The Hawaiian gazette., 1913-02-18

tN0hRf Aof AFlI r+oLNll w AsAl
Three million feet o. timber was
IN the entire structure and Il looks AZ
" " were useless, AZ far ~ the sur.
face looks. Practically most u the
working plant was carried 10 destruc'
ton.
"Tho center section came up with
rush aud O mighty delage Of water.
The great piles which had been driven
down through the bottom, nearly all OF
nt least my attention was attracted 60
that portion. They had pumped out
~ the water but few feet and we
! could see the concrete. The taking out
Z Of the water in my opinion, permitted
7 the pressure Of ocean water 20 exert
I itself IN the two adjoining sections
I and with its force on either side and
I underneath with little OF nothing above
to hold IL down, the section simply
came up. We watched the sections Use
gradually, just gradual rise, but at
the same time the timbers began TO
( part and rip and the top maeninery
| plan, began TO topple.
Z" -Four minutes was probably all the
time the work of destruction went on,
but it was the most complete wreck of
Il splendid work | ever saw or or ever
dreamed of.
g was afraid at first that the en-
gines on the tracks would 90 into the
basin and explode, but they ran these
off quickly. AS long as the disaster
was to happen, l am glad l was near,
but it is a most deplorable thing that
this vast work of years, with such
promise of success, should crumple in
so short n period of time
81 saw diver come mp from the
work shouting that there was mischief
to pay, and that the center section was
coming up" said Mrs. Howard in re-
counting her experience Mt the dock.
The man ran past us shouting a warn
ing to everybody to get out and away,
and told us we had better get back
from the shore. Others urged us to
seek a safer place and so we did. I
saw the engines run in to the land and
they were saved, but / don't believe
another thing was saved. We heard
shouts of THE works are gone and
they were surely gone" -"
Admiral Gets the News.
Shortly before three o'clock Admiral
Cowles was conversing with an Adver-
tiser representative at the local naval
station on the apparent success of the
present work. The water had been
pumped out to a certain footage, ex-
posing the concrete, and it looked all
right.
The admiral was pleased at that mo-
ment with the progress of the work
and said he was ready to notify the
navy department that the work was
satisfactory, according to reports sent
him. He intended going down this
morning &c inspect the exposed con-
crete.
Within fifteen minutes Civil Engi.
neer Gaylcr U. S. N, who has been in
charge of the naval end of the work
on the drydock, telephoned to Admiral
Cowles that the entire drydock had
collapsed and not vestige of it re-
manned intact.
1t was blow to the hopes of Ad
miral Cowles, for during his regime az
commandment the work had been pro
crossing finely. The naval building.
on the reservation have all risen abov,
, the ground since he assumed command
and he hoped before leaving to see tn,
, work well under way. 1t was his hop,
some day to bring fleet into Pear
Harbor where the completed drydocl
a would be in readiness to handle any
4 warship offered.
The Work of Years.
Engineer Smith, of the San Fran
cisco Bridge Company, and Walter +
Dillingham;, of the Hawaiian Dredgin,
ompany, have both been prominent il
, the work of developing the drydock
; Under Mr.. Dillingham; the dredging wa
: done, and the dredgers were soon t.
commence work on the dredging of tn
. additional two hundred feet authorizes
t Tor the extension of the dock to 100
c feet.
n When the dredging work was fiuishe
K the San Francisco Bridge Complain
It took hold, erected its plant on tn
shores, opened up quarries in the Guile
d between Waipahu and Wahiawa an
brought tons and tons of cement froI
II the mainland, assembled one of tn
@ greatest drydock plants in the worlc
o brought prepared and shaped timber
IS and paraphelnalia from the mainland
IS from other similar dock jobs, and fo
1t TWO and half years work has bee
II under way steadily.
4. year or more ago when a mass O
IS concrete had been poured into sectio
NO. /, and the water level was reduce
ny pumps, there was just perceptibI
i, rising of the crib. Water was let i
again. The concrete mixture was g,
% amined and pronounced faulty. Som
/, other formula it was decided must b
% used, for the first appeared to rot i
the water and it was believed theI
h was some of chemical which attacke
" the mixtures
A. There Were delays and the naval eI
A. gineers studied the question from e,
cry standpoint. The contractor was
-. no wise to blame, for he had followo
-, the specifications to the letter and h
IN methods were those laid down by ii
70 navy department.
n Problems for Solving.
" The naval engineers worked over IL
problem. Admiral Stamford, chief ,
the bureau of yards and docks, made
OK special visit to Hawaii to investiga
nd the dock and its problems, and II WI
OF decided then that a new metho
to adopted some time before, that of dri
or ing piles into the bottom OF the has
~ In section two was advisable
TX This was yeTitible pinning down