The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-06-28
GALVESTON'S DEFENSE
 4GAINST THE OCEAN

fencing driven down to clay bottom with the boards upright
 The third section of the seawall work is the laying of the concrete foundation. A trench over the rows of piling is dug three feet deep and into this the con- crete, the same as Is used in the wall Is placed, with two grooves in it where the fall proper fits in.
 A Granite Protection.
 The fourth section of the work is the placing of the granite pieces, or rip rap, in front of the wall. These large granite pieces, some weighing a ton each, are piled promiscuously in front of the wall on the gulf side from three to five feet high, and extending out into the gulf twenty-seven feet from the wall. This serves as a further protection to the wall and it's foundations from undermining. The weighty stone will in time gradually sink into the sand beach and form a solid bed of granite in front of the piling foundation The rip rap is placed in position after the concrete foundation is laid by steam derrick, which picks up each stone from the car and deposits 1t in place in the pile Of rip rap.
 The fifth section of work is the con- struction of the wall proper. The wall Is being built Just as the engineers recom- mended, and is seventeen feet above mean low tide. or one and-three tenths feet higher than the highest point reach ed by the storm of September 8. 1900. The granite concrete Is put up in alter nate sections of forty feet each.
 Four steam pile drivers are employed in driving the piles and each average a hundred feet of piling driven each day; that Is to say, 100 1lneal feet of the foun- dation, as every row of piling means the driving of four of the sticks, which av- craze forty-two feet in length each.
 The concrete foundation laid in sec- tions, is given about ten days or so to settle. After the foundation is laid the riprap, or apron in front of the wall is laid before construction of the wall prop CT is begun.
 All of this is now actually building. The pile driving forces are rapidly near ing the terminus of the eastern end of the island, where the wall will join the south jetty When this feature of the work is finished the driving plants will be removed to the foot of Sixteenth street on the beach and the foundation forces will commence laying the founda- tion. westward to Thirty-ninth street, where the wall will terminate. Con- struction was began at the foot of Six teenth stret and progressed eastward so as to inclose the eastern end of the is- land first, as this is considered the vital part of the sea protection. A length of nearly 2,50O feet of the wall is now com- plete.
 When the whole Is completed, which will be done in less than one year. the city of Galveston will afford to the world a monument as an exemplification of civic pride and ambition not to be seen in any other American city. no matter what enterprise is concerned.
 To Raise the City.
 This seawall however, does not com plete the ideal conditions sought by the strenuous life of this city.
 An additional million dollars Is being accumulated for the purpose of raising that part of the island occupied by the city to an even height with the seawall It Is proposed that the city be filled with sand pumped by hydraulic power from the sea, or otherwise, to raise the grade to sixteen fet next to the wall and slop- ing to the present grade of about eight feet on the bay shore or north side of the city across the island. For this pur- pose the state government is remitting a portion of all taxes paid by the city for a period covering seventeen years. A bond issue will be made and the remitted taxation will make the bonds secure. The bill and charter provide for the issu- ance of these bonds and and strictly for bid that this money be used except for a sinking fund for the bonds which must be issued for the work There is now available little over s257, ,000. which can bo used in purchasing bonds.