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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1895)
IS THE ILOJZSTSGc OREGOOTA3T, TUESDAY, JAXTABT 1, 189o. t and the substantial iranner in, -which they have been built reflects no more on the water committee than It doe3 on the Bul len Bridge Company, under whose direc tion all this important -work -was done. A CHEAT VI.XST. Mhere the Pipes for the Bull Bun System "Were Made. HE Wolff & Zwlcker Iron "Works was Incorporated in 1892. It Is the out growth of the former business of Wolf & Zwieker, who for many years conducted one of the leading iron-working plants and foundries in the city. "Wolff & Zwiek er were the successors of Messrs. Trenkman & Wolff, also prominent people In this same line, and the history of the present firm and its Im mediate predecessors for many years back has been one of constant advancement. " In 1S93 the contract for the pipes of the Bull Run system was awarded to Hoffman & Bates, lead ing contractors of the Northwest. This firm, having no plant of its own which could manufacture these pipes, UII" 1 BSJF3i &fiJL to any of the the continent. reat Industrial centers of I IIOFF3LVN fc BATES. Larse Contract AV11U ilie "Water Committee. Jta nection with the construction 01 me nun nun pipe line was that for the manufacture and laying: of the riveted steel pipes, which was awarded to Hoffman & Bates, for the sum of $4G3.G7. This contract called for the construction of the pipe line from Mount Ta bor east to the head works on Bull Run, a distance of 21 miles, more than half the dis tance being beyond the point where the pipe line left the county roads, and through a rough, hilly and heavily tim bered country. In order to manufacture the pipe it was necessary to provide a plant and erect a shop in which nearly 7000 tons of steel plates and rivets could be made into pipe in a period of 10 months, five months in each of the years 'S3 and '94. The work under this contract Included the receiving and storing of the steel plates as they arrived from the Pennsyl vania rolling mills, the manufacture of these plates Into pipe, the hauling and de- livery of these pipes along the line, the . til hk-' ' i i T- turn by the Aborigines of California" In the Scientific American supplement of February 3, 14- The natives gathered their pitch as it floated ashore from the submarine sources in Santa. Barbara chan nel. These springs still flow as they did a hundred years ago. Opposite them, on shore, lie the immense beds of asphaltum from -which Is now obtained the Alcatraz asphalt used in the Portland reservoirs. From the primitive practice of the abo rigines who gathered the mineral tar along the shore, modern Inventive skill and enterprise have developed the pro cesses of asphalt production Into great In dustrial importance, and within a stone's throw of where the savage picked up the material before civilization drove him away, the Alcatraz refinery now pours out night and day this unique and valu able product. The ancient artisans used the soft, pure asphaltum from the fountains of Is and from the shores of the Red sea. Their works, uncovered by modern searchers, show the material in as good condition as ever. The disinterred -works of the Cali fornia Indians bear the same testimony. It has not changed by time. The foun tains of Is, the springs of the Red sea, the submarine sources in the Santa Barbara channel of the Pacific ocean, all gave forth the same character of material. The Alcafraz refinery Is now doing the same by mechanical means, merely hastening purification. The Syrians, the Egyptians and the In dians took it and applied it as they found It; therefore, it lasts eternally, as it "would in its native beds. In Itself it is inde structible except by fire. It is only the spurious article, adulterated and -weakened by the addition of deleterious sub stances, such as coal tar and residuum oil. that fails. The lesson taught by the testimony of centuries has been applied in the Portland work. The asphalt used in the reservoirs is pure natural bitumen, and It seals every pore of tne brick and concrete backing as wax seals a jar of fruit or a bottle of wine. There can be no leaks so long as the linings stand, and the asphalt finish is so elastic that, even though considerable cracks and subsidences should occur, the asphalt coating -would stretch and make them tight again. of men. and some of the machinery of the largest coast vessels was turned out by this company. The Rlsdon Iron "Works was establish in San Francisco 20 years ago. The gen eral reputation It has earned during this time is a sufficient guarantee that any work intrusted to the company will be handled to the best possible advantage. The officers of the company are "W. H. Taylor, president; R. S. Moore, vice-president; and L. R. Mead, secretary. RAXSOME'S PATENTS. Value of the Concrete Mixer In Con structing the Reservoirs. HE cut accompanying this ar ticle represerts whatisknowu as Ransomes patent concrete mixer. Six of these excellent little machines were used on the reservoirs. Their reputa tion had preceded them, but still every one, with the ex ception of those who had seen them work, was surprised that one such a small porta ble machine could turn out 123 cubic yards -j. kind on the coast and as complete as any In the United States. The great pumps, pipes, etc, of this system were all put in under the direction of Colonel Smith. The proposition to convey water from Bull Run river to Portland was first conceived