davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-01-30
Five.Cent Fare Sooner

poroush President MCAneny salu oi0
Of the principal changes agreed upo''
in tho BROOKLYN Rapid Transit con-
,rac, was 10 shorten the time from
fur wears to eighteen months wheh
the ive-cent fare 10 ConcN isl"i'u
would be put in operation. Inc con-
tract originally provided the fve-cen'
fare should take effect upon the COM
rle,ion of the new terminal at Concy
Island and upon the connection OF inc
Brighton Beach. Culver and west End
lines with il. 1t is now proposed 10
leave out the Brighton Beach line III
this connection and begin the five-cent
fare charge upon the completion OF the
Brighton Beach terminal and the
Fourth avenue subway and the connec-
lion Of the Culver line and the West
End line with them.
The Brooklyn League sent out call
Yesterday for mass meeting Tonight
at Prospect Hall. at which the speakers
will BE- Mayor Gaynor. Controller Prem
dorgast. Borough President McAnenY
Chairman Wilcox and Public Service
Commissioner Williams. The an
uounccment Of the meeting says that
points which at a late date have been
brought mp for dispute by the oppo-
nents Of the dual subway system viii
bc met 10y the public officials
The following statement was issued
last night by the Merchants Associa-
ton:
Notwithstanding the apparent progress
made toward the final execution OF the
dual utWaN contracts. the commercial
and civic orCa MIA tiOnS which VIII Sehd
delegates to Albany tomorrow TO appear
before Governor SulHer for the purpOS"
Of voicins the demand Of the business
interests OF the city for the approNai OF
the contracts, are taking nothing lor
granted.
Requests for accommodation on the Spe-
rial train which will carry the delegation
continue 70 come in at the headquarters
of the Merchants Association to-day.
These requests have been so numerous II
may be found necessary to make up the
train i'm two sections. The sentiment Of
the business men of the city viii be made
plain TO the Governor 10y competent
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-01-30
O'louahIin Shocks Hearers.

bic later repaired To- the Bedford Y. VI.
G. A.. where Philip J. Reilly. president
OF the Mckinley Park Board Of Trade.
presided at the meeting. The speakers
declared the city would bc heavy
loser il the present contracts were APP
proved
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-01-30
Decides to Obey the Tammany
Leader and The 0rganlza-
ton in Subway Tangle.s
WILL LET WILCOX REMAIN
Announces No Public Service
Commissioners Will Be Ap-
pointed This Week-Won't
Stop Contract Signing.
lRr releCraph 20 The Tribune. ]

Albany. Jan. Ex-Governor Sulzer
showed to-day that he had chosen Muir
ply. Of Tammany. and the Democratic
organization rather than Hearst in the
subway tanSlc by the announcement mat
he would make no appointments to va
ca1ciss in the Public Service commissions
until next Monday night. lie may not
make them even then.
This will permit Chairman Wilcox 81
the New York city commission to hoid
Office for several days after his term mas
expired and it will give every facility
for the commission to sign the subway
contracts now pending. 1t is blow at
Hearst. who has used every means At
his command 10 induce the Governor to
prevent the signing Of the contracts.
Most of all. Hearst wanted the Governor
TO send 10 the Senate the nomination OF a
municipal ownership and subway opera
ton advocate as Mr.. WillcoX's successor
and put IT up 10 the Senate to con'lrih
that nomination at once.
Instead OF the haste which Hearst
wanted. the Governor is travelling very
slowly. The Tammany Senate, knowing
Murphys wish that Hearst he slapped
and the contracts signed. is acting even
more slowly II Tie Governor makes
an appointment on Monday night. II will
not be Confirmed until Wednesday. ana
The S-uatc may delay beyond that time II
il finds IN. contracts have not been
signed then In other words, Mr.. Wilcox
is not To- be thrown out hastily by Mr..
IIcarst's orders. and the Governor and
the Senate between them. VII see that
all needed time Is allowed for the sign
ing OK the contracts.
MI this is entirely in line with what
Murphy and some Of his upstate follow
crs decided at q conference in New YORK.
last night was the best thing to do. There
IT, still some question here whether the
Governor Will play with Murphy on the
rest ~ the Murphy organization pro-
gramme or slide over To Hearst when II
finally comes time 10 appoint a commits
siourr-after the contracts have been
signed. But the question is not consid-
cred important by the organization men
aud the Tammany Senators. They say
there is a thorough and complete under
standing between the organization and
the Governor. and that II Governor SulZor
ever really seriously considered DESERVING
the organization TOR Hearst in an ef-
fort 20 try out whether he really were
the state leader" he had thought better
Of IL on sober second thought.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-01-30
Palmer Sees the Governor.

