New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-10-01
LAYS CAVE-INS
TO SLACK WORK
Engineering Journal Says
Not Even Ordinary Pre-
cautions Were Taken.

II the subway engineers had used or
binary precautions familiar to any
mining engineer there would have been
no cave-ins at Seventh Avenue and
Twenty-third Street nor at Broadway
and Thirty-eighth Street. Mica schist,
which was blamed by the Public Ser
vice Commission as responsible for the
second accident, is not an especially
dangerous rock to work in. With proper
timbering in both cases there would be
no dead and injured to-day to bear wit
ness to the carelessnes Of the men tun-
nelling beneath the city's streets.
These are the conclusions Of "The
Engineering and Mining journal"
which will publish on October an
analysis of both disasters and an edi-
torial crticising the Public Service Com
mission for not employing mining en-
gineers to advise the contractors in
proper methods of safeguarding the
lives of pedestrians.
There is no use in going into hys--
terics over these particular accidents,
THE Journal" VIII say. The subway
construction in New York has been on
the whole remarkably free from disas-
tiers. This is 10 excuse, however, for
accidents outside Of the ordinary ones
that are bound 20 happen in any work.
"The construction is being done by
what is known as the cover and cut
system; that is, the street Is planked
over the earth and rocks are undercut,
the planking being supported by beams
and posts. This process is analogous
TO many operations In mining.
"An investigation OF the places or
the recent disasters by The Journal
has convinced il that no such methods
of supporting the ground were IN use
as would be in ordinary mining prac-
tice. The problems confronting the
subway engineers were no different
from what the mining engineer has 70
meet all the time. Indeed, they were
of very ordinary character.
"Any mining engineer would pro-
nounce the cave-ins TO be due In one
case TO shooting GU timbers. and IN
the other TO run of ground both re-
sulting in disasters owing TO bad tim
bering.' In the case of the second &C
cident the subway trench was beng
cut through mica schist-not an espe-
/ cially dangerous rock. As the lrehcn
was excavated the schist had a natural
tendency to slide of on one side and
slab and fall on the other. The proper
safeguard on both sides was adequate
timbering.
1.-THE timbering that was done was
manifestly designed mainly 10 hold up
the roof For holding back the rock
at the sides there was neither timber
enough, nor was it properly placed.
"The Public Service Commission
have left the matter OF supporting the
ground 20 the engineers of the con-
tractors. All of them have manifestly
proceeded on the theory that they were
doing nothing more serious than Dig
I ging a sewer. The services of mining
| engineers seem neither TO have been
solicited nor wanted.
"If any blame is 10 be fixed for the
two cave-ins, The Journal is Of
| opinion that it should fall on the re-
7 sponsible heads of the Public Service
/ Commission for not obtaining the as
sistance OF some mining engineer when
the subway work was begun. In the
meantime il is ridiculous for Mayor
1 Mitchell 20 be giving directions for
more braces, and having his orders
carried out by somebody spiking on a
few by 10 inch diagonals with four
60-penny nails per end