The San Francisco call., 1899-08-10
VAST SUM OF
MONEY READY
FOR SPENDING
Congress Was Not at
All Stingy.
Oakland ONCE San Francisco Call,

90S Broadway, Aug. 8.
The sum of $780, 900 is lying idle at the
National Treasury. AS soon as the squab-
bling over the estuary improvements is
completed this money can be spent on
the harbor. This statement is made on
the authority of Major Heuer, the United
States engineer in charge of the work.
Great as is the sum which is ready for
Immediate use on the harbor, $l66,000 will
shortly be added to il, according TO the
terms Of the act of Congress under Whlch'
1t was granted. Three years ago congress
appropriated S650,000 on the continuous
contract system for the Improvement or
Oakland harbor, according to the orig
inaI plans These plans are those OF
Colonel MendelI which were prepared
many years ago and which caIi Tor the
construction OF the TIDAL canaI az ene
extreme east end of the estuary oak,
land has always demanded that this END
Of the harbor shall be thoroughly deep
ened and improved first, while Alameda,
mainly through its ex-Health officer DR..
Mclean. has always contended that the
original plans Of Colonel Mendell We're the
proper ones and that they SHOULD be car car
ried out with the money made available.
Alameda laid out some years ago an
extensive sewer system, which mas tor
it's foundation the completion of the tidal
canal so that there would be a rise and
fall of the tide al the sewer outlet twice
a day. The canal was commenced, one
expensive bridge was built across 1t, ana
then the seemingly 1ntermlnable squaopie
commenced and work was delayed
The Government engineers are now Try
ing to arrange satisfactorily TO all con
Cerned for only two bridges across the
proposed tidal canal instead of three
There are three thoroughfares leaQing
across what VIII be the canal after II Is
cut but the Government does not see
the necessity of using three bridges
There is, however. some legal question
regarding the rights of way in which the
Government. private owners ana the
Board of Supervisors are parties IN inter
est. This is the cause of the present tie
Il he a
the meantime several Oakland people are
interested in trying to nave some or the
money spent deepening the haroor al
once. These conflicts have proved posi-
tive setback TO all contemplated improve
mentS. and when matters are ADJUSTED on
a practical basis and work can be carried
on nearly the whole of the S650,000 will be
available, whereas ii was the intent OF
Congress to have spent 1t at the rate or
one-fourth for each of the four preceding
Matters could have been partly settled
before this had the Government engineer
possessed the authority TO use his dis
crptiOn But he cannot go outside the
exact wording of the act granting the ap-
preparation, and therefore the canal pro-
money be spent unless the next Congress
shall amend the act and authorize
At the office Of Major Heuer, chief of
United States engineers in San Francisco,
to-day bids were opened for the construc-
ton of a bridge across the tidal canal
at High street. The bids were: Darby
Layton & Co. $38 700; Dundon Bridge
Company $21 S64; California Bridge Com
pa9y $24.747; Heaiy ga y3o Tibbetts m tt g, & Co,
tfon company, SOS 997; Thomas Thomp
SON. $3I $50; Cotton Bros, $32 500.
The bid of the DundlG0n Bridge Com Com
will be gone over carefully before the
contract is awarded. This may take
two or three days. All were San Fran
cisco contractors except Cotton Bros. of