davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1936-02-16
Sandhogs Working in Dangerous Deeps
Where Compressed Air Holds Up River
Play Fundamental Roles in Creation
of One of Mans Greatest Works.
Written Especially for The Star
By Lucy Salamanca.
(WeH-Kno1on Noueltst and Short Story WriterJ

hicular crossings undertaken by the
Port of New York Authority across the
Hudson River will take its historic
place to rank in engineering achieve
ment with the Holland Tunnel and
the George Washington Bridge. Under
the North River travellers from Wee
hawken, N. j., or those pouring in from
the West Thirty ninth street entrance
on the Manhattan side, can speed in
two-way stream, escaping the in
sufferable congestion of traffic of that
area that now crawlS or clatters under
the dome of heaven.
Much has been said and written of
the economic value of such a highway
as this. and recent financial reports of
the Holland Tunnel bear out the cer-
tainty of profitable material returns.
Less thought has been given perhaps by
the public to the men who make such
wonders as under-river tunnels and
farfiung suspensions possible-men,
who, in the case of tunnels, go down
smilingly offhand to breathe COM
pressed air in locked chamber while
the mammoth shield in which they
labor cuts bores, blasts and shoves its
way forward through muddy silt or
ancient rock and the river is held up
above their heads by matched pres
sure of air.
HOW many lives did this conven-
ience cost? We don't think of
such achievements in terms of human
life as we ride debonairly on our way.
but the men who plan and execute
such projects eternally take stock Of
that factor. It is the inevitable price
Of progress; despite extreme caution
and ubiquitous provision for safety the
fee is unfailingly claimed when the
books are balanced.
How do these intrepid men actually
get a tunnel under q river? How is
that remorseless weight Of water and
mud held up as they bore and burrow
beneath the rivers bed? How do they
keep so true course that they hit
their mark-as proved true in the case
Of this midtown tunnel-to within
three-eighths Of an inch? Under what
conditions do they work? What man
ner of men are they? There is one
way to answer such questions as these.
I went down to see.
Col Glenn isn't "quite sure about
taking young lady down there" he
says at first. But I meet this with a
rapid and persuasive stream. I've
been In all sorts of impossible places,
I assure him; what is a tunnel to one
who has lived alone among the Boyaca
Indians in the heart of South Amer
lea, who has come a-fiutter but secure
through two Florida hurricanes, who
has crawled through blocked passages
under the Nations Capital, ridden
down a mail chute, braved an adamant
legation to talk at length with little
Oriental King? Tunnels, we insist,
are something we take in our stride,
particularly unfinished tunnels.
But there is something else-the
men working down there under the
earth are superstitious. No pretty pre-
tense is this to keep women in their
Evening star., 1936-02-16

that may at any moment-unless he
can reach the safety chamber in time
-obliterate him and his fellows. Yet
he takes its possible occurrence as
matter of course, as he takes every
other amazing and dangerous step
that marks his daily routine.
before starting our descent into
~ the tunnel we went on a tour OF
the mems quarters. Here is lunch
room and some board tables, where
scattered groups, of shift. are playing
checkers or making mysterious COM
putations on paper. The law requires
that sand hogs, while working under
compressed air, be served strong COL
fee periodically as heart stlmuiane.
But these men are finished with air
work now and no coffee is in evidence.
Coming through" my guide calls out,
with lady" and miners and sano
hogs scurry away or get into tnelr
shirts as we pass through the lockers.
It reminds one of q boys school, only
here men are called to face death in
stead of algebra and Latin, and 90 IT,
I feel as I look at the brawny fellows,
with less trepidation.
What dangers, other than a possible
"blow," are there? For one thing, the
danger of too quick "decompression'
that is, a too speedy emergence
from pressure. 1t is necessary to use
compressed air in driving a tunnel
below water level to keep BACK the
water as the men work.
The weight of the compressed air Is
from As to so pounds to the square
inch under the middle OF the river.
Air locks-steel chambers with
tightly sealed door at either end-run
through the bulkhead and the inner
door keeps the tunnel air from escap-
ing when the outer door of the cham
ber is open. AS men pass through the
lock to work in the tunnel both doors
of these chambers are closed and the
pressure in the lock is increased to
equal the pressure in the tunnel. In
this way human bodies grow accus-
toned gradually to the increased pres
s,,re until men are able to pass
through the inner door to meet the
compression in the tunnel itself, with
the outer door still closed behind
them.
Coming out, the process is reversed
and the pressure In the lock is lew
cred until it corresponds to that Of
the outside air. One minute in the
lock for every pound of pressure in
the tunnel is required Of the men de
COMPRISING" and the pressure Is
raised or lowered slowly enough for the
body to adjust itself to these changed
conditions. For 80. pounds pressure a
half hour must be taken for emerg-
ing. Disastrous consequences follow
any fastening Of the process. With
increased intake Of oxygen there is a
corresponding increase in the amount
Evening star., 1936-02-16