state Chairman George VI. Palmer vino
has the organization indorsemcnt-and
Murphv s-for appointment To the up
state commission. had a talk with the
Governor this evening Tho Governor was
asked II Mr.. Palmer brought statement
Of Murphy's or the organizations attitude
on the subway situation.
Ask Nj Palmer about that" said the
Governor. There he sits.
Mr. Palmer had nothing 10 say. lie il
practlcally certain To be appointed. There
is a little question just at present whether
he is 10 b. named chairman Of the up
state body. Murphy wants him TO he
chairman. The Governor would rather
name John Y. Carlisle chairman
Governor Sulzcr was more definite in
discussing the subway situation to-day
than he has been at any time mp to date.
lie answered a fire ~ questions covering
every qolnt ~ the situation in which he
is now concerned.
Shall Won send any appointment to the
senate prior to February r. was asked.
+ do not sec how can do it. and | can
not make any appointment on February J.
because the Senate will not then be IN
session" was the answer
In other words YOU will have 10 send
il I'm or Friday or Monday
Yes. but | shall not send IL on Friday.
You have also said that you would not
remove NJ. Wilcox
II did say that"
Docs this apply to al PuoIic Service
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-01-30

,,rely TO the Brooklyn RAPID 'd,is''
contracts. which is all we took up u"'-
ing the day. The fundamental ufuei
living objections to the contracts nave
80, hs.p changed. and | do not THINK
there will be any changes in them
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-16
USING COMPRESSED AIR.

Same way had TO be found to get down
IN the bedrock more speedily and with a
greater assurance of the sOundncss OF IN"
concrete column. The foundation cn2i-
reer. after much study. hit upon method
which entirely reversed the previous order
or affairs and he called into service COM
pressed air TO help him In ms uhd'i-
ground task I'm fact. prospective oWHe-'
of skvscrapers insisted that the founda-
ton should rest upon bedrock, and they
did not purpose risking their money upo"
ether unsOund concrete columns OF uPo"
tiers that foated instead OF reachlhs
down and gripping the underlying stone
I'm Chicago there are buildings winch 90
float. and these are sinking annually inch
by inch into the yielding ooze or quick
sand upon which their burden rests.
Before We go further II were just as
well IA have some idea Of the geological
formation beneath our feet. The northern
part of Manhattan is well nigh solid rock
that rises IN places above the general sur
face The builder there has the task of
ouarrying out the hole for the cellar. and
after that is done he has no further
bother as 10 the soundness of tine founda-
tion. South O1 lUth street, NpN'Nfi' INV
rocky ledge dips below iidc level, and
n ere are places further toward the BAT
terry where rock bottom is reached after
digging from 20 to $50 feet Above the
bedrock il a ten-foot stratum OF hard
cementlike clay. and ovcriying this are
LAYERS Of quicksand sometimes more than
half "A hundred feet through. These flow
ike water and are the most treacherous
ming the foundation engineer has To bat
,le with. We have explained why.
But II is not so far from the street
teveI TO the water level where the earth
il always saturated, and work from that
noint down becomes In fact a duplicate
If conditions in a diving DELL operating
mon i river red o. the s "a bottom Your
,ninformed mind does not grasp this stu
,t,on as vou view operations casually
from ne sidewalk. and YOU probably never
Int that there Mas "a struggle between
the engineer and our Ranking rivers In
,rd,r TO hold the skyscraper poised irny
and lastirsly aloft. Eut such is the case
and YOU shall see how the water and its
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-16
OVERCOMING BUOYANCY.

