The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-01-13
Gigantic Engineering
 Undertaking.
WELLS BROS., OF BALTIMORE
 TAKE CONTRACT FOR TASK
City Council Grants Right of Way
 For Work.
Huge Structure Weighing 2,500 Tons 10 Be Lifted On Rollers and Trucked to Near Lee
 and Montgomery
 Streets.

The Moses Building. six stories tall. and weighing 2,5o0 tons. is to be rais- ed from its foundations on Court Square put on rollers. transported through Montgomery street for one block. and there put upon new foundations, at Lee street. 100 feet from Montgomery.
 The Immense structure Is not only to be moved. through the streets of Mont, gomery, but 1t is to be moved without dislodging a single stone, without un- cementing the stone and brick of which it is composed. without damaging in any way its structure, or weakening its architecture. The moving will be begun in few weeks. as soon as Wells Brothers. of Baltimore, the con- tractors who will have the work in charge. have had time to bring their apparatus here. and get 1t on the ground.
 This statement was given out last night ky ". M Marks, ". A. Gayle, W. B. Jones and John W. Ray. the men who will purchase the huge structure from wells Brothers, of Baltimore, the company which recently bought it from the First National Bank. as soon as the conditions named have been perform ed. ,
 1Ae removal of the Moses Building from its present site, to make way for the new twelve story structure which the First National Bank has blahned, win be one of the biggest en- gfneering feats of It's kind ever att tempted hare. There have been larger 6tructures moved. but they have been few and far between. That the con traofing company is confident of it's ability to successfully perform what it has engaged to do. however. is evil dent from the nature of their contract, which does not require payment until after the building shall have been placed on it's new foundations at Lee
  tact.
 That is a part of the agreement. which the purchasers insisted upon. There was no hesitation on the part of the contractors in agreeing to this stipulation.
 Right-of-way Granted
 That the transfer of the structure Ia the bona fide intention both of the purchasers and the contractors, was made evident last night, when Will lam B. Jones, one of the prospective owners, appeared before the members of the City Council and asked for per- mission on behalf of the contracting company to have the building moved. Under a suspension of the rules. the right of-way was granted. a resolution to that effect passing by a unanimous vote.
 Another evidence of the confidence of the contracting company to carry out their part of the agreement is shown in the fact that during the time the build ing will be en route up Montgomery street. all responsibility for damage done will rest upon them. The pur- chasers will not pay for their new property or assume any responsibility for it until 1t has been placed on it's foundations. Then the money will be pHlu ONCIs anu litO WlAA assume ownership.
 Just when the work of removal will begin. has not been determined upon. Waiter T. Smith. of Baltimore, a mem- ber of the firm of Wells Brothers, has been in Montgomery for several days, looking over the situation. He has given 1t as his opinion that the struc- ture can be removed without the slightest damage either to the struc- ture itself. or to other buildings, and without danger to human life.
 Mir. Smith Is graduate of the en- eineering and architectural depart ments of Harvard College. For the last fifteen years he has been engaged in the work of moving buildings. It has become to him 8 matter thoroughly familiar. When he says a thing can he done. his record shows 1t can be done. He speaks of moving the Moses building as If 1t were the veriest com nnonplace To him the task of under taking the largest architectural and engineering feat of the sort ever at tempted in the South, would seem like the merest trifle.
 A Big Undertaking.
 "Yes." said MT. Smith last night, the rooving of the Moses Building Is a big thing. It is not the largest feat of the kind attempted, but 1t Is a thing not done every day. and 1t Is an undertak- ing of considerable magnitude.
 yThe building. I have estimated. will .weigh about 2.500 tons To move 1t from its present site to the proposed place it will occupy at Montgomery and TAe Streets, it will be necessary to raise it off its present foundations. Then it will have to be turned half way around, before it can be headed up Montgomery Street To do this, we shall have to use about 1000 jack screws.
 tions we shall place it on crlbbing. consisting of lumber beams. From there, in turn, 1t will have to be lifted to steel beams and then moved out into the square. and turned. so that we can take it up Montgomery Street
 That will be. by far, the greater mart of the task. Once the building Is started up the street, the rest will be comparatively easy. We shall use iron or steel rails, and huge rollers and will move it with jacks or with q r4aao, roVUar At Lee Street we shall