by Messrs. Talbot and Cunningham nearly 10 years ago. It was the recommendation of Colonel Smith, after he had made a most careful examination of the feasibil ity of the project of bringing this water to Portland, that was a most important fac tor toward inducing the water committee to purchase the rights of Talbot and Cun ningham along Bull Run river, and the subsequent success of the work on the Bull Run water system, as before stated, has been largely due to the untiring ef forts of Colonel Smith, who has devoted nearly seven years of his life to the work of directing the construction of the great est water-works system ever completed in the Pacific Northwest. MR. JAMES D. SCHUYLER. The office of consulting engineer on the construction of the new water works was one requiring a high order of engineering talent, special skill and experience, com bined with well-balanced judgment. The IIAVLIXG PIPE ALOXQ TEE BULL ZUX PIPE LIXE.-Photo by Tovmc fcublet the contract to the "Wolff & Zwlck er Iron Works. In order for this latter company to handle an undertaking of the magnitude necessary to turn out the pipes for the line as fast as the specifications of the contract called for, it was neces sary for them to enlarge and equip here one of the most complete plants of the kind on the coast. In order to accomplish this It was necessary to have additional capital, and a partnership was formed with Mr. Philip Buehner, who for 13 years had been prominently connected with the Holly Manufacturing Company, of New York. This company Is one of the largest manufacturers of waterworks machinery in the world. In addition with being iden tified with the Wolff & Zwlcker Iron Works, the firm now being Wolff, Zwlck er & Buehner, this gentleman is also the Pacific coast agent of the Ohio Pipe Com pany, who furnished, through Mr. Bueh ner, the pipe used by the Oregon Bridge Company and Perry Ilinkle In laying the submerged pipe of the Bull Run system under the waters of the Willamette river at Portland. The partnership formed by Mr. Buehner with Messrs. Wolff & Zwlcker, under the firm name of Wolff, Zwlcker & Buehner, was a temporary expedient only, it having been mutually agreed that this partner ship should terminate on the completion of the work of supplying the pipes for the Bull Run system as per the contract with Messrs. Hoffman & Bates. The contract price for this work, as let to Hoffman & Bates by the water commit tee, was about $460,000. The entire amount of steel pipe supplied by Messrs. Wolff, Zwieker & Buehner on this contract amounted to over 7000 tons, about 2iJA miles of pipe as it is laid. The diameter of this pipe ranges from 33 to 42 inches. While the work of supplying and laying this pipe was in progress, 173 men were constantly employed, and part of the time day and night, on the work, and in addition the Wolff & Zwieker Iron Works employed an additional force of 73 men. Tne Importance of this work to the work ing masses of Portland is fully appreci ated when it is noted, as stated above, that for during the working seasons of two years the making of the pipe alone furnished steady employment to about 230 men. In addition to making the pipes called for in the contract with Messrs. Hoffman & Bates, Messrs. Wolff, Zwlcker & Buehner were awarded the contract for 73 miles of distributing mains to be laid throughout the city by the water com mittee. The diameter of these pipes ranged from IS to 30 inches. The contract price was $100,000. This firm, during the past year, also furnished the pipes for the Spokane city waterworks system at a cost of $70,000, and they have also done digging of the pipe trench, the laying, riveting and calking of the pipe in the trench, the inspection and painting of the pipe and the refilling and tamping of the earth over the pipe again. After secur ing this contract, Hoffman & Bates gave up their origi'ial idea of building their own shops at Fairview or Troutdale for the manufacture of the pipe, and let a sub-contract for the shop work to Wolff, Zwieker & Buehner. This latter firm built an extension to their new shops at the east end of Madlscn-street bridge, in which the pipe was made, work beginning in June, '93. The sub-contract for hauling the pipe was let to Cook & 'Klernan, who em ployed a traction engine, as well as horses and oxen. For the wcrk of digging the ditch and laying and riveting the pipe, Hoffman & Bates employed a large force of men, their pay-roll amounting in one month in the season of '93 to over $20,000. These men were lodged and boarded in tents, generally in two camps about two miles apart. Camps were made in 13 dif ferent places during the construction of the line, and no small part of the work consisted, in making and moving camp and providing supplies for the men. The work of digging the ditch was gen erally from one-half to two miles ahead of plpelaylng. The pipes came from the shops in lengths of abcut 29 feet, made of six plates. These were laid in the ditch with derricks and belted together. The plpelayers were followed by the riveters. who drove hot rivets in the holes at the J joints. The edges of the plates outside the rivets were then chipped to the proper bevel and calked to make the joints tight. In this way the whole pipe was connected together like a steam boiler. Upon the final test the pipe was found to be as tight as any new boiler, the only leaks be ing of the size of a pin through minute openings between the plates. Mr. Lee Hoffman, the only remaining member of the old firm