The Washington herald., 1907-03-03
WORKERS TN SEWERS
Tasks of Men Who Tunnel
Under City Streets.
THEIR LABOR FULL OF PERIL
Foul Air, Gas, and Explosions of
Dynamite Among the Dangers to
which They Are Subjeet-Neyer-
theIess, They Are Healthy and SAT-
isfed-HOw Sewers Are BUILT.

4aHCU-hON sewers are hAAAAs
Few persons. if any, walking along the
streets Of the city and watching the
iaborers at work on new structures or
making pavements, ever have a thought
for the men who work below the surface,
under the trafic and roar of the metTopo-
lis. These men who make sewers are
the moles Of the city, and they tunnel
and blast. altogether unnodced by any,
says the ST. Louis Republic.
These moles Of the city, who build the
great sewers which are the sanitary sys-
TEN for the metropolis, see but little of
daylight In the winter they rarely see
daylight or sunlight They report for
work before sunrise and, going down into
the tunnel. are kept busy until after sun
set. when the days work ends. At the
noon hour they would rather eat their
meal below ground than to lose time go
ing to the surface
Foul air is one Of the things with which
the sewer worker has 10 contend,
especially in old sewers where the gas has
had - opportunity to gather. However.
when the workers feel that there is any
danger Of gas they lower light into the
sewer, and if it is extinguished they know
that gas is present; the kind of gas TREY
look for and fear viii put out a light
This gas IS forced out of the tunnel by
opening manholes. so that draft is Gre
Rted. Occasionally a sewer worker is
rendered unconscious by coming into con-
contact with this gas, but this is rare.
Underground springs are a source of
constant worry to the sewer workers.
especially when q new sewer is being
constructed. Occasionally he works, or
tries 10 work, in four feet Of water but
when it gets as deep as this pumps are
put TO work and the water taken 10 the
surface as fast as possible The worker
never knows when he will tap d spring.
and when once one begins to flow nothing
seems 10 stop IT,
Clothed I'm Rubber.
This constant moisture necessitates the
wearing of rubber boots by the worker.
and very often rubber coat, and such
clothing is not the best in the world for
n man who must work hard The water
viii soak through his clothing. and a bad
cold will result unless he takes the best
Of care of himself
The danger Of being entombed is one
that all sewer workers must face when
any blasting is being done. Where tine
blasting is through solid rock this danger
is not so great but where il is through
loose earth. with few rocks he does not
know 1T what moment the top of the
tunnel may come down and bury him.
Should such a cave-in occur, the men
on the surface would have q great deal
OF trouble in rescuing their fellow-work-
men. for these sewers are sometimes as
deep as forty feet
Pneumatic power is used in boring when
the sewers are being constructed through
solid rock, as is the case with a sewer
the city is now building along st. Charles
street, near Sixteenth street. The work
ers have strong boring tools run by COM
pressed air. and with these they bore the
holes in the rock in which the dynamite
is placed.
Working in FOur-fOOt Tunnel.
A reporter and artist for the Republic
were lowered into this sewer on the end
OF a rope and thirty-six feet below the
ground they found the men at work Dor
ing into the solid rock II was damp and
water was trickling about the workmen's
ears, but wearing sou esters" they did
not seem 10 mind this so much. This tun-
mel is not four feet in height and so the
worllmen must stoop continuously while
at work
Candles are used for light. and by the
aid of these the men labor from morning
10 night When the compressed air ma
chimes are going, the noise is almost
deafening in that small place, and one
wonders that men can stand it. Holes
are bored near the top Of the wall of rock
being worked, and other holes near the
bottom. These holes are made about
three feet deep, and when completed the
dynamite is placed in and the workmen
are ready for the blast,
Il generally has been the custom 60 set
the dynamite off by means of a battery,
but protests have been received from the
owners of nearby buildings against this
practice. they fearing that the great
shock which results Will be 10 the detri-
ment of the foundations Of their build
ings.
The dynamite charges are now set off
by fuses and smaller charges exploded
at a time. When the blasting is done
close TO the entrance shaft 20 the tunnel,
the workmen go to the surface, but when
the blast is done well along the tunnel
they very often remain in the shaft
until the smoke has partly cleared away,
when they resume the work Of boring.
Dug from Both Ends.
The shafts TO the tunnels are sunk
about a block apart, and the diggers
work both ways, so that they usually
meet in the middle of the block The
sewer work IS done with such skill by
these diggers that when two tunnels
meet there Is not over six inches Of dit
ference between them, and in some cases
none at all
In some respects the work Of tunneling
for sewers is similar 10 coal mining. but
despite this likeness, it has been found
by sewer contractors that miners are not
Of much use IN the work One contractor
for the city said that he had tried several
miners for tunneling work and blasting
and that he found them wanting in many
respects.
Why. I've got several men who never
saw a coal mine, who have got any OF
those miners beat to death when 1t comes
10 tunneliHg or blasting" said one CON
tractor.
Sewer workers often show great cour-
age. a short time ago "a contractor who
was making some repairs 10 an eighteen
inch sewer found that it was somewhat
stopped up between two manholes He
was puzzled for plan 10 get rid Of this
obstruction
Finally, one OF his workmen volunteered
10 so in and see what was the trouble.
and with "a rope attached 90 his body he
entered the narrow opening and worked
his way on his hands and knees to whore
tie Obstruction VS. md Lii. l. .--.--L1