through rock as we'll as pushing aside
hard-packed silt.
THIS is the work of the tunnel shield
"a monstrous contraption that
moves like a benevolent but clamorous
giant ahead of the tunnel. 1t is
cylindrical and weighs 400 tons and
its rear fits like a thimble over the
growing end of the tunnel shell. Thirty
hydraulic jacks, mighty in power, are
built into the rear of the shield and,
pushing against the iron ring of the
tunnel wall, they move the shield
along. One by one the rings are
erected as the great shield advances
almost imperceptibly. AS the river
silt is showed aside some of it is
allowed to flow through the upper
openings of the shield, like tooth paste
squeezed from a tube, and to lay in
the bottom of the tunnel, where 1t
serves as ballast, for under-rlver tubes
are buoyant and must be held down
so that, being lighter than the shield.
they will not drift about under the
push of the jacks. Progress was steady
from the Weehawken side Of the
river. but as they neared Manhattan
difficulty was encountered. 1t was
necessary to dig out in front of the
SHE'D to remove distractions. A steel
cutting edge, projecting forward at
the top and sides like the visor of a
cap, drove forward, penetrating the
material ahead, in the face of con-
slant danger from blow" until the
miraculous was accomplished - the
mighty shield hit its mark by less than
three-eighths of an inch, squarely
meeting the steel caisson that was
sunk in the river at the foot of West
Thirty-eighth street in the Summer
OF 1894.
That caisson is a steel box 43 by So
feet at its open top and 100 feet deep.
1t is concreted to the bedrock Of the
river and its double walls are weight
ed down with thousands Of tons OF
concrete. On its opposite SIDE the
New York shield likewise bored into it
and the shell Of the tunnel was thus
completed.
stood within the tube under the
river, looking up at this huge caiSson
that now will become ventilating
shaft, and superintendent on the
job stopped for momentary chat. A
few months ago this man lost a
brother on the job. He was one OF
four men killed in dynamite explo-
sion. We've lost seven men so far on
1ContiniIed on Sixth Page.l
Evening star., 1936-02-16

worker put it; action is stepped up.
The human voice sounds unreal and
ghostlike when one is in air" and
there is ringing in the ears-a pres
sure that can be equahzed by holding
the nose and blowing hard. Strangely
enough, one cannot whistle. Fucker
the lips; blow. No sound comes. A
telephone company. investigating the
phenomenon, decided that vocal
chords are not strong enough to lift
the heavier column of air. 1t is also
impossible to blow out candle flame.
IN extinguished fame would relight
itself in this oxygen-charged chamber.
Men are we'll paid for work in COM
pressed air. For a six-hour day they
receive $11 and this amount is in
creased as the hours shorten and air
pressure increases. so that eventually,
working under As pounds pressure for
a II 12-hour shift, man will receive
$3.50 for his labor.
TODAY there are about 1000 men
men at work on the Midtown
Tunnel and about 100 engineers; few
sandhogs remain on the job. Most
of this interesting crew are Irishmen,
colored men or Poles. Superintendents
are usually English. for the first sand
hogs in America, who burrowed
through the old Pennsylvania and
Manhattan Tunnels, came, my guide
tells me, from England.
We see some of the present tunnel
crew as we descend the shaft to the
tunnel proper. These are engineers,
miners, laborers of all kinds, VINO
spend their days in the dark recesseS
of the earth. The faces of the miners
wear the same grim, heavy expression
that have seen on the faces OF men
who toll under the sea, as, coming up
alongside the sponge boats at Tarpon
Springs in Florida, they have dlvesteo
themselves of their appalling diving
paraphernalia and look soberly again
upon the bright blue sky of heaven.
The construction shaft down which
we descend drops sheer, and slippery
with clay and seepage, 80 feet down
into the cold, damp recesses OF the
earth. One passes on the way down
the huge cement and sand macnlnes
and finally the mixer, adjusted as
nicely for reception of ingredients as
a chefs delicately balanced culinary
equipment, even to the heating OF
sand and water.
afttrn from another
world set to tend an eternal kettle, q
fellow in spattered overalls and high
boots turns from his carefully watched
thermometer to blink as pass.
Down this shaft run the pipes and
cables that supplied air to the men in
the locks and power to their tools while
boring operations were under way. In
the spotless, flreproof power house at
the entrance of the shaft ] later saw
the huge engines that supplied this
air, the low-air compressors that fur
nished the air to keep out the water
and the high-air compreSSors that
supplied air for pneumatic tools used
in the intricate labors below. Through
out the period when compression work
was on three separate sources OF
power were continuously available
coming down different streets, so that
at any minute the men who watched
gauges above and below could swing
in with air" and keep an uninter-
rupted stream flowing to men In the
locks.
As we descend the temporary stair
way 1t grows darker and colder, until
blinking lights, strung at Intervals
Evening star., 1936-02-16