ON reaching water or quicksand the
column is partly buoyed by this support
and the added lift of the compressed air.
and at times the pillar will not sink in
consequences There are two ways OF
overcoming this. one is to weight the top
Of che pier with east iron blocks of about
t,o tons each ard these are piled there
until a sufficient load is obtained TO over
come the buoyancy. Another way is to
elbow" the shaft and caisson by suddenly
reducing the contained pressure. This
cats out from under the pier its invisible
sunport and down the pillar sinks with
force enough to strike the underlying
ground or rock with thud. The latter
procedure entails some risks. and an in
rush of water or quicksand may engulf
the sandhogs even If the shock To the
pier did not rupture it or The working
apparatus.
In one instance a settling pier was thus
blown and the conclusion shattered the
electric lights in the working chamber.
The thrush OF frothing waters frightened
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-16

piercing water bag under pr"ssur" for
the coiferdam To open up such pocket
The nuid mass was literally squc zcd out
of it's normal position and into the open
cofierdam.
But. setting aside the dangerous ele-
ments Of that way of getting down 10 IN"
bedrock. there were other difficulties.
When water or quicksand WAS reached
then pumps had TO be started in order I"
keen the coffcrdam from fllng the work
OF excavation going on as best II couid
against these handicaps. There 're
times when the pumps were quite unequal
10 keeping the hole drained, and the en-
einecr took "A chance If he halted his
labors there. Again. If he were able to
reach the solid rock then concrete was
poured into this wooden mould which the
cofferdam constituted. and a supporting
column was thus formed from the basic
stone inward. Unfortunately. the pres
erce of water sometimes seriously inter
fered with the concrete sOlidifying prop
erlv. and the builder discovered when too
late that his pillars of artificial stone
we're not homogeneous or strong enough
in hear their designed loads. This. oil
course. entailed serious delays If discoV-
cred i'm time. added 10 the expense ana
once i'm a while caused damage To the
SunarnoSed structure.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-16
THE AIR LOCK.

The tube is sulmounted by a cylindrical
tank called an al. lock, and this has two
doors-one at the top and one at the
bottom-only one of which can be opened
at "A time when under air pressure. The
air lock constitutes the gateway To ana
from the caisson.
When everything is i'm readiness and the
water level Is near air pressure is turned
on and ii fills the whole shaft from the
bottom of the air lock down and into the
casson. This pressure must be great
enough To keep out either quicksand or
water-generally "A triiie in excess of the
menacing hydrostatic pressure-and must
be systematically increased as the work
ing chamber. with its superposed load
sinks deeper and deeper If YOU have a
fondness for figures. every foot of sub
mergence represents an Increase OF press
ure of .43i of "A pound, and in the case OF
some OF the piers Of the Municipal Build
ing il was necessary to maintain an AIR
pressure OF forty-five pounds to every
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-16
A WORKING AIR CHAMBER.

\ hole has been dag in the ground. and
into this the caisson. with its open bot
tom. is lowered until its top is flush with
the cellar grade So far the operation X
much akin 20 the older way of sinking the
cofferdams but here the similarity ceases.
The size of the caissons varies with each
structural undertakng. Sometimes th"y
are only large enough for four men 10
work inside of them. and tn with OIL
scant head room. Again. they may 'c
considerably larger but the sand hog
usually has t. stoop To- avoid hitting tue
roof above hIn.
Let IT'S take an average case atid assume
the bedrock To- lie seventy feet down. The
position of this basic stratum is pre-
viouslv determined 10y borings Counting
the height of the working chamoer. wnich
probablv does not exceed five feet nclud-
ing it's thick top. the pillar of concrete
will he sixty-iive feet tail, and this viii he
moulded upon the roof o. the working
chamber The cement will BE- east Il a''-
lions. so that the entire pier can he cN-
,mincd during every stage of its iorm.n-.
The column is cast with circular pas
sage I'm its centre. and this is as large in
diameter as the opening in the top OF {.
working chamber from which rises am
iron tube built of a number of slaves AM
succeeding sections securely bolted ana
made air tight from within on the out
side ,his tube is perfectly smooth. Later.
when the sinking is done, this tube will he
disconnected from inside and Withdrawn.
The passaGeway within this tube is the
route 10y which the sandhogs reach the
WORKING chamber below and the shaft up
and down which the bucket travels which
carries the excavated materials or 'spoils
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-16
EFFICIENCY AND THE SANDHOG.

