The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-06-01
WORK ON DAM IS STOPPED
MINNEAPOLIS BUSINESS MEN ExER-
CISED OVER ORDER RECEIVED
FROM WASHINGTON.
APPROPRIATION IS TOO SMALL
Though Work on Lock No. .
Still Continues, Long Delay
Appears to Be In
evitabIe.

minneapolis business men are much
disappointed over the order received from
the war department ordering that all
Work on dam No. be suspended until
further orders. This Suspension does not,
however. apply to the lock. which win
De completed this season. So far as can
De learned, the rea son for the delay is
that the engineers nave reported that
the work cannot be done within the esti-
mate, and the chief engineer at Washing
ton decided to do nothing until congress
has taken action
From the present outlook the work of
finishing the dam will be delayed for
another year. unless sufficient pressure
can be brought to bear upon the depart
nent, from Minneapolis. The board of
trade committee on navigation, which
mas done much toward gatting the i'm
proVement, will probably forward a re-
monStrance to the secretary of war urg-
ing him to grant permission to proceed
with the cofer-dam. with the funds
already on hand In this, the committee
Will be somewhat Handicapped by the alb
sence Of Congressman Fletcher, who is
in Europe, but the task of urging the de-
partment to expedition in the matter Of
constructing the dam VIII be uader1 an
by the committee and other Influential
citizens. Maj. Lockwood, who has been
in charge of the work, until his removal
to Washington, knows of no good reason
for a delay, and IN a tclegraphed hlte"-
view yesterday he says that there is
sufficient money TO go ahead with. and
that SO far as he knows the property
rights arc all in good shape.
For the completion Of lock and dam No
?, the original estimate, made in 1894, by
Capt. Mckenzie, of the bureau of en-
gineers. was 1898 00G. Of this amount
$4,000 was intended for the lock, and the
remaining 900 for the dam. For the
lcck the appropriation is ample, but eX
pert engineers do not think the dam can
be completed for less than s225,000 This
has not been due to any change in the
plans, although slight notifications have
been made, but to an increased cost in
the price of materials, and in a difference
of opinion among engineers as to what
the work should cost
The engineers In charge had intended
to build this cofferdam this fall during
the low water so that active work on
the dam itself could be begun next
spring. The war department order even
postpones work on the cofferdam, and
should congress grant the necessary re-
lief next winter, even then it could be
deferred till late in the summer, as high
water in the spring makes it impossible
to construct a cofferdam without great
expense. Some piling was driven for the
work last fall, but nothing has been done
this season.
The structural iron work for the lock
is on hand, and in about ten days the
crews will begin to put ii in place. The
lock will be completed without extra eff
fort this summer and fall, but will lie
useless for about two years, until the dam
is finished. There is no question that
congress will raise the limit placed on the
cost, as a, refusal to do so would only
mean that the expensive lock must lie
idle indefinitely.