CD Fresh air duct under the midtown Hudson Tunnel
roadway looking from start of concrete work. ~
Shovel operated by compressed air removing muck from
river section of tunnel. (3 Excavation under way for
the New York approach of the tunnel ~ Symbolic of
"The Spirit of the Sand Hog" this photo shows
work under the river. (5) Removing muck from the
tunnel showing the massive framework of the
tube. co. The New Jersey gang of sand hogs" meeting
the New York gang the tunnel "holed through"
and the first group crawled under the river
Evening star., 1936-02-16

own spheres. It's real. The crew
would probably walk out on the con-
tractor, Col. Glenn assures me, if he
took girl down while the air pres
sure was on" When the Holland tun-
mel was being built one of the en-
gineers took his wife down in the air
pressure. Shortly after the chief en-
gineer died on the job, the chief who
replaced him died before it was fin
ished and the superintendents on
either side of the river also died. Su-
perstition-but 1 wait hopefully. not
withstanding, and finally consent
comes, gracious indeed: 'I'll take you
down myself" With the air pressure
off, the engineer in charge stretches
a point in my favor.
A S I don a raincoat and the heavy
\ hat offered next morning by Col
Glenn in the little field Office of the
Port of New York Authority, at West
Thirty ninth street and Eleventh ave-
nue., on the Manhattan side, this
young engineer, who has borne re-
sponsibility for most of Manhattan's
tunnels, including the Holland tunnel,
tells me some interesting facts about
working under rivers. A new problem
is likely to present itself at any mo-
ment. Every instant the man on a
job like this must be alert for emer-
gencies. The bottom may not be
good" for one thing. THE con-
tractor broke all records this time
in holing through" he says. I'VE
went through the river in six months,
but we had more trouble getting into
the caisson on the New York side than
in any other part of the river. We
ran into hard bottom; the material
blocked up in front of us"
At once picture presented itself to
my mind of relentless nature met and
conquered by modern engineering skill,
ingenuity and mems daring. It takes
daring-never doubt that! My in
formant goes on: For every foot Of
water In depth the pressure increases
about one-half pound for every square
inch, SO that at 100 feet you must
have As or so pounds air pressure to
meet it. As you increase the pressure
under which men must work you may
meet weak spot in the river bed.
There is always danger of blow"
A "blow," learn, is the greatest
danger that confronts the sand hog
and is even more to be feared than
effects of the compressed air he must
,ryb,s - rr1I.
no blows on this job, but there was
one while work was under way on the
Holland tunnel. Fortunately, a de-
vice known as safety screen" which
offers sanctuary to the men in desig-
mated space where water cannot rise
above certain level, kept back the
river as 1t rushed in on the workers
and they were able to get back to
the locks and pass through to safety.
AS air is released at a pressure to
balance the water head, it sometimes
hits a spot In the river bed that will
not Withstand the tremendous force.
The air then begins to blow up through
to the river mud and ascending bub-
bles cut channel through to the
river itself. Air and churning mud
begin to boil; the water rushes
in and the river is down upon the
men in q deadly stream, while roar
ing geysers OF air and water spout
heayenward. This is the "blow" that
men working under rivers fear more
than any other phase Of their sub
terranean labors. II Is the unknown
quantity In the life Of the sand hog
Evening star., 1936-02-16

