New-York tribune., 1912-02-25
Huge Tube Which Is to Convey Five Hundred
Million Gallons Daily to This City Is Being
Constructed, Even Now, Under Our Feet.

KF YOU arc looking for profound peace
don't go down under the city's streets
u where they are piercing and penetrat-
ing geological formations in constructing
the longest tunnel in the world. Go instead
TO the uptown Office of the general superin-
tendent of various important sections of the
work and look at the photographs he VIII
show you Of the snow-capped peaks of
Idaho.
one of the most interesting and important
pieces Of underground work ever undertake
en- in the United states is the deep tunnel
i'm the rock underlying greater New York,
which is to distribute the new Catskin
water supply TO the several boroughs Of the
greater city.
Only Comparatively few perhaps Of New
YOrks Ave million persons realize that to-
day, right IN our midst. under our very feet,
there is being constructed the longest tun-
mel i'm the world-in Such a quiet and or
derly fashion is the work being done. A
mole or the woOdchuck would cause more
of sensation in Broadway.
Ask the general superintendent men
toned to talk OF the subject of tunnel
making. to take you down below where the
incandescent lamps pine away and the drills
are discharging stones and bones and where,
10 surface loving man, the smell might
seem unpleasant and numerous Polacks ap-
pear to be creating considerable pcll-mcU
Ask these things and the general super
intendent will. instead, talk to you Of the
Mountain Gem state and the pleasant peo-
pie and other scenery that are there. You
will learn more about the country that sup
ports the Saw-Tooth and Goose Creek
ranges than perhaps you ever expected TO
acquire.
You will discover the beauties Of Mis-
soulian or some such town. from numerous
photographs that he will show YOU, and may
81 you persevere find out some unpublished
facts about wogland and Buffalo Hump al
though this latter cannot be guaranteed.
There Is no question about IT, Idaho Is
some state when IL comes TO snow and tun-
nels and other things. II was discovered in
1895. but already contains about as many
souls as Newark. y. J.
The general superintendent is extremely
modest and equally notable for his ability
10 build tunnels. 1t is the first New York
City underground work that he has done,
but those jobs that he has put through the
mountains OF Idaho have made him famous
among the country's engineers.
WILL CARRY A RIVER DAILY.
In q general way. the average man knows
perhaps that a great aqueduct is being
constructed. large enough 10 allow sub
way car TO pass through. which is to lead
each day five hundred million gallons, an
ordinary river. of pure and wholesome
mountain water from the heart Of the
Catskiils To the gates of the city.
lie has noted the completion OF the tur-
mel under the Hudson River above West
Point 1,l0o feet below sea level, that
marked the successful solution Of the last
physical difficulty of moment on the con-
struction OF the uinety-two miles of aque-
duct between the Ashokan reservoir and
the city line, at Yonkers. At Yonkers the
engineers have left the water in the Hill
View distributing reservoir 9e5 feet above
sea level.
There are various locations in the me
tropolis where aqueduct tunnel work is
now being pushed. and one of the most
interesting Of these is at Shaft No. Is.
situated at Broadway and 2ith street.
where the accompanying pictures were
taken
II would. II seemed. be interesting 10 as
certain from the general superintendent of
such an historical undertaking something
OF what ne thought about digging ander
the metropolis. as compared TO the great
work that he had done in Idaho and other
points West.
Mr.. McAdoo has been pretty definitely
photographed and described. His person
siity is known even beyond the Caribou
Range. MI. Belmont also has impressed
himself cameoko on tie mind Of the age
Tunnel builders arc always interesting.
Here, then, was something new How
would Western tunnel man view the
geological formations Of New York's un-
derworld?
20 the Tribune man got a letter of intro
duefion TO this general superintendent from
the Board of Water Supply. and finally de-
hvered il into the tunnel builders own
hands But the tunnel expert said he never
talked about himself or his work. He
showed however. several scrapbooks. OF
idaho photographs. almost every picture in