This is the age of efficiency, and eiii-
cheney means work well and speedily done
at a minimum of outlay and labor. IL
does not sound like an easy task TO get
anywhere from fifty 10 q hundred ana
more feet down in the ground. and there
10 plant great. sturdy columns of cement.
To the popular mind this quit icasoha-
blv implies a great deal Of digging which
must afterward be reversed by hlling In.
But as a matter of fact To proceed IN
this latter manner would not be efficient'
il might even be very dangerous. ana
under any circumstances the cost would
he a heavy one. flow. ;hen. does the
foundation engineer effect his purpose
and meet the demands Of efficiency? Here
is where the sandhog plays his newer
part and where compressed air has an
other Of its many very useful Applications
Don't let us get ahead of our story, but
let us see why the present order OF pro-
cedure is necessary and best When the
first of our tall buildings called for some
thing new in the way of foundations
foundations reaching to bedrOck-the
modus operandi was different from that
in vogue to-day. and we shall sketch that
older method briefly in order that a bet
ter idea may be had OF the system prac-
tised now In the recent past holes, or
wells. were dug. while incidentally sink
ing within these excavations shetering
wooden box of four sides and without 4
top or bottom. This the engineers called
a cofferdam. and ii was loaded with piles
OF pig iron in order that il might sink
deeper and deeper as the men dug away
al the bottom. When "A cOfferdam section
reached the ground level another was
added. and the weights shifted labori-
ously to the top of this new section
Can't you see thai this involved a good
deal OF extra work and was. of necessity,
rather slow?
There were hazards. too. that could not
be certainly guarded against. and every
now and then the weight OF an adjacent
building pushed the mobile earth or sand
against the cofferdam with force enough
10 crush II, and men were buried and
ives sacrificed. The situation became
even more menacing when water or
qnicksand was met. because the latter
especially not infrequently actually float
"a the foundation and bore the weight OF
a building supposedly resting upon solid
earth. 1t WAS like puncturing a tire or
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-16

kin. the qu,ks,ud. .'re either "ntWitt'd
or made to- help in supporting the tower
ing building with it, immense load OF
many thousands ci tors.
The pillars ~ artificial stone az" 100"
east entirely allow ground. ami tho con-
structor knows just what they are before
these supports Irc sunk out OF sight. TINS
rs an ,niir- reversal of the previous order
of foundation Sinkine. The manner "i
proceeding is in this wise. Carpenters
lrst build either hoN "i wood minus q
bottom or 'h,y fashion mould WITHIN
winch "a similar boNlile frame oi concrete
can ac cast WHO thcr of wood oi OF con
crete. this boN rccom,s known aa the
working chamber or caisson .n which th'
SAM moss nr, 20 dc.ve. in thc covered
top Of thia cIis-ou ~ r. large circular
orcnnr. the reason for winch you shah
understand presently
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-16
PROTECTION LAWS.

The authorities recc gnize the hazards 10
which these caisson workers are exposed.
and laws have been passed recently which
regulate the working hours and the press
ure limits The last of these specifies that
I'm working in compressed air where the
pressure does not exceed IS pounds 20
the square inch no employe shall work
or remain therein more than eight hours
in any twenty-four hours. and during the
period he shall return TO the open air
for at least thirty consecutive minutes.
which interval his employer shall provide
for. For pressures between - and IS
pounds the time limit is six hours, divided
into two three-hour periods. with at least
one hour between them. For pressurcs
between IS and AZ pounds the permitted
time is four hours. in two periods, OF two
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-16
ROCK FOUNDATIONS NECESSARY.

II is not necessary 10 80 INTO details 40
make If clear to YOU that the higher
building rises the heavier becomes tn
load upon its foundation Because OF ms.
combined with local physical condition.
the old type of basic support had 10 o.,
abandoned as the skyscraper c"ltihuVu
10 reach further heayenWard. III was Il"
LONGER safe to depend upon srouhd"oih
laid merely unon solid earth. 80 called
COMPARATIVELY short distance below inc
street level. 1t became necessary 10 Iea' ."
down TO the underlying bedrock, II posi-
ble but not to carry tae old-iashloneu
rectangular cellar walls that far. reia-
lively few sustaining pillars beins suosu-
tuted. and upon these deeply iidnied pie'7
really rests the entire weight OF the su-
perstructure. OF course. the burden j.
cunnjngly distributed. so that there shall
be no unsupported sections.
This is an engineering Accomplishment
with which the average busy ciuzeH u
totally unfamiliar, but II Is an achleVe-
ment which has made our modern hish
buildings possible. especially upon the
lower part Of this island of ours. III
should be OF interest 10 every New YORKER
10 know how this work is done, without
parade and welInigh in secret right undcr
our unheeding eyes But few Of MS reailZe
what is going on behind that board fence
above which rises a derrick here anu
there. and the shrill blast of small
whistle. and an occasional kissing, which
might be steam, but is not. hint at some
sort of preparatory industry.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-16
TIE UNDERGROUND FIRE.