of Hoffman & Bates, is well known from his successful career as a contractor In the Pacific Northwest, and it Is creditable to his en ergy and foresight that this immense con tract was carried through and finished on the date provided for in the contract. Mr. Hoffman was ably seconded by Mr. H. D. Bush, an engineer experienced in iron and steel construction, who was su perintendent of the work. The office work was In charge of Mr. A. I. Donnell, who acted both as purchasing agent of supplies and as paymaster. Mr. E. M. Arthur was bookkeeper during the entire time of the contract. The principal forerren on the line were William Bates and E. A. Stone, old em ployes of the firm of Hoffman & Bates. The riveting and calking was in charge of of concrete each dav. These machines were rented to the water committee early realized the diffi THE STEEL PLATES. Fnruinlied by the Rlsdon Iron "Works, of San Francisco. N the development of the great industries of the coast much credit is due the suc cessful manufacturer. This success has been the growth of years and of unremitting la bor, and the expenditure of vast sums of money. Until within a few years past, man ufacturing on the Pacific slope had not yet passed the experimental stage, and the prestige which the Eastern-made article enjoyed in this market insured a local de mand for the Eastern product, which was one of the greatest stumbling blocks to the success of the home manufacturer. That this prejudice against goods manu factured on the coast has been overcome within the past few years is evidence that that the manufacturer here has the plant, the capital and the brains to compete on equal terms with his Eastern competitor, and it is this standing which has already been attained by the home factories which promises the most for the early recovery of the old-time prosperity the coast so long enjoyed. In the history of the development of large manufacturing industries of the coast, the Risdon Iron Works of San Francisco occupies a particularly prom inent place. This is today one of the most extensive manufacturing plants of the West, and in size and importance It is second to none on the Pacific coast. In the selection of n aterlals for the Buii Run water-works plant, no one was more carefully considered than that of the steel plates for the pipe line. The importance of this contract can be appreciated from the statement that in the construction of ine pipe line over iz,;w,uuu pounas oi sieei plates were used. The contract price for these plates was about $400,000. One of the strongest indorsements of the ability of the coast manufactories to compete witn the Eastern factories on more than even terms was the awarding of this contract to the Risdon Iron Works. In bidding for this work this company was forced to enter into competition with the large plants in the East, which had been in ex istence for years, and it was only after a most careful inspection of the figures of the Risdon Iron Works on this contract and special inquiry regarding the ability of the company to fill a contract of this magnitude that the bid of the local com petitors was finally accepted. In addition to supplying all the steel plates the Rlsdon Iron Works also fur nished the iron work- for the gate cham bers, and these chambers have all been put in under their dltect supervision. It has been the aim of the management of the Risdon Iron Works in fulfilling their contract with the Portland water committee, to do even more than the con tract stipulated. This is in line with their policy of sending out nothing from their shops that has not passed the most rigid inspection of their experts, and it is this careful test of everything from their forges that has earned for them the repu- ALCATRAZ ASPHALT ItEFIXERY. water committee for the work by Messrs. Keatinge & Leonard, of this city, who keep a number of there mixers to rent. Another Ransome patent largely used was what is known as the "concrete and twisted iron patent." All steel beams in the floors, roofs, etc., of gate houses and dams were supplanted with twisted iron bars, the use of which was most satis factory, and effected a great saving in JiAXSOXrS t0XCRETE MXEIi. the floof lights are the "Ran nt light,", also all the face of cost. All some patent the dams, gate houses and retaining walls were of the "Ranseme patent concrete face." Full particulars of all these most valjable methods of concrete construction can be obtained by applying to Keatinge & Leonard, the sole agents at Portland, Or. culty of planning and executing such an enormous amount of work in one short season, and no higher recognition of en gineering skill could have been shown than in the appointment of Mr. James Dix Schuyler, of Los Angeles, Cal., to that responsible position. The special du ties to which Mr. Schuyler was assigned were the design and construction of the reservoirs, with their dams, pipe connec tions and appurtenances, as well as the Portland Heights pumping station. All visiting engineers from the East who have seen the unusual difficulties which have here been met and overcome have ex pressed great admiration of the ingenuity shown by Mr. Schuyler in this work in the way of special adaptations out of the usual order. Mr. Schuyler is a New York er by birth and education, but has prac ticed his profession for 26 years past ex clusively in the Western states and terri tories, his early career being devoted to railroad construction in Kansas, Colo rado, California and Old Mexico. For 15 