The Washington herald., 1908-05-20

Whlch this vigorous and progressive city
Is being overhauled and. rebuilt breaks
all world records for municipal in
genuity and enterprise. IN order to over
come the disadvantage OF the steep hills
upon which Seattle is built. determined
attack has been made upon them, and
no such wholesale moving of dirt has
ever occurred before in merely improving
a citys topography. For nine years this
work has been pushed necessarily day
and night, rain or shine. Nothing has
been allowed TO stand in the way OF the
grand scheme OF Improvement. and veri-
table wonders have been accomplished.
The actual number Of miles of streets
affected b. the regrada work, giving par
tial changes. Is 211 miles. Eleven miles
OF streets have been altogether remade.
The change in the average street grade
for these 211 miles has been a reduction
Of from Is per cent re 5 per cent. The
enhancement Of the sale value of prop
erty resulting from this work has been
an increase of 900 per cent in the busi-
ness districts and Of 1000 per cent in the
residential districts. At the time of re-
grading the principal streets of the city
their width has been increased from 66
feet 20 either 81 or 80 feet as the district
elected. AS a result, 275 blocks OF build
ings have either been moved back nine
or twelve feet, or. If an alley In the rear
prevented their removal, they were cut
OF in front TO permit the widening. Dur
ing the time that these regrades have
been carried on in the hill portion Of the
city, .dredgers have been reclaiming the
tide hats, and up to the present time
sixty city blocks have been reclaimed by
these fills. There viii eventually be re-
Claimed in this manner 800 city blocks
The task OF raising its hills is to Seat
tie what Culebra Cut Is 10 the Panama
Canal. and the operations in vogue. here
are very similar to those used In the
work on the great isthmIan waterway.
Steam shovels, hydraulics, dynamite
picks. and shovels are the instruments of
dtsintegratiOn. Railways, fumes, and
wheel-barrows are the mediums OF trans
portarion. The magnitude Of some of
the excavations cannot but impress itself
upon the observer. Where only a
year ago he would gaze up the ascent
OF a towering hill. he now finds himself
peering over a railing into a monster. pit
At times an impenetrable pail of smoke
obscuTes the view OF the work beneath
Then the smoky curtain is rent. and
through the rift one catches transitory
glimpses Of the big steam shovel eating
It's way into the hill. the hydraulics send
clouds OF dirt and spray into the air. the
miniature trains putting back and forth
and the ant-like figures of men at work
When the vision is unobstTueted the on
locker sees towering banks crunlbling
before the onslaught of water and shovel.
The greatest factors in the work of dis
integration are the steam shovel and the
hydraulic. The major portion Of the work
is accomplished by the latter process,
which breaks up the hills and removes
the debris by means OF fumes.
while the steam shovel follows
in its wake and methodically
establishes the desired level. The
geologists tell Us that IN the course of
centuries the gentle rainfall VIII reduce
10 an insignificant bump on the map the
proudest mountain that ever reared its
head above the clouds. Imagine. then.
the erosive powers OF a solid stream Of
water capable Of denting in the side OF
a marine boiler. This is the hydraulic in
action. Hardly the right sort Of hose for
the gardener 10 use in sprinkling the
lawn for less than three minutes apDIj-
cation would see the foundation OF the
family domicile uprooted and the furni.
ture buried under the pile of shingles
that was once a roof.
Work on the excavations Is continuous.
Day and night men and machinery wage
unceasing war on the hills The day is
divided into two shifts o. twelve hours
each. Twenty-Five men. receiving wages
ranging from So 70 S per day. according
TO the nature of their task, comprise a
shift which goes to work at In the
morning. and is relieved twelve hours
later. The trains that haul away the
dirt are never relieved. and are given ex-
trene care by special mechanics. It is
estimated that each hydraulic removes on
an average 2,000 wagonloads Of dirt every
tWenty-fOur hours NotWithstanding the
magnitude OF the work and the great
risks the workmen are taking, few acci-
dents have occurred. Only two have been
fatal. One workman was struck in the
abdomen by the nozzle OF big hydraulic
and instantly killed At another time a
huge chunk OF Ignite coal fell away from
one Of the cliffs and crushed workman
to death.
The number Of cubic yards Of earth re-
moved during the first eight years of this
regrade work in Seattle was 0,560, 900, at
a cost of $S.16S.OOO The amount Of work
now in actual progress covers 500. 900
cubic yards, at a cost Of s2194,0OO The
amount OF work authorized by resolu-
ton. but only as yet partly authorized
to be done by court proceedings, embraces
100000 cubic yards. which 1t is expect
ed viii cost about 10000 for removal.
Therefore, the total yardage actually con-
tracted for in the whole regrade scheme
amounts TO 16 10000 cubic yards. and the
total contract price is s. $4,000
That portion of the city where the
tide fats are being reclaimed presents
an altogether different appearance.
Fronting the observer are long rows of
buildings. mounted on tall piles or frame
supports. such as house movers use. all
of them between twenty and thirty feet
IN the air, waiting for 100000 cubic
yards OF dirt to be sluiced down under
them from the hills above If a foreign
visitor, unacquainted with Seattle's ways
Of handling hills and hollows in her own
sweet fashion. were suddenly to view
this forest OF stills suTmounted with
rows Of houses, he might be justified in
imagining that It was to escape some
monster tidal wave that the residents
had planted their dwellings in midair.
Stretching 10 the south from this por-
tion Of the city are two new and wide
arteries Of traffic which will revolutionize
the aspect Of things in the southern linn
its Of the city. These new roadways are
now On stilts. OF. more properly speak
ing, built up In the air on piles. Be
meath the level plank roadways thirty
feet Of filing is to be made as soon as
the countless tons of sand and gravel are
washed down from the hills above. These
roadways will provide greatly needed