The record-union., 1898-11-27

OF THE RIVER.
Work Accomplished by the Pub
lie Works Commission.
Visit to the Easement at Elkhorn and to the
Jetty at Newtown Shoal-O pinions
on the Work.

any of the property owners proved de-
linouent. The Chamber Of Commerce
made herculean efforts toward induc-
ing property owners to construct ana
repair the levees, and being ably sec
onded by the engineers to the Commits
sioner of Public Works and by the
Commissioner himself, very few of the
landowners declined to do the neces-
sary work. In cases of delinquents
the Chamber of Commerce performed
its part of the contract, and the State
proceeded to construct the easement
THE. ELKHORN EASEMENT.
1t was completed two weeks ago, and
it was to view the same, and also the
jetty system at Newtown, that yester-
days excursion was made under the
auspices of the Chamber Of Commerce,
the Commissioner of Public Works, his
engineers and the Auditing Board.
On Captain T. B. Hall of the board
devolved the arrangement for the ex-
cursion, and ably seconded by }. ..
Coleman, Secretary of the chamber,
nothing was left undone to add to the
enjoyment or to the imagination of the
invited guests.
Cards were issued to over $50 prom
inent citizens of this and other cities
and sections of the State to make the
trip and view the work as mapped out
by and completed under the supervis .
ion of Commissioner Leake and his
able and efficient engineers, M. A
Nurse and George N. Randle.
The passenger steamer Aurora OF the
California Transportation Company,
F. Lerchuren, Captain; E. O. Ricketts,,
Port Steward, was secured for the trip,
and it proved to be as trim a craft
as plies the Sacramento.
The start was made from the wharf
at the foot of N street at SIT o'clock
Yesterday morning, the air being crisp
and clear, and the day an ideal one
The assembled guests were cheerful
and jolly, and everything promised,
as it ended, well. The invited guests
present were as follows:
e. E. Leake, F. Lowry, Charles w.
Thomas. r. T. Devlin, L. L. Lewis, D.
P. burst, George w. Pierce, l.. Tozer,
S. T. Hensdale, E. Dam; j. M. Morrison,
Thomas Jenkins, John F. brennan,
William Curtis, members of Sacramento
Board of Supervisors; Thomas B. Hall,
George Bullock, P H. McGrath, DR..
w. P. Mathews, J. C. German, w w.
Douglas, DR.. F. w. Hatch, L. A. Eich-
Ter, Morris Brooke, S. Lavenson, G. M.
Atkinson, Gus Lavenson, H. j. Corco-
ran, 'T. S. Spaulding, Frank Dietz, Will
S. Green, w L. Dunn, George B. Green.
F. w. johnson, w. T. Phipps, T. F.
Laugenauer J. w. Keith, ]. N. Decker,
J. w. Browning, H. K. Johnson, Sam
Henry, J. c. Boyd, J. o. Coleman, J. G.
Fredericks, w. T. Ellis, Jr., T. w. Shee-
han. William Johnston, H. M. La Rue,
t. C. Clifford, Sam Montgomery, w. @.
Russell. William Schaw, ]. H. Arnold,
E. Twichell, Major w. H. Heuer, Her.
man H. Grau, C. A. Luhrs, j. Reith, Jr.,
J. F. Griffin, T. c. Snider, w. Fl. Govan,
Louis Breuner, Judson c. Brusie, T. B.
w. D. Knights, ]. A. Woodson,
George w. Patterson, Gillis Doty, Jo-
seph Steffens, R. D. Stevens, David
Hershey, NJ A. Nurse, c. N. Randle,
r. M Steele, Ed Hayward and A. Mum
ter
Professor Hands string band had
been secured for the occasion, and
the day discoursed sweet
music in the commodious saloon Of the
steamer. Two hours were consumed in
the run up to the Elkhorn easement,
at which place the steamer tied up and
the excursionists, all of whom were
representative men, among whom were
Congressman De Vries, Assemblyman
Pierce of Yolo County, Munter of San
Joaquin and Knights and Brooke Of
County, walked the gang
plank, crossed the 100-foot embank
ment and saw spread before them one
of the neatest, strongest, most sub
stantial pieces of work of the kind ever
constructed in the world
The easement, the plans and con-
struction Of which have already been
faithfully traced in the columns of the
9 'Record-Union while showing the
outline and enormity of the work, lost
in the detail of construction. There
was no evidence of the great strings of
piles driven to the bedrock to hold in
place the mammoth structure; the
brushwork which had been twined and
in the embankment was
hidden by the tamped and carefully
constructed earthwork; only the tips
Of the planking, driven as piling to face
the easement was visible, and only the
topmost layer of the riprap work. laid
could be seen.
But the abutments stood out in bold
relief and the concrete work, eighteen
inches in thickness, showed to advan-
tage, while the concrete work of the
easement proper stretched up and down
the stream 1900 feet in a straight line,
from the abutment at the north end Of
the big break to that at the south.
Carefully rounded so as to give over
flow waters no chance to get a hold
upon its foundations, the big comb
stretched out it's entire length as
as marble and as stanch as ad-
and the engineers who furnish
ed the plans and who supervised the
had every reason to feel
proud of their extraordinary achieve
ment.
MAJOR HEUER TALKS.
Extraordinary is not used unad-
for Major Heuer, the Govern
ment engineer, while viewing the work
said in the presence Of a Record I'm
ion' reporter that it was, in his opin-
ion (and he is an undoubted authority
work ever constructed for the amount
of money expended.
TT is practically said Major Heuer,
everlasting, and while monuments
may crumble and stone and brick may
suceumb to the wear of years the ease
ment ought to stand for ages.
The only trouble Major Heuer said,
lis that the property owners along the
line between the easement and Sacra-
mento may allow their levees TO get
out of repair and that breaks may oc-
cur"
subsequently Major Heuer said it had