New-York tribune., 1908-05-23
MAYOR BLOCKS INQUIRY
HATS COLER AGAIN.
Commission Of Bridge Erperts Not
4ppointed Yet.

For the second time Mayor Mcclellan blocked
the appointment Of q commission Of expert en-
eineers 10 inquire into the safety of the Black
wells Island Bridge, at the meeting yesterday Of
the Board of Estimate and Apportionment This
time the excuse was that the Commissioner of
Bridges had employed two engineers to make an
examination.
At the meeting OF the board week ago the
question Of having an immediate investigation
brought up by Borough President Coer
who asked for unanimous consent have his
resolution considered without the for,nality Of
notice, on the ground that the importance of the
subject demanded immediate action. The re-
quest was promptly vetoed by Mayor Mcclellan
Previous 10 yesterdays meeting Mr. Coler
stated that he had given due notice of his in
1ention 10 rentroduce his resolution calling
for an investigation. It now seems that this
notice failed in some way 10 reach the proper
quarters. and the Borough President Of Brook
lyn again turned down by the Mayor in a
request for unanimous consent TO have the
olurion considered without notice When the
question was brought up Mayor Mcclellan
marked that the resolution was not on the order
paper and added:
Anyway. the matter can stand over until the
next meeting. as I have been informed that the
Commissioner Of Bridges has secured the ser
vices Of Professor William H. Burr TO make an
examination OF the bridge
The failure Of the Board Of Estimate 10 take
action upon q matter involving the safety Of one
Of the most important and costly Of the citys
great bridges was due it is said, desire on
the part of Mayor Mcclellan to help Bridge
Commissioner Stevenson out OF difficult posi-
zion The Board Of Estimate does not meet
again for two weeks. This delay will give the
Two engineers employed by the Bridge Commis-
+l,z and
prepare a report
The persistent silence Of the Bridge Depart
u7ent ever since the DAY upon which The Trb-
ure published the first story concerning the sta
tility Of the structure indicates the great need
Commissioner Stevenson feels for an expert re-
port Of some kind justify his assertion that
his engineers had made q complete re-exanina-
ZION Of the strains and stresses Of the bridge
after the Quebec disaster, and had reported to
him verbally that il was absolutely safe
Meantime. however. work Of construction is
steadily advancing upon the new structure
Tons Of additional load being added day
after dav in spite of the opinions expressed by
some Of the highest technical authorities in the
country that there is grave danger Of the
bridge collapsing If the present load is increased
The opinion is expressed by engineers generally
-ha- ATavor Mcclellan and the officials Of the
Bridge Department are taking TREMENDOUS re-
spo1sibility IN proceeding with the work OF
erection in the face Of the warnings that nave
been given. More than that il Is pointed our,
the work that is now being done will in all
proba bility have TO be undone Iater al Nee's
expense TO the taxrayers-
,-ta ,,n,uslisAd Endorsement of all that The
Tribune has printed about the dangerous condi-
ton Of the bridge during the last ten Gays oy
SO eminent an authority upon technical subjects
Is The Scientific American" has added to the
steadily growing feeling Of alarm over the safety
Of the bridge on the part of the general pubic
The rrocrastination Of the Board Of Estimate.
4 is pointed out can only strengthen this feeling
cf alarm and compel the belief that there Is
something TO conceal which the Mayor and the
CITY officials are afraid would be made public by
the fearless Investigations OF a non-partisan
commission.
The statement made yesterday by Vice Presi
cent d s. Sanborn of the Committee of Forty,
a. Astoria upon the authority Of Bridge Com
missioner Stevenson. that tests had been made
i7y expert engineers which proved that the
Z B.sl.-veIrs Island Bridge when completed would
b H. = carry = f-4ly four times much
weight as could be put upon il, is in strange con-
1raGiction 10 the facts. Il is true tests were
made as has already been explained in The
Tribune, Of the eye-bar members in an effort to
find substitute for the nickel steel eye-bars
called Tor in the contract specifications But It
has never been claimed that the tension members
Of the bridge are in danger This Commissioner
Stevenson well knows II is not true. however,
that any test has ever been made Of the main
compression members Of the bridge. They are
the members which engineers consider danger
ously weak. The contract specifications provided
for the testing Of these members, but the tests
were never made. II was these same main
compression members that failed in the bridge
a. Quebec and The Scientific American" says
that the corresponding members in the Black
wells Island Bridge are much inferior to the
members in the Quebec Bridge, which failed
with only three quarters Of the load which it
was intended 10 put upon them. The Bridge
Commissioner has never had any tests made Of
the sections Of the BlackvelIs Island Bridge
which, in the opinion of competent authorities
may fail when completed and similar
disaster 10 that which occurred nearly year
ago at Quebec.