years, however, he ha3 devoted his atten tion to his chosen specialty of hydraulics, and in the pursuit of that branch has at tained a national reputation. He was for several years chief assistant state engi neer of California, in charge of the irri gation investigation, and subsequently designed and constructed the great Sweet water dam, near San Diego, Cal., a structure whose massive and graceful lines are admired by thousands of vis itors annually. Mr. Schuyler was engi neer of the Hemet dam, in Riverside coun ty, California, which is considerably high er than the Sweetwater, both of them standing far in advance of all others of their character in Western America. Mr, Schuyler has been engaged as consulting sible position of chief draughtsman in the Willamette Iron works, the leading iron works plant of the state. Mr. Lesourd made the -plans for the first marine com pound engine ever built in Oregon, and this engine Is now doing duty in the steam coaster Alliance. He also superin tended work In the construction of en gines and machinery for some of the fast est river boats of the coast. The machin ery for the powerful tug Wanderer, the magnificent steamer Victorian, the pride of the O. R. & N. Co., and the fast little steamer Cricket, built by Captain Spen cer, was built under Mr. Lesourd's direc tion. This latter boat is the fastest of Its size on the coast. When active work was first commenced on the Bull Run system, the position of chief draughtsman was tendered Mr. Lesourd, and that everybody connected with this great work has the highest appreciation of Mr. Lesourd's services must be taken as attesting his ability as a draughtsman. Mr. Lesourd is a native of France. He has been long enough in the United States, however, to become thoroughly wedded to the forms and customs of the American republic He first arrived in San Francisco 40 years ago last Septem ber. Pursuing the precarious calling of mining for a short time, he finally decided that the Northern field would afford him better opportunities for advancement than he could look for in California, and In 1S57 he came to Oregon. His residence in this state has been a continuous one since that time. It is not only the success of Mr. Lesourd himself which crowns his life time's work, but the opportunities for ad vancement he has been enabled to afford his son, Frank E. Lesourd, a native Ore gonlan, has resulted in the younger Mr. Lesourd's attaining a distinction as an expert draughtsman that has secured for hint a position among the leading draughtsmen In the United States. Frank E. Lesourd received his best training un der his father's eye in the mechanical en gineering establishment, the Willamette iron works of this city. He Is now hold ing the highly responsible position of in spector and superintendent of construction of the Cascade locks gates, one of the most Important government undertakings of the United States. These gates are now under construction at Sparrow's Point, near Baltimore, Md. This position was tendered Mr. Lesourd by Major Thomas H. Handbury, who was stationed at Portland in charge of the government works here, and. as the honor was one that was entirely unsolicited by Mr. Lesourd, the appointment can only be taken as a most fitting recognition of the great abili ties developed under the successful tutor age of his father. C. E. OLIVER. One of the rising young civil engineers of the coast is Mr. C. B. Oliver, who has held the important position of assistant engineer of the Bull Run system since May, 1S93. Mr. Oliver has learned civil engineering by years of practical effort, and the result of his labors on the Bull Run pipe line Is the best recommendation of the benefits of this practical education. Mr. Oliver was born in Marion, county, tire work is but a slight recognition of thet ability of Mr. Moore and of the capacity of the Risdon Iron Works for turning outt work of this character in all its perfection. D. D. CLARKE, PRINCIPAL ASSIST ANT ENGINEER. Mr.. D. D. Clarke is of New England! birth and education. He came to the Pa cific Northwest in early manhood, and for SO years has been Identified with the public works of Oregon and Washington. Mak ing his home in Portland from 1S64 to 1S73, he was engaged first upon the staff of the city surveyor, and later, during the rail road construction of that period, served as assistant engineer upon both the East and West Side roads. After spending three years in Olympia In connection with the work of the United States land sur veys, he removed to Tacoma, where he resided from 1S75 until 1S90. During this period he was almost continuously in the service of the Northern Pacific Rail road Company as assistant engineer, the last two years Immediately in charge of the terminal improvements made at Ta coma. During the construction of the Tacoma water works, in 1SS4-5, by Colonel Smith, now chief engineer of the Portland works. $ , Tjfi P.D.Clarke. Photo by McYIpin & Lamb. -r -rtyfc. THE WOLFF, ZWJCKER BUEITXER PIPE WORKS, AND TEE WOLFF ZW1VKER IRON WORKS. other Important work, reaching to all parti of the Pacific Northwest, The immense plant of this firm is lo cated along the banks of the river at the eastern approach of the Madison-street bridge. It occupies two blocks with a deep-water frontage, and every advan tage in transportation facilities is afford ed by the Southern Pacific railroad, the tracks of which system, covering all parts of Western Oregon, and extending South and East, are but one block distant, and by steamers