Of nitrogen the body must throw off.
If enough time is not given for the
system to dispose of this, nitrogen bub-
bles form in the blood stream. These
may settle in the joints, causing ex-
cruciating pain, or in the spinal COL
umn, causing paralysis, or, if the heart
and lungs are affected, death.
CELDOM, however, under present
improved industrial laws, which
definitely regulate the hours a man
may work under pressure and stipulate
precautionary measures and physical
requirements, Is life lost because Of
the ill-effects of compressed air.
If a worker be stricken with this
desperate illness, known as "the
bends" he may go or be taken at any
hour to the well-staffed hospital lock
provided for treatment. Each air
worker wears a badge of his calling
and policemen or others finding him
know what to do at once, for there is
only one way to combat the ailment.
That is to return the worker imme-
diately to the same air pressure under
which he was last released and have
him "decompress" very slowly. Some
times further medical treatment-such
as maSsage-is necessary.
INTO one Of these hospital locks I
went with my guide and took stock.
The lock, similar to those in which
the men work, is like a boiler, with
riveted sides and heavy door that
shuts tightly at either end. There are
two chambers within and there are
two cots-one on either side of the
inner chamber. The chambers are
large enough to admit two men COM
fortably; one cannot stand upright in
side them. There are mattresses on
the hunks and a heater along the wall,
so that man may enter, turn on the
heat himself and raise the pressure
gradually to that under which he last
worked. To make these operations
easy for him all intake valves are
painted red; there is a gauge on the
wall that exactly registers the pres
sure, and there is a telephone at his
hand. From four to eight hours are
required for man to rid his body Of
accumulated nitrogen bubbles, but,
given this length of time in the cham
ber, ne emerges completely restored.
spoke with my informant, who
has worked Gin air" himself for long
periods throughout the course of his
engineering career, and with others
who have labored under pressure and all
agree that there is a sense of great
elation, lightness and exhilaration
that is the direct result of taking in
abnormal quantities of oxygen, and
that makes labor easy and pleasant.
Bodily fatigue seems not to exist and
men move with great celerity and
lghtness. One lives faster." ~ one
Evening star., 1936-02-16

magazines and WhO 1U1s assigned
By The Star to ,Drite the story OF
the ,0ork notD in progress beneath
the Hudson on the greatest OF all
traffic tunnels leading into Man.
haitian Island, 1DGS the first iDon1dn
eDer permitted to tUitneSS the &C.
tudl, hazardous boring operations
far Under the surface OF the TiDer.
Her story, Which tells of the dan
ger faced by the sand hogs" and
describes the remarkable engineer
ing teGts these fearless tDorkers are
performing every day, tollotos::
Y YNDER the city and the tide
men working like moles are
pushing through a highway
~ that two years from today
will bear speeding motorists from
the South into the Times Square
district in New York.
You will traverse it on your way
from Washinton to Manhattan by
automobile.
Ten minutes it will take you to
travel from New Jersey under the
river and into the metropolis. Ten
minutes! Over a roadbed as smooth
as glass, through chamber we'll venti-
Hated, well lighted and well policed.
Just roar ana swish and streak
ing of lights, then the air and the
shadows of the giant manmade can
yon that Is New York.
Yet for years men will have toiled,
che sullen and indignant river above
their heads, death literally at their
fingers tips with every shove forward,
that this convenience might be made
possible. Today, thanks to the skill
and perseverance of the engineers of
the Port of New York Authority and
their contractors. the intrepid diligence
of the sand hogs" the nonchalantly
telling labors of the dynamiters, the
Midtown Hudson Tunnel has been
"holed through" the river bed and
final labors are now being entered
upon. These include completing the
approaches, lining the tunnel in con-
crete, installing the electrical equip
lICt1t o4Aa NCk1b4AutAA16 cyobCAAAcy O4A1AAS
the interior and final architectural
treatment of the plazas.
As this is written the approach sec
tions are being built, concrete work
Is underway in the tunnel proper, and
contracts are about to be let for the.
ventilating buildings, followed by elec-
trical contracts.
''By the grace of God," Col. Charles
8. Glenn, engineer in charge Of the
Midtown Tunnel project, tells me, I'VE
ehall open the tunnel to the public
IN January or February, 1888"
And it is indeed by Gods grace,
since one never knows what he will
come upon when pitting iron, Steel
air and hydraulic pressure against a
river bed Of age-old rocks and inert
primordial ooze. When that opening
day comes, the third of the great We
Evening star., 1936-02-16

Continued on Sixth Page.) }
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-05-22
Other Livestock
tBy United Press)

