The Hawaiian gazette., 1916-09-26
Trouble Between Contractors
/, and Inspectors For the Terri
~ tory Teaches cIlPax
COLONEL MCCARTHY ASSUMES
RESPONSIBILITY IN MATTER
Action Expected Today When
Chairman Forbes Returns
From Civic Convention

Friction between the board of harbor
commissioners and the Lord. Dung
Engineering Co., contractors on piers
s, 9 and 10 will take the form of nc.
ton this morning upon the return Of
Chairman Charles R. Forbes from Hilo
on the MaunR Kea. The Commission.
ers ordered part Of the work stopped
yesterday, and announce that it is I'M
satisfactory. a.e.. ~.
'' Trouble has been pending between
the commissioners and the contractors
since last Wednesday" stated Col. G.
J. Mccarthy acting chairman, yester.
day, after a, board meeting. ffAt that,
time we would have wirelessed for the
immediate return of Mr.. Forbes but
were under the impression that he was
coming on the weekend trip Of the
Mauna Kea. When he failed to ar.
rive, the commission, in order to pro-
tect the government and on the advice
of the attorney general s department,
today ordered the contractor to cease
work with the dredge Kewalo."
Colonel Mccarthy would not make
statement as to the final action Of the
commissioners on the grounds that this
was properly the privilege Of Mr..
Forbes, who is the only engineer on the
board. f"7 t.'' 5'h'E'" 49, "
Large sums Involved
1t is understood that the dispute in.
wolves matters which may run into
large sums of money in additional work
later on, In this connection, however,
the colonel stated that he believed that
the government was fully protected by
the contractors bond.
"There have been several things in
the construction of these piers which
have met with the disapproval of the
inspector-in-charge," he continued.
"They were not, however, reported TO
the commissioners until last Wednes.
day afternoon, after Mr.. Forbes had
sailed for Hilo, which deprived us for
the time being of hts technical advice.
81 am not entirely acquainted with
the contract or the specifications. The
contract was drawn up while I was
absent from the Territory and later "
change was made in it when ! was
again absent. For that reason l am
not entirely qualified to make a de.
tailed statement of the present trouble.
Specifications Pililxia
1.-THE specifications, however, call for
the piles to be driven forty feet and
there is one pile, which if 1 remember,
is in the "a line. which is sticking
up four or five feet. Our inspectors
showed us plans and drawings which
seem to prove that this has not been
sunk the specified forty feet. This
L.
that although the slip is dredged at
, present to thirty-fve it may be desir-
able later to deepen it.
II understand the contractor states
that he has sunk this pile to hard
rock, but in the neighborhood he has
driven wooden piles through eleven and
twelve feet of rock. AS l said, how
ever, | am not an engineer and cannot
discuss this with technical assurance
1.-The principal trouble, which was
the basis for the order concerning the
dredge has to do with the wall, which
is inside the "A and 'B' lines of con.
crete piles and which will support
major part of the buildings weight.
This wall rests in part o9~wOodcn piles,
sunk for some distance down and pro-
tected from the action of the water
and animal life by natural formations
Wall Is Endangered
1.-The dredge Kewalo has been work.
ing on the b. line of piles, that near
est the wall, and its suction is result
ing, it appears, in the destruction of
the formations covering the piles under
the wall. This is exposing them to
the action of teredos and other injuries
and will eventually undermine the
wall and the structure itself. Divers
have shown for the government that
exposure has already occurred.
eve baye insisted that they with
draw the drcdger tfom the 'B' line
and on the advice Of the depIty Dttor,
ney general have issued an order 10
that effect
Changes In Method
"'In former contracts the government |
inspection was reserved for the c.,
pleted job; if the work was satisfac-
tory upon completion aud passed in
spectiOn it was accepted, and IL pct it |
had TO be done over again.
'"This was very trying proceeding |
for both parties. In the present con.
tract, however, the inspection is pro
vidcd for as the work goes on and any
part of it failing to pass can tie the
job up.
at is on this basis that the commits
sion will probably act AS for the &C.
4tion to be taken, / will have to leave
that to Mr.. Forbes to discuss -
Lords Statement
+. j. Lord, Of the contracting firm,
stated yesterday that the pile com,
planned of was accepted three or four
days ago.
''This pile was accepted three or four
days ago by the territorial inspectors"
he stated, 81 heard that the work had
been stopped by Mccarthy by a verbal
order, but was not there, myself. The
dirt by the wall is loose and as we
pull the dirt from the piles it slides off.
The government, in trying to save a
little money, did not put the wall down