The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-02-17
Tho mans and specifications and

columns on the front pOrIicO- ile'
are not there. The absence OF them Is
explained by the fact that in attempt
ing TO elevate them into position llle
contractors broke one o! them INTO t"o
pieces. and rather than put the con.
tractors TO the expense OF rep!dC4As
the broken column. they were SeIel-
ously excused from putting Them III
at all, they paving the State $500, lear-
| ing them s.. 400 profit on that transac-
iriOn. The Office these columns were
10 perform was an Important one.
namely. to support the front pedlmenG
Of he portico md a 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 it from falling away, which
it has a tendency to do. The estl-
mated loss to the building in all re-
!spects on account Of the absence OF
these columns and the accompanying
parts they were to support IS s42uo.
! There are two massive square piers
under the portico. They were de
signed to support these missing COZ
umns. and now perform no duty at al.
On page I'll Of the report OF the coli5- con-
mission is a letter from ArchltecI .Nt!-
burn on this subject. iE which ne says.
. I'VE can take these out WITHOUT III
any way marring the appearance lroIll
the exterior and without IN any wa
interfering with the strength OF lhe
structure" Capt. Hunt was asked o;
Senator Manning his OPINION on l'iiH
point, and answered as loiioWs;
consider that an insult 10 !he lilieili-
pence of YOUR committee: hSpia1Hss
.ng, he said The practical eflect OF
leaving out those columns IS TO weak
IN The structure. The stone Intel
and brick work on top ottheSe columns
WIS intended TO bond into the brick
wall of the pediment and make SOLID
and rigid piece OF work. 1t is lmpor
tant that this should have been done,
for the pediment cornice naturally
gives it a tendency TO pull OH 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 ouild-
ing. He overcame this by buttlng 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 sufficient: ne repiled::
We'll, if the bracing and anchorlng OF
these rods has been done as carelessIy
as a great portion Of the construction
throughout this building. | certainly
should question its safety.
). The beautiful leafwork upon the
capitals of the old columns will stand
| for all time as monument to the sAl'l
and taste Of the artist who carved
them; that upon the new columns,
furnished by these contractors. re-
ouired to be and designed to be mod
elled after them, are coarse. unSlghtly
ard unfit to stand beside the old ones.
s. The columns at the rear OF the
portico. joining the main building
Should have to correspond Win the
front columns. Intel stones eXteno-
/ ing from one to another. They nave
none. and 10 till 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
ance of the work was treating, the
State with injustice, this can only be
constructed in the light OF rldlcuie
coupled with contempt. Too much re-
mains to be reported to dwell longer
upon this portico The defective glass
flooring. the cheap, shoddy stamped
iron ceiling. the way the flooring leaks
in rainy weather, together with muca
else, shows for itself and accords Mt
ting!v with the balance Of the botch-
work palmed off on the State.
:. Entering the building from the
IDS
the roof leaks badly, flooding the LOBBY
after protracted rains. Ascending the
roof, as we did, we discovered the
cause of this to be roof OF little or no
value. 1t is a tar and gravel roof,
which at all times is an undesirable
one and wholly inapplicable to as steep
a roof as the one on the State House.
! The plans and Specifications require
the gravel to be from three-slxteenths
to one-half inch in size. The gravel
put on, or we should say, the stones, to
a great extent are as big as a pigeon
egg and larger. up to the size OF a
mans hand, in consequence OF which
they fail TO hold the tar in place, and
the hot suns Of two summers have
melted it and it has to a great extent
run down into the valleysand cutters.
\ ine slate roof, bought by the State
at heavy expense, and which aHoro-
| ed perfect protection for years, was
taken Oft and appropriated by the
contractors. The evidence is that 1t
will cost about 5000 to put this roof
in moderately safe condition. The
specifications call for ix:0 ventilators
to carry off the hot air from between
the ceiling and the roof, 20 keep the
air in motion and pure. They are not
there, and it will cost about $50 apiece
to put them in.
S. The dome is the crowning piece OF
this work, in more senses than one.
Taken all in all it is simply Infamous.
To start with, an uglier and more IN
slightly creation could not be devised,
even if it had been properly construct
ed, but our observation, and the testl-
moly of Capt Hunt, shows thai it IS
.o5lling short of a miserable fraud.
He SAYS: ;'It is done in very crude
and unworkmanlike manner. There
waS no effort made to connect the
cornice Of the fat ceiling with the
cornice of the dome. There is not
sufficient framing tokeep the galvaniz-
ed iron in proper shape. The work is
full OF kinks and crimps, with nothing
to keep it up. find the work roughly
done. with but few uprights in posi-
ton. and some Of these four OF tive feet
apart, with but single thickness Of
thin galvanized material between the
bearings. This is not sufficient to
hold this work or to keep it in its pro-
per shape This could only have been
done by: putting 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 &c 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
tai lattice brace at the top OF the
dome. called for by the specifications,
is left out. This has a tendency 10
weaken the structure. They are III
tended to keep the thing in vertical,
rprir},+ ,oc;tion There is ONLY one