- CHICAGO, May %. :. Hogs-Receipts,
1900 o.I IncdiPg $500 directs active 10 to
top $40; bulk 160-25O lbs, S9.75@995; 40
$50 lbs, Sc. 5o@s.75;- 25O-3oo lbs, sS55@
99.S5: 3o0-35o lbs, $9.35G9.6o: sows, $500
calves. 500; slaughter classes fairly active;
steady to strong; undertone firm with good
clearance: beef steers largely s7@8; better
scarce, but sharing general strength; most
heifers S6,5oG7.75;. beef cows usually $3.50
@Snz5; cutter grades downward from S.;
selects. $3.50. sheep-Receipts, 100: SAL
anie supply AL trucked ms; not large
strone to 70 CENTS test Sigb MARKET few sales
cred; clipped lambs, So ?5GI0.65; strictly
choice kinds quotable upward to s10.s5 or
S oes5ss common offerings s8@s better
ewes, s3.5o@4.
SqsF ls TAHsE %ssS b. 1885,
$3.50 81 97S Ss s5 cS isd 81 sO rs
l2o lbs. 40 roughs. s8.25; stays, $3.50;
calves. $3.50; lambs, sill.
LAFAYETTE. May 22.-Msrket steady to
a 5ss hsheF S5G lbs s5ssd IS
ss,5SGs.75; lOo-iso lbs, saT5qs.S5; Toushs;
$40 down. spring lambs, S1l down.
tBy Times SpeciaD
LOUISVILLE, May 22.-Cattle-Receipts
225. including IA directs and stockers:
salable supply slaughter cattle meager:
run includes several loads directs and
stockers and feeders; market quotable fully
steady on mesger salable supply slaughter
cattle: most steers and heifers salable
ss.5oQ7.5o; better finished .lightweights
considered salable upwards of So; bulk
beef cows, s5G SIS; practical top. s6; most
low cutters and cutters. S3.75G475: sau-
sage bulls mostly s6 down: most light beef
type stockers and stock calves sc. 50G775;
better kinds quotable to around $3.50:
light southern dairybred stockers mostly
s56650. Calyes-Receipts, 500 including
1870 stock calves: veaier market active:
fully steady; bulk good to choice grades.
ss.50d $50: medium and lower grades, So
down to around $3.50. HogsEReceipts,
80: market. SC lower: top and bulk, 100
225 lbs. $3.50; 230-250 lbs. So so: 255-
800 lbs, SS95; 305 lbs. up So so. i2o-l55
lbs, sSe5; sows. $3.50. Sheer-Receipts,
1000: run mostly spring lambs quality
fairly desirable. market active and gem
orally. steady; bulk good to choice spring
ers.. slz,5o9l2.75: few mixed medium to
good kinds. down to sl2; palmer grades
sll.50 down to around 50 for common
throwouts; most clipped lambs salabie SCI
down: bulk fat ewes, saga according to
weight and fnishs
The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-05-22
On Commission ROU

Quotations below subject to change are
average wholesale prices being offered to
buyers by local commission dealers.)
FRUrT-Strawherries Tennessee. 24-qt.
crate, S4.25. Limes-Mexican, carton, 20c
Bananas-Seven hands. pound sac. Ap-
femons-Sunkist lsoosl. 50. Grapefruit
Imperial Valley. $3.50. Pineapples-Cu-
bans lS-30sl. crate, $3.50. Grapes-S.
America. 20-lb. box. 81. Honey Dews S.
America, So.
VEGETABLES - Beans, green. round
stringless thampersl S240. Beets-Mis-
sissippi. bu.: si.s5. oasbagee1;Mllississipp!.
s sol GRATIS sFas ss esTaEent California
ti2s crate), sl,9o. Celery-Florida washed
and trimmed ldoz.l. asa s5c: Florida As.
SIS. los cratel, $3.50. Cucumbers-Hot-
house doz.l. sOc; 1.-TWO doz.. boxl, 81. IS.
Egg plant-Florida tdoz.l, $3.50. Kale--
c STEns S. s !qSs os ssSTn
leaf tI5-lb. basket, 81. Peppers-Mangoes
40c. Mint-Hothouse tdoz.l, soc. Mush-
rooms-Pound. soc. Mustard-Texas. half
crate. si.4o, oniOns-Indisna yellow so
50-lb. bag. si.25. Parsley-Southern tlong
Srown. washed. bushel. soc: hslf-oushel
Soc. Peas-Florida, hamper, SIS ~ Pc
bag Bag s2.io; r. R. Early Ohio. iOO-lb. bag,
ss25: r.. r. Triumph. ioo-lb. bag. s2.25:
idaho Russetk. zoe box. So Sweet pota-
foes-Tennessee Nancy Halls. hampers,
sis5 Radishes-Hcmegrown buttons, doz.,
ssc: white. SOC. Rhubarb-Hothouse
Bag Bag $50. ssge-Doz.. 4sc. Turnips-
New bulk Texas, bu.. 81, 40. Tomatoes
Repacked, io-lb. box. $3.50: Florida. orig
1851 Jugs. s3.25.