The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-03-21
ENGINEERS ARE
NOT IN THE SWIM
One Branch of the Army Hop
ping Mad at Roosevelt.
POSTOFFICE AND POLITICS
SENATOR PETTIGREW VISITS
WASHINGTON.
(special to The Herald.O

| the engineers corps OF the army are
said to be greatly disgruntIed because
the president has not given their
branch of the service any representa-
tive on the Panama canal commission.
The officer selected to represent the
army on the commission, General
George w. Davis, comes from the in
fantry branch of the service. and the
/ engineers have been given the go-by.
| But General Davis, while not belong
/ ing to the engineers corps. is an en-
gineer Of experience. Years ago he
accomplished a bit of engineering work
that gave him a worldwide renown.
Away back in the '40s a lot of pa
| triotic women determined to erect a
monument to Washington. After much
| talk it was decided that it should be
an obelisk in design. When 197 feet
had been constructed. the money on
hand gave out, and there the thing
was. half built. looking more like
huge factory chimney than mOnu-
ment to the Father of His Country
This would not do at all, and in 1884
congress made an appropriation of
100000 for material and labor to com
piete the Washington monument. But
when the chief of engineers came to
alledQN
completed, he perceived that ii would
be a more difficult job than had been
anticipated. To begin with. it ap-
peared to be out of plumb. but by how
many feet could not be determined
Major Davis solved a difficulty that
had puzzled a good many engineers,
that was to cause the plumb bob or
weights at the end of a string 1917 feet
long to remain perfectly steady while
the necessary observations were being
made.
He did this in a simple, but correct
way. He got a barrel of New Orleans
molasses-a full barrel-and trans
ferred the sweet stuff into a glass YES
sci of the same size, whose transpar-
ency allowed the variations of the
plumb to be accurately observed. II
was found that the 197-foot shaft was
at least five feet out of plumb, it's
deviation being to the northwest.
How the straighten it was the cues
ton. The engineers looked askance at
the entire business. In some way or
other it came TO the ears of the presi-
dent that Major Davis had said the
shaft could be Strengthened and car
RED 10 the determined height-555 feet.
30 he sent for the major. and at once
asked him If he believed that the shaft
could be Strengthened and restored to
the PERPENDICULAR. The reply was in
the affirmative, and Major Davis was
assigned to the work
1t was no easy task to bring this 10
feet Of granite back to the perpendic-
ular. In fact, officers of the engineers
would have made wagers that it could
not be done without seriously impair
ing the solidity of the structure To
make a long story short, he straight
ened IL. Davis then went back to his
regiment to examine into the quality
of recruits that had been added TO his
company since he was absent.
Statistical Abstract.
The department of commerce and
labor has issued the statistical alb
stract. of the United States for the year
1908. This abstract shows that the ex-
ports of domestic products from the
United States now exceeds those of any
other country in the world. They
amounted to S1,392. 231, 600. against ST.
379, 3S3, 900 from the United Kingdom.
81 .113.313. 600 from Germany, $500, 81, 600
from France and 1872. $4,000 from the
Netherlands. In imports the United
States stands third, the worlds largest
importer being the United Kingdom,
s., 81, 416. 900: Germany second. $780,
lis, 600; the United States third, $1.025,-
71s. 900; Netherlands fourth, sS67,30S,-
600. and France fifth. $S4S. 046.0 600. The
above figures of imports and exports
are, in the case Of the United States.
for the year ending June 90, 1903; the
others for the calendar year 1902
Comparing conditions in 1903 with
those of 1873. the exports have grown
from 1922. 900 900 to 81. 420. 0O0. 600. inClud
ing domestic products and foreign mer-
chandise re-exported. Agriculture
products still of course form the laTg
est group Of exports, amounting to
1913 100000 in 1908, or 63 per cent of the
total while manufactures amounted to
S407, 900. 600, or % per cent of the total
Manufactures are. however, gaining
rapidly upon agricultural products in
the share which they form of the total
exports In 1880 agricultural products
formed SO per cent and manufactures
but 12Is per cent of the total exports
OF domestic products, while in 1903, as
already indicated, agricultural prod
ucts formed So per cent and manufac-
lures over % per cent of the total.
The value Of domestic manufactures
exported had never reached so much as
100000. 900 prior TO 1876, and in 1895 for
the first time crossed the $260,000,000
mark. Since 1896, however. the growth
has been rapid. the total exceeding
$500. 900. 900 in 1S99 passing the 100000
s4OO. 000.0 900 constantly since that date,
with a prospect that the total exports
of manufactures for the fiscal year will
exceed in value those Of any of the
former years.
Postoffice Scandal.
There has been a good deal of spec
ulation az to the net political phase of
the postal scandals, involving members
OF congress. The Democrats believe
that II will prove a tremendously
strong campaign issue, and that il viii
cost the Republicans many seats in
the house during the coming election.
They propose to work it for all there
is in It. coupling it with the exposure
OF the general extravaganza and reck-
less expenditure in the government
service and making a plea for new
deal all around. The Republicans adj
nit that the party has been badly in
jured by recent developments.
A leading Republican congressman
said today:
IF the elections were 20 be held in
the next two weeks the postal scandals
would probably cost US the control Of
the house, but / believe that by the
time November rolls around other
events will have pushed the matter far
into the background, and that the net
result will be 70 change very few votes.
No doubt certain amount Of harm
has been done TO the Republican party
by the charge Of corruption in the post
Office department. The public gets the
general impression that there is some
thing rotten in the department and