The log cabin Democrat., 1909-03-05
FLOORS FAILED UNDER TEST
Almost Collapse Under Weights
 Placed by Engineers
Caldwell & Drake, of Course, Claim Tests "Unfair. r."-Legislators
 Watch Test.

"Unfair. ."-Legislators
 Watch Test
 Little Rock, March Especial. Until the engineers conducting the investigation at the new state capitol complete their work and make a report to the capitol com mittee of the house, both sides oi the capitol controversy will be claiming victory, and the Cald. we'll & Drake men are already claiming the tests are unfair. One senator, who has stood by the con- tractors, yesterday afternoon, claim ed the house committee has brought prejudiced engineers here to make the tests. As it goes now, almost any sort ot report is heard on the tests made yesterday afternoon on the floors at the new state capitol. Some say that 40 pounds of wet sand to the square foot was placed upon the unfinished floors of the building, where there was not sup posed to be over So pounds ol weight, Others claimed the pres sure was I25 pounds, still others estimated it at 800 pounds.
 What the engineers did was to have the convicts carry in sand to one of the large rooms. When the convicts had placed considerable amount of sand upon the floor, it give an inch. It is known that it gave an inch, for everyone has agreed upon that distance.
 No one but Engineers Markham and Berle know how much more sand was to be placed on the floor before the tests were completed, but the floor began to show mark ed signs of collapse sothat, at there quest of Contractor Caldwell and Representatives Dulaney andWinn, Chairman Glover of the house committee finally consented that the tests should be discontinued, when it was agreed by all parties that the addition of another ton of sand would cause the floor to fall in.
 Today the tests will be continued and every day until all have either stood the tests demanded by the engineers or have been proven worthless.
 Both houses of the legislature at tended the test of the floor yester- day afternoon, the senate adjourn ing at noon, so as to be out on time and the house quit for the day shortly after clock. Nine tenths of the members watched the piling of the sand on the floor and it settling under the weight.
 Governor George w. Donaghey did not attend the test, but was rep resented by contractor who took notes on the way the the test was made He stated last night that he would not pass upon the result of the test until he had received g report as to how 1t was done. He will not go to the new capito while any of the tests are being made.
 George w. Caldwell, of Caldwell & Drake, the contractors, on the contrary, is very much on hand and watches the test very closely He stated yesterday afternoon that it was unfair to test an incompleteC floor, but.that he welcomed test: on the finished ones. These tests will be made as soon as the others have been completed.
 Gazette's Story of Tests.
 The Little Rock Gazette this morning prints an account of the failure of the capitol floor to meet the engineers tests, saying in part
 "The actual work of filling in the sand was begun in the morn ing and the room had been cov- cred to depth of about foot be, fore the tests became interesting al 5 o'clock.
 "The room picked for the exper- iment is a large committee room about 40 feet square i'll the middle front of the second story. The sand had been spread over large surface in the corridors near by. A gangplank was arranged high around three sides of the room, the convicts, a hundred in number, entering at a door on one side with their buckets of wet sand