The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-08-21

The Nuuanu dam is coming OUT
again into the limelight. To-day that
much-talked-of and discussed portion
of the public domain will be visited
by Governor Frear and the Secretary,
who will look into the hole and see
where the money has gone; by Attor-
ney General Hemenway, who viii be
introduced to the core wall, the mush
pile, the pump that goes on strike and
the other interesting exhibits which
will doubtless appear before him in his
official capacity before he is long in Of
flee, and by the superintendent of Pub
lie Works, who will explain what's
what and why. 1t is altogether likely
that ]. Hastings Howland will be in
evidence also, to point out the spots
where Patterson laid his finger.
This will be the first visit of the
three new officials to the work. 1t
is probable that the inspection will be
made this afternoon.
In connection with the new pump at
the dam, superintendent Holloway is
quoted as saying yesterday that he is
entirely satisfied with Howland's pur-
chase, which is delivering three-quar-
ters of the amount of water guaran-
teed. The figure of the water deliv-
cred. given by Mr.. Holloway, is one
and eight-tenths cubic feet per second;
the guaranteed capacity of the pump
when Howland purchased it was three
cubic feet per second, but the actual
delivery, as ascertained by a Weir
measurement by one of the government
inspectors on Monday, was one and
one-tenth cubic feet. This is nearer
the one-third capacity as stated in
the Advertiser than the three-quarters
capacity as claimed by the Superin~
tendent yesterday. in contradiction to
the statement of the Advertiser, while
Yesterday the weir showed still less
water, the volume being only one and
six one-hundredths cubic feet per
second.
IT was not disputed that the amount
of earth delivered during the eight
days the pump has been working is not
over fifty yards a day, instead of the
nine hundred yards daily promised by
Howland. At this rate of work the
earth costs the government forty cents
a yard to place, altogether outside OF
the amount paid the contractor, ana
this does not take into account any
charges for depreciation of the ma
chinery and the interest on the seven
thousand dollars it took to place it on
the hill and run the sluicing water in
what is alleged to be the wrong place
There was no denial from the De-
partment of Public Works of the fact
that gravel is being sluiced down to
make the dam fill, material worse than
worthless when used against the core |
wall. neither was there any contradic-
ion of the figures obtained from the /
Auditor that the cost of inspection of
the work is out of all proportion to
he amount of work being accom-
olished.
There is another little matter in con-
lection with the dam construction, that
# the installation of the bar-lock pipe
inc from the reservoir to the city, that
: of interest. This pipe was purchas-
d by the department as being the
-ery latest thing in pipes, just as the
ump was the latest and most ap-
roved style of pump imaginable and
omething that the local firms couldn't
upply anyhow, even if they had been
iveu a show. The pipe arrived here
nd was accepted, when it dawned
pom someone that it wasn't built
Ight for running around curves. The
inc was built to run in a straight
ne and the purchasers had forgotten
nat there is a curve ofstwo in the way
,om the city to the reservoir, So a
,ntract had to be let to a local founder
, supply elbows for the pipe so that
could be got around the corners.
hen the contract to lay it was given
E ]. Lord.
The contractor went ahead and put >
,wn about half the pipe, extending
ON Afong's place up as far as