Omaha daily bee., 1902-04-27
THE ILLUSTRATED BEE.

ana around another curve to Long Acre
square.
The construction of these two curves
alone is a most serious undertaking, be-
cause 1t is necessary to pass under build
ings in order to get space for the turns.
AT both OF these corners, however, the
Rapid Transit commission has purchased
property which the excavations might have
injured, and 1t is understood that a big
hotel will be located over the stations at
each Of these turns.
Within the limits Of this mile have oc-
Cured the most disastrous accidents Of the
subway. The dynamite explosion came
first, wrecking two hotels and several
houses; then, two blocks below, followed
the cave-in of three houses. The Rapid
Transit commission has recently purchased
this property in order to save itself from
costly damage suits. 1t is said that up to
date s., 900, 900 have been spent by the com
mission in making similar purchases Of
damaged property.
Naturally enough i'm such an upheaval as
this there has been, and is still, much liti-
cation to be feared. Herein came another
development, the official photographer. 1t
Is the duty Of this gentleman to make
Photographic records at stated intervals
over the entire line. 1t was the good for
tune OF the writer to make trips over por-
tions Of the subway with this official.
.SubNny's OHlcinI photographer.
ID you see the long crack down the side
OF that building?" he inquired. We were
standing in an excavation sixty feet below
the surface of the street and the bare wall
of a building lowered $50 feet above. Sup
pose the owners claimed that the excava-
tions here had caused that crack. l would
go over my photographs taken here before
the work was begun at all and l would
show a picture of that building with the
same crack in it. l have taken hundreds OF
pictures just as a matter of record to show
how buildings, streets, sidewalks, etc,
looked before we began work and how these
have been affected by the excavatlng. You
would be surprised at the number of dam
age claims which we can stop in Just this
way"
A year from next fall, when trains begin
to run in at least a part of the subway,
New Workers will begin to appreciate the
genius and energy which has been devoted
to this great enterprise. Not only New
Workers, but all Americans as well may be
proud of the men who have carried the
project from its first inception to within
sight of its final completion. To William
bdItldN PARSONS, Ine CnleI engineer oil the
Rapid Transit commission, more credit is
due than to any other single man. It was
Mr.. Parsons pet plan for years before the
legislature of the state passed an act by
which the work could be taken up. It has
been the indefatigable labor Of Mr.. Par
sons and his corps of engineers which has
made possible the formation of plans for
every detail now being carried out sue
cessfully.
During the months preceding the letting
of the contracts Mr.. Parsons offices were
the busiest rooms in New York. Every
street car line, every support for elevated
structure, building, sub-cellar, every water
sewer or gas pipe, together with house con-
nections, every conduit was located; in
deed, the character Of the rock or soil in
the path of the proposed subway was de-
termined. Before the first pick was struck
into the ground Mr.. Parsons knew that six
and a half miles Of sewage pipes alone had
to be moved; he knew where lines Of water
and gas service would have to be changed
entirely; he knew one place where it would
be necessary to shift several blocks OF
street car line in order to carry on blasting
successfully under it. When one stops to
think of the engineering problems which
were encountered it is all the more sur
prising that the work has gone on so sue
cessfully thus far. At the present time
nearly 81, 900, 900 a month are being ex-
pended.
II is not at all unlikely that another
line OF subway will be tunneled under the
east side of Manhattan. The Brooklyn
division is already assured, as is the Penn
~sylvlnia tunnel from Jersey City to Long
island. Before long New York may be
known justly as the city of tunnels.