Large Amount of Evi-
dence Given in Behalf of
the Contractors

The hearing of the protests against
the acceptance of the Main street pave
ment was resumed before the city coun-
Gil yesterday morning at Q o'clock, with
all the members present The attorneys
and contractors were also promptly on
hand, and, after Prof. Price, the San
Francisco chemist, had given Council
man Hutchson certain formulae asked
for on the previous evening, the con-
tractors opened their case by putting on
the stand G. w. Elder of San Francisco
as one of their experts. He admitted
that his services were paid for by the
contractors and that he had been
brought to the city for the purpose of
examining the work and testifying in
the case. He stated that he had made
such examination, and was satisfied
that it was good piece Of work, giving
his reasons in detail for the opinions
expressed.
Mr.. Elder was subjected to a rigid
cross-examination by Mr.. Arthur, but
was not shaken on any material point
He insisted that it was practically i'm
possible 1or any contractor to live up
to technical specifications. If he found
that a great portion of street was
below the Specifications say half an
inch, he would consider that 1t was
grounds for rejecting the work, but if
he found a considerable portion over
two inches he would consider that is an
offset, as it would show that the con-
tractor did not intend to cheaper the
work by using less material than the
specifications required He did not con-
slider a variation of a quarter of an inch
as material, and would never reject work
on that account, where in other places
the amount was in excess of the re-
Quirements.
Councilman Hutchison protested
against what he called the useless waste
of time, but President Silver ruled that
the line of questioning was entirely rele-
want ard instructed the attorneys to
proceed.
Mr.. Elder was then questioned at
length as to his qualifications as an ex-
pert and his experience in paving work.
The witness went into detail and gave
the names of places which he had visited
in his official capacity as an expert and
the class of work that he had been con-
nected with. Mr.. Arthur then proceeded
to have some more fun with the witness,
and, after a lengthy series of questions,
succeeded in somewhat tangling up the
witness on the amount of pressure re-
quired in properly rolling a street. He
insisted, however, that the material ex-
amined by him in the Main street pave
ment had been subjected to greater
pressure than any similar material that
he had ever examined. He was then
questioned as to the effect of the acids
used by him in his tests, both on the
Main street pavement and on other
materials. and stated that the tests
demonstrated that the Main street
material was suitable for street pave
ments.
Mr. Elder was then taken in hand for
redirect examination by Judge Nc
Kinley, and stated that the contra actor
was bound by the lines and grades fixed
by the city engineer. He further stated
that what might be good paving mate
rial for Los Angeles would be insult
able for San Francisco or other places;
climatic conditions had everything to do
with asphalt work.
The witnes was then questioned by c.
w. Pendleton, representing the gutter
sub-contractor, and stated that he had
examined the cutters and thought the
work was good. He thought that it would
have been better if the interstices had
not been filled flush with the grouting,
but within half an inch of the surface,
and then hot sand brushed in. He
thought that too much material had
been used. He had also examined the
grouting in the street railway work,
and considered that the grouting of the
cutters was better, for the rea son that
the ma terial used in the former was en-
tirely too brittle.
James E. Whittier was the next wit
ness. He said that he had been engaged
in contracting in San Francisco for
twenty-five years, during which time he
had considerable experience in asphalt
work, principally Noofing, sidewalking
and flooring. He had examined the
Main street pavement and thought that
it was a good job and the asphalt suita-
BILE for this climate; he thought the
pavement would last for years. Wit
ness stated that asphalt would not ad-
here to a smooth asphalt surface.
Mr.. Arthur took the witness in hand.
but when he stated that his experience
walking and roofing and that he had
never done any street paving, said that
he had no questions to ask.
p. "A. Howard, eX-street superinten-
dent, was next called. Mr. Howard
stated that the Main street pavement
Ead Deen put down under his super
vision, and acting under the instructions
of the council he had given the work his
close personal attention. He had also
given his inspectors instructiorN to close
ly watch the work, and report any ir-
regularities. He considered the work
iirst-class and up to the Specifications.
He had also had analyses made of the
material, the principal one by Professor
Rising of the state university, and it had
fully come up to requirements of the
specifications.
In answer to a question by Mr. Pen
dleton as to the cutters, Mr. Howard
said that he considered the work well
done and the grouting was of a material
satisfactory to him, as stated in the
specifications.
Mr. Howard then went on to explain