The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1904-02-19

/
columns on the front portico. They
are not there. The absence OF them Is
lexplatned by the fact that in attempts
ling 70 elevate them into position the
Fcontractcrs broke one Of ftbem into two
pieces, and rather than put the con-
tractors to the expense Of replacing
the broken column, they We're gener-
ously excused from putting them In
at all they paying the State 5000, leay-
ling them S3 400 profit on that transac-
ton. The Office these columns were
10 perform was an Important one,
namely, to support the front pediment
OF the portico snd bond and tie to
the main building, in other words to
carry large Intel stone securing the
pOrtico to the main building, and thus
preventing 1t from falling away, which
| 1T has a tendency to do. The esti-
mated loss to tine building In all re-
speCtS on account of the absence of
these columns and the accompanying
parts they were to support is $500.
There are two massive square piers
under the pOrtico. They were de-
signed to support these missing col
umns, and now perform no duty at all.
On page 81. Of the report OF the COM
mission Is a letter from Architect Mil
burn on this subject, in which he says:
I'VE can take these out without in
any way marring the appearance from
the exterior and without in any way
interfering with the strength Of the
structure" Capt. Hunt was asked by
Senator Manning his opinion on this
point, and answered as follows: II
consider that an insult to the intelii-
gence of your committee" Explain
ing, he said: "The practical effect OF
leaving out those columns is to weak
en- the structure. The stone Intel
and brick work on top OF these columns
| wall Of the pediment and make a solid
and rigid piece of work. 1t is impor
tant that this should have been done,
for the pcdiment cornice naturally
gives it 4 tendency to pull of or away
from the building, and the bond of
| this work over the capitals is what is
| always carried out TO cOunteract the
| tendency to pull away from the build
ing. He overcame this by butting the
pediment to the main building with
iron rods in the form Of what we term
buckles" To the question, "DO you
regard that as sutlicient?' he replied:
"Well, If the bracing and anchoring OF
these rods has been done as careleSSly
as great portion of the construction
throughout this building, / certainly
| SllOulh AuCSUlOtl lOo
| 5. The beautiful leafwOrk upon the
capitals of the old columns will stand
for all time as monument to the skill
and taste of the artist who carved
them; that upon the new columns
furnished by these contractors, re-
Quirod to be and designed to be mod
elled after them, are coarse, unSightly
and unfit to stand beside the old ones
6. The columns at the rear of the
portico, joining the main building
should have to correspond with the
front columns, Intel stones extend
ing from one to another. They have
none, and to fill up the space between
, the capitals and the ceiling they have
put in tin or sheet iron boxes, painted
TO resemble granite; while all the bal
} State with injustice, this can only bt
constructed in the light Of ridicult
coupled with contempt. Too much re
mains to be reported to dwell longe
upon this portico. The defective glas
flooring, the cheap, shoddy stamped
iron ceiling, the way the flooring leak
in rainy weather, together with mucl
else, shows for itself and accords tit
, tingly with the balance Of the bOtch
, work palmed Off on the State.
I. Entering the building from tn
porticO in bad weather, we find tina
the roof leaks badly, flooding the lobb
after protracted rains. Ascending th
+ roof, as we did, we discovered th
cause Of this to be roof of little or n,
value. 1t is a tar and gravel roof
which at all times is an undesirable
one and wholly yinapplcablc to as stee
} Il roof as the one on the State House
The plans and specifications require
the gravel to be from threc-Sixteenth
} to One-half inch in size. The grave
put on, or we should say, the stones, t,
a great extent are as big as a pigcol
egg and larger, up to the size of ;
; mans hand. in consequence of which
they fail to ho.d the tar in place, ant
the hot suns of two summers have
melted 1t and it has to a great extent
run down into tile valleys and CUTTERS
a fine slate roof, bought by the State
ed perfect protection for years, wa.
taken off and appropriated by the
contractors. The evidence is that il
will cost about So 900 to put this roo
in moderately safe condition. The
specifications call for 4X30 ventlators
to carry off the hot air from between
the ceiling and the roof, to keep the
air in motion and pure. They are ro1
there, and it will cost about $50 apiece
To put them in.
3. The dome is the crownipg piece O
this work, in more senses than one
Taken all in all it Is simply infamous
To start with, an uglicr and more un
slightly creation could not be devised
even If it had been properly construct
ed, but our observation, and the testi
mony of Capt Hunt, shows that it Is
nothing short OF miserable fraud
He says: "It is done i'm a very crude
and understandable manner. There
was no effort made to connect the
cornice of the fiat ceiling with the
cOrnice of the dome. There is not
sufficient framing to keep the galvaniz-
eel iron in proper shape. The work is
full OF kinks and crimps, with nothing
to keep 1t up. find the work roughly
done, with but few uprights in posi-
ton, and some of these four or five feet
apart, with but single thickness OF
thin galvanized material between the
bearings. This is not sufficient To
hold this work or to keep 1t in its pro-
per shape. This could only have been
done by putting a circle iron frame, SO
as TO conform with the circle Of the
work and the galvanized iron work
riveted to the skeleton frame Of iron,
and should have been made to conform
with the circular parts on the inside
and put close enough to prevent the
galvanized iron from crimping. The
inner dome is not securely supported.
One OF the braces is bent. The horizon
| q l,o t1.N nf Ia,