The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-10-02
q larger volume Of water to trickle over
the edge.
fMPEprEcTIoNs OF THE DAM.

. examine the broken fragments to -da,
1t was found that one of these notche
had been filed up completely with con
crete and that work was In progres
on the other. Four feet of new concrete
was found in this gap and the forms wer,
/; up for more. Work had been done upol
!; IL on Saturday.
, The examination of Farley Gannett
engineer for the State Water Suppl,
Commission. showed that one chunl
! Of concrete. weighing perhaps a ton anc
q half had been projected down stream
for 100 feet. Another much longer sectior
Z lay sixty feet out of the plumb line Of tn,
dam. Mr.. Gannett found man who
, from the hillside saw that bursting Of tht
wall.
John Newman. a politician of Couders.
! port said the State Engineer this even
ing, "told me that he was driving along
, the hillside away from the dam. His COM
panion turned back TO look at tho food
OF water.
at seems to me that there's an awful
lot of water coming over to-day" said
Newman
That's right agreed his driver. and
then az they looked Freeman shouted;
'By God. there it goes!'
'The big lump popped out of place
and catapulted down the stream Then.
like the cracking Of whip, the other
snapped out. In another second the
great mass of wood pulp was being
hicked into tho air Ike matches. II went
/ up like cloud The smokestacks of the
Bayless Pulp and Paper Company were hid
den behind the spray and cracking logs
The chunk that popped SO far down
was the first to give way. 1t was the top
half Of a section ripped OF as cleanly as
, II IL had been sawed. The exposed sur
face Of the base that remained in place
showed to- day that it had not been rough
ened. 1t apparently marked the end of
. days work in the construction and the
: only way in which the next days section
had been welded to it was by four twisted
iron bars which were pressed downward
to-day
Mr.. Gannett was not willing tonight
TO say what he thought had caused the
break. He will make a close inspection
OF the designs before he makes his report
to the Water Supply Commission
Tho, dam was owned by the Bayless
Pulp and Paper Company, which has
.its headquarters in Binghamton. n. Y.
Tho vast amount of water confined above
the dam was used in the processes Of
washing pulp after its chemical treat
ments before it is turned into paper.
"r AN ALARM ARRANGED.
After the false alarm OF last spring the
Inhabitants of Austin decided that in the
event Of real food they must not rely
upon the speed OF horses hoofs and the
strength Of a mans voice to warn them
II was agreed that one long blast from
the whistle Of the Standard Wood Com
pany which had its kindlng yards per-
hape an eighth OF mile below Main
street. should be the signal for the people
Ito spread out Of the quarter mile width
OF the valley and to climb the hills. They
went further and asked Harry Davis.
the general factotum around Cora Brooks S
roadhouse. which was the nearest build
ing to the dam except the pulp mills, to
keep an eve out for danger signs in his
leisure moments.
Yesterday morning Davis went up to
take look at the dam with Fred Ant,er-
son. superintendent OF the mills. The
handy man around the roadhouse didn't
like the look OF il. he said to-day. and he
went back to his job worried. He went
TO the window more frequently in the lull
In business around the noon hour.
1t was a few minutes after o'clock
In the afternoon that he heard the sound
OF which the town had been in dread.
One look was enough to show Davis that
the break had happened. He ran to the
telephone as he had agreed to do and got
the telephone central in the Bank of
Austin building. where young woman
named Lena Binkey had the receiver
asross her hair. He gave the traditional
warning just as every one else who had
, the chance gave 1t. They had been think
ing lot about the Johnstown disaster,
these Austin people. and in every case
they appear to have followed the action
OF history.
the dam has burst!' yelled Harry
into the telephone.
, .Quit yer kiddin." said Miss Binkey.
he Gays the dam has burst. she repeated
to her coworker. Katherine Lyons at the
: next desk.
Il tell you il has!" shouted Davis.
Something in the way Davis said il
made Lena believe it this time. and the
. way that she reached for handful OF
wires sent Miss Lyons to work too. They
called up the Standard Wood Company.
told the man who answered to send out
bis warning and then began calling every
one they could reach.
Miss Binkey waited till she saw the wall
j, Of water coming and then she ran into
the street. Miss Lyons stuck to her
switchboard until she saw the steeple
Of the Presbyterian Church topple and
drop. Then she clattered'down the stairs
She stayed so long that she forgot her
pocketbook. But it was just step to
the higher ground. for. the bank building
was the last one of the western end OF
Main street and she came out all right
as did Miss Binkey.
THOUGHT 1T WAS THE FIRE SIGNAL
Somehow the men at the kindling
yards didn't sound the food signal In
stead OF one long blast there came eight
short toots and then a sustained whistle.
That was the town fire signal The
immediate result was that the inhabi-
tants leisurely laid down their tasks
and strolled out 10 see where the blaze
was, In the fiat valley they looked
up into the sky to see where the sparks