The evening times., 1899-12-12

The Arthur School building. which was
ton of the workmen in charge of the con-
struction of the New Jersey Avenue and
Tiber Creek fntercepting high-level sew
er. will be opened again this week The
engines which have caused all the distur-
bance. were removed from the. street yes
terday. and it will be once more restored
to its normal condition.
The vacating of the school, and the cir
cumstances under which it was done. at
tracted a great deal of attention at the
time. but it is said at the office OF the En-
gineer Commissioner that there was a
good deal of uncalled-for anxiety on the
,art of some of the people of the Dis
trict on this account.
The Arthur School is situated on Ar
thur Place. and extends for about 700 feet
east of the edge of the sidewalk. The
new sewer which is being constructed, is
probably one of the largest in the city.
and it has been necessary to make a
trench about 81 feet deep. in which to
Guild the. walls and ducts. This sewer
was commenced at the corner Of Second
and n Streets southeast, and the work
has been gradually carried forward until
the contractors have now finished lay
ing the pipes to C Street northwest. The
street on which they have Just finished
working, is on what is known as made
ground. and great care was exercised
in making the excavations. The walls OF
the trench were shored up as well as the
circumstances would permit. and every
precaution was taken against the under
80 fhs, on
The workmen had not been long en-
gagged on this part OF the work. however,
before it was discovered that the 1esi-
dence of Chief Justice Alvey, OF the Court
of Appeals, which stands on the corner OF
Arthur Place and B Street. had been badly
damaged by the settling of the foundations
caused by the excavations and the Build
ing Inspector ordered that the house be
vacated. Large cracks were found in the
walls of the house. and it was said to
lean at an angle of about ninety degrees.
Captain Gaillard. Corps Of Engineers, U.
S. A, assistant Engineer Commissioner of
the District, has charge of the work Of lay
ing the sewers in the District and he
stated to reporter for The Times at the
time that there would probably be other
houses affected in the same manner. The
reporter asked II there was any danger
apprehended to the Arthur School. The
assistant Commissioner stated that he did
not think there would be any danger what
ever He then explained that the reason for
the abandonment Of the Alvey house was
on account OF the manner in which the
building was constructed.
The residence in question fronts on b
Street and has a side elevation Of about
ninety feet on Arthur Place. The building
was not more than twenty-five feet wide
and as the side rose within ten feet Of the
edge of the trench all the weight Of the
house fell ON the sides Of the trench. There
was a huge hoisting engine used in the
work of excavation and the vibrations from
this machine Jared the earth to such an
extent that the foundation of the house
sank toward the walls Of the ditch.
The Arthur School was not constructed in
this manner, Captain Gaillard explained.
The school building was square and the
foundations bore equal weight upon all
parts OF the earth under it. Therefore
there was no danger Of the building becom-
ing untenantable. Nevertheless. within a
week after the interview the building was
abandoned for school purposes and the
children were sent to the Gales School.
where they have been ever since. A few
cracks appeared in the. wall Of the school
which the engineers in charge Of the sew
er stated would have appeared in the natu-
raj course of events The scholars will be
transferred again this week and it is hoped
that all the danger from the sewer has
passed. aN