Sooner than it takes to tell. the wood
work of the casson was afire, and the
men. i'm their efforts 10 put II out, had
their clothes burning fercely ere they
knew il. The men were sixty odd feet
down. and the rungs of the ladder to the
lock above We're partly of rope and In
danger of taking fire. Six Of the men
were fatally burned and four or them Sc
riously so before they reached the sur
face.
The particular accident against which
the foundation sinker tries to provide is
that of a blowout" which Is the con-
sequence OF an excess or unbalancing air
pressure within the pier When this state
is reached a large volume of the air
PUSHES out through the bottom OF the
caisson. like an immense bubble. into
the surrounding water or fluid muck.
and the immediate reaction brings IN It's
train a menacing food which may sub
stantially fill the working chamber. A
mishap of this sort occurred not long ago.
and the three alien sandhogs made
dive for the foot of the shaft simultane-
ously. The first got jammed awkwardly
into the opening. and could neither release
himself nor be released by his excited
fellows. They got him out Of their way
by using picks. and further particulars
had best be left to the imagination.
To guard against a blowout a man
is stationed at the valves of the supply
pipes controlling the air from the COM
pressors to each of the sinking piers. ana
il is his duty TO watch the gauges cease
lessly i'm order to maintain just the riSht
pressure. His task is a vitality important
one. and upon his faithful observance on
the position of the quiverlng hands upon
those dials hangs the lives 81 the men
toiling unseen in the depths below. The
gauge man may be sitting in the sun
shine. high and dry upon land, while tile
sandhogs may be in utter darkness and
struggling desperately with invading
water, many feet below the tide level
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-16
ECONOMICAL EXPENSE.

so last does be- work when all goes well
that the pier may sink rockward at a
rate Of two feet an hour. This is FAR
specdior than it was possible to go with
security i'm the days when the open cof-
feriam was employed This economy of
time more than compensates for the para
phernalia and the air compressors wnich
are needed for the work. These appa-
ratusrs can be- shifted from place to place
and used over and over again.
The Cunctioning OF the air lcck is inter-
.s'ing. AZ We have said. the pressure must
Doc maintained within the casson and the
hollow pillar until the work is done
l. e.. until the working chamber rests on
th,. bedrock. How then. is it possible for
the f,on To pass To and fro. and how are
the buckets hoisted 10 the surface loaded
ard thcn returned for refling without
pc:,oittins the air pressure to drop? Now
we shall see the purpose of the air lock
two Coors.
When a bucket is ready for lifting and
omptying. whistle warns the operator
stationed outside # the air lock He closes
the upper door ard fills the chamber with
cc.aprc.scl air until it exactly balances
tine pressure on the under side of the bot
tom door otherwise The lower door could
not he swung out of the way for the
rising bucket. when this is done. the sig
nal 10 the derrick man starts the buckets
upward journey. ami it is halted when
quite inside the air lock. Next. the bottom
door ~ scaled. tho lock is "blown"-the
e-cap.ug ar sounding like the sigh of
Tilan-and the top door swung clear so
that the bucket may pass out for dump
.ng The empty bucket reaches the ca!sson
again ny reversing these operations of
the air lock The sandhogs go up and
down in the bucket, and thcir entrance
and their exit are effected in the same
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-16

square inch. Tlis woaid mean total
'oad .uou mans body substance Of a
great many tons. and this invites serious
II not crave reactions. The weight OF the
,nthe pier is actually partly supported by
this column Of compressed air. and. IN
u.rn. the sandhors are virtually bearing
their share Of this ponderous burden.
The function II the sandhoS Is to under
mine the caisson and he digs away De
low the cutting edge of his working chaHl-
ber So that it may settle evenly inch by
inch ne eXcayates laterally no further
;lun is necessary to provide clearance
for M" settling mass that overtops nm.
and which. in "A sense. he is carrying down
wiki him upon his own shoulders.