The Savannah morning news., 1903-02-28
AT MERCY OF WAVES
LAWYERS SAY CARTER FORCED
To LEAVE UNFINISHED WORK.
BRUSH WHICH HE LAID
WAS sUBSEQUENTLY USED ASFOUN-
DATION FOR PRESENT WORK.

| CONTAMINATION of Assistant En-
gineer Bacon Will Be Commenced
To-day in Carter Hearing-Testi-
fed Yesterday That work Done by
Carter Suffered a Depression and
Was Practically All Washed
Away-Defense VIII Try to show
That This Was Used as a FOunda-
ton For Present Work.
The evidence adduced at the hear
| ing in the Carter case. before Commits
sioner Hewlett yesterday in the United
| States District court room, was the
most interesting of any during the TAX
| ing of the testimony. AS outlined in the
| Morning News it was directed to show
| that the work done in Cumberland
sound by Carter was not in accord
ance with contract, and was practi-
| cally simply the sinking of money in
the sea. The engineer now in charge
| of the work testified, in substance,
that practically none of the work, on
which Carter expended more than
l Si0U,VUU, was S6rNlCedDIe.
! The examination of the assistant en-
| gineer, Mr.. J. H. Bacon, was not con-
| Guided yesterday. The examination
by District Attorney Marion Erwin
will be resumed and concluded this
morning, at which time the cross
examination by Mr.. G. H. Stone of
Chicago. Carter's leading counsel, and
! Mr.. W. G. Charlton, will be COM
| menced. 1t is probable that the hear
! ing will extend into next week, at
which time an investigation into the
| work done in the Savannah harbor
will, in all probability, be conducted.
Nearly All Washed Away.
The work done by Carter, according
! to Engineer Bacon's testimony, was
| nearly all washed away when the
| government, under Capt. Gilette's SUI
| pervision. resumed the work where
| Carter left off. Besides what had been
| washed away by the sea: and the
| brush that had been eaten by the tor
| edo bug, a great mass of the material
| had sunk into the bottom of the sea.
| For the same amount that Carter had
| expended in laying a foundation of
| brush, the engineer said he could have
| completed a structure OF stone much
! larger than the entire jetty called for
| under the contract.
BY diagrams the government show
| ed that the brush used in the con-
| struction of the jetties by Carter had
| suffered a depression Immediately aft
| er it was laid, which brought il half
| way to its original foundation. The
| diagram was used also to show that
| the foundation laid by Carter at an
| expense of little less than s1,000,000
| formed a very small part indeed of
the work as it now existed, and that
| in constructing the present jetty, al
! though stone was used instead of
| brush, the work was accomplished at
| half the price paid by Carter.
IT'S a bad showing for them" COM
mented the district attorney, as he
| surveyed the diagrams after the hear
| ing. It's A bad showing"
Contentious of Curter's Counsel.
This view of the situation is, of
course, not shared in by Carriers coun-
| sci, who say that an application of
| common sense, and reasoning and
! knowledge of the nature of the work
| will show that the work done by Car
| ter was superior to that done sub
| sequently. Admitting the depression
! In the mattresses which Carter laid,
| they say that it followed as a natural
| consequence. 1t is, they contend, like
| building a house in a swamp. The
| foundation is the hardest part of the
construction, and until material. has
been sunk sufficiently to form a firm
| foundation it is worse than useless to
| build the superstructure.
It is proposterous, they contend, for
| the government, which came along and
| built a stone jetty on the foundation
which was laid by Carter, to say that
the mattresses constructed by him
were of no avail. His work, they
argue, was the most difficult of the
process of construction.
At Mercy of Waves.
Garter was not allowed to finish the
work" said his attorney in speaking
of the matter. He was obliged to quit
| it while il was in it's semi-completed
state. Then it was for long time left
to the mercy of the waves in its half
completed state and small wonder it is
| that much of it was washed away, nat
ural indeed that il has settled down
| and formed a firm foundation, and
within the range of possibility that
some of the mattresses We're attacked
| by the toredo."
In the cross-examination to-day the
| defense VIII attempt to show that the
work accomplished by Carter made 1t
possible for the government to begin
| at once the stone construction Rela-
tive to the point made by the govern
ment's witness that, although but a
! few feet of water was in the channel
when the work was completed by Car
ter, and that now there are twenty-one
feet at mean low water. the defense
will enGeavor to bring out that the
deepening of the channel by Carter be-
fore the jetties had been completed
would have been impracticable
Savannah HarbOr Work.
1t is not known whether the Sayan-
nah harbor investigation will be inves-
| tigated or not. The district attorney.
when asked, declined to say what his
| plans were, or whether the matter
| would be taken up. 1t is probable.
| however, that the examination of En-
| gineer Bacon will be concluded to-day.
| He is at present IN charge Of the work
being completed in Cumberland sound.
| where his presence is needed.
The PianoIn Recital.