Arizona republican., 1909-06-04
SOLID FOUNDATIONS
 ALWAYS NECESSARY JAMES GOODWIN GOES BACK TO HISTORY. Why Some Ancient Structures Are Still Standing and Why Others
 Are in Ruins.

In The Republican. quoting from MT Ainsworth's speech, he said recently in New York he observed a twenty story building, concrete and steel being built on piles. If my friend Goodwin had seen that he would have had it stop ped" Judge Ainsworth is one of the best lawyers there is in Phoenix. In trying case he will tell you that an assertion that such and such is the law if there is no court opinions to back it up by is no good as against the oth- CT fellow who asserts the opposite is the law and backs it up by the opinion of courts. Quoting from McClures magazine for May 1909 an article en- titled The Web Foot Engineer" by Benjamin Brooks:
 "Mr. F. H. Kimball had the com mendable obstinancy to insist that the foundations of the Manhattan Life building in New York should go down to solid rock Notwithstanding much adverse criticism at the outset, his idea was finally accepted so completely that, during the following 15 years New York became the greatest deep foundation city in the world. In order to appreciate the great jump-off from ancient custom that had to be made in order to accomplish these things. we need take orsy the most superficial glance at the older structures. The Pyramids are securely founded on high and dry rocks; therefore above re- proach. Most of the Roman edifices are also on hills. The Fiber, being an intermittent stream enabled the Ro- mans to build a few good bridges dur ing dry seasons; but the Forum, being on marshland. is an engineering botch, and the Cloaca Maxima so persistent ly apt to get stopped up that for hun dreds of years the whole works were abandoned and used for a dump. Co., ing a little further. we have the learn- ing of Pisa and Bologna, not to be compared in weight to a large modern factory chimney yet able to show us how lamentably weak the old fellows were the minute they got bit begged: and in Venice we see the most striking example of how an entire city, all though beautifully architectural. was never properly foundationed. The costly buildings of Chicago. standing on shallow grillage and sinking so many inches a year. serve to empha- size at what a late date builders still hesitated to venture into the unstable depths"
 From this article you see for the last E years of great structures of con- crete and steel have been out down to a solid rock foundation in the city of New York. Tn the city of Chicago the buildings are gradually sinking; being one monolith they may gradually sink for thousands of years unless the line of equilibrium passes outside of the base of the building and then they fall. but a bridge is a far different struc- ture. being long and having great lev craze, any pier settling would cause the bridge to break and fall In the same manner as the new reinforced concrete bridge at Peoria, III. gave way on account of one of it's piers set ting.
 Peoria. Illinois. May 4, 1909.
 "At 5:S0 o'clock Saturday morning three arches of the concrete steel new wagon bridge, which was recently f and lies at the bottom a total mass of ruins
 This is the same type of structure that is proposed to be built by the Cen ter street people. This is the same type of bridge which the Center street have failed to get single and practical engineer living in Maricopa county to approve. This Is the type of bridge that the Center street people are asking the people of Maricopa county to put $50.000 into as m experiment. MT. Ainsworth will tell 1 you that court opinions that bear di- | rect on a case are the best opinions | hat can be had. I also think he will | ell you that the right man to judge of | | bridge is a competent and practical | ,ivil engineer who has had experience | n building bridges on these western | 'ivers.