which ply south on the A ll l&mette to the most southern points of this highly fertile section, and also north on the fame stream to the Columbia, on which latter river boats ply both east and west, Portland's route to the ocean lying along the course of this great btream. Excollcnt dock facilities are af forded at the site of the plant, and boats can land and discharge cargoes, right into the principal manufacturing-rooms of tats immense estabtishfaeat. The Wolff & Zwieker Iron Works re cently turned out over 79 hydrants for the local Are department. These hydrants not only met. but exceeded every require ment of the contract. The facStittee of the plant of this company for turning out all kinds of iron and steel work and ma chlHttry are equal to those enjoyed by any of the largest iron-working plants of the coast, and. with the great beneht the establishment of this plant at Portland has been to the industrial activity of the city, it is hoped that every encouragement wtti be made to this firm to maintain at this point a plant that v.-ouW be of benefit H. McConaughy in 'IS, and James Ster ling in '94. That the work was well or ganized in all its departments is shown by tho fact that it was successfully com pleted on time; this being the only con tract on the pipe line which was so fin ished, notwithstanding that it was the largest and most difficult of all. m THE RESERVOIR LIXIXGS. A The Important Part Tlmt Asphaltum lMujed in This "Work. MONO the most interesting fea tures of the construction of Portland s new water-supply t- stem is the use of asphaltum for the finishing coat of the res ervoir linings. Since the earliest history of man. asphaltum has been ex tensively used In structural work in a variety of forms. The buikiers of the ditches and reservoirs that sup plied ancient Babylon employed it to save leakage. Noah's ark, the cradle of Moses, the mummies of Egypt, the wonderful works of the Syrian and Egyptian build- ' ere, all attest the use of this valuable ma terial; and in our own land It has been used by the early Indian races and their successors in a variety of applications. A century ago the Indians in California used the tame asphaltum to pitch their canoes and prevent the water from leak ing in that today is beiac ased in the Port laud reservoirs to prevent the water from leaking out. la this connection the read er's attention oan be directed to an article on "Some of the Ancient Uses of Asphal- tation which is a most important factor in the awarding of contracts of such mag nitude as that given to the company Dy the Portland water committee. A description of the plant which has supplied the steel plates and part of the iron work for such an important under taking as the construction of the Bull Run pipe line will be of value to every body interested in irechanlcal engineer ing. The Risdon Iron Works early gained the reputation of catering to the best trade in their line. With this end in view, they put In the most expensive machinery of the latest improved patterns. In addi tion to having today the largest pipe plant on the coast, they are also large manu facturers of mining, milling, marine and other machinery. They enjoy the distinc tion of not only conducting the largest pipe plant in San Francisco, but they also are the largest manufacturers of mining machinery on the coast. During the pa;t few years they have built a great number of quartz mills. Among these mills Is that of 24 stamps for the Alaska Mill & Mining Company. This is the largest stamp mill in the world The Risdon Iron Works has also manufactured some of the larg- ' est pumping and hoisting plants in the country. Among the great machinery plants recently turned by the compaay were those for the sugar-beet factories at Watsonville and Chino. Each of tlie&e plants has a capacity of 400 tons of sugar every 24 hours. The Risdon Iron Works, in addition to its other complete departments, conducts a most extensive shipbuilding and marine engineoring plant. This department gi es constant employment to a large number THE MEX WHO BUILT IT. Those "Who Directed the "Work of Construction. The construction of the Bull Run plant has not only given employment to a large number of men, but it has also called for the display of the highest order of skill on the part of those on whom fell the responsibility of directing the men engaged in the active work of construc tion. It was the directing genius of the engineers who had the entire charge of the work of construction that was pri marily responsible for the effective man ner in which the work of building the plant progressed, and It was the close ap plication the gentlemen at the head of the construction of this work gave to the project that resulted In the completion of what is today considered one of the best built waterworks plants in the United States. The gentlemen who were the leading directing heads of the construc tion work on the plant are mentioned below. COLONEL ISAAC W. SMITH. Colonel Isaac W. Smith has devoted his entire life to the profession of civil engi neering. He was born In Fredericksburg, Spottsylvania county, Va. He isgnad uate of the Virginia Military institute, lo cated at Lexington. During Colonel Smith's long career as a successful engineer he has handled some very Important work. He was assistant engineer and astronomer on the boundary lines between the states of Iowa and Min nesota, and between the Creek and Cher okee Indian tribes In the Indian territory. During the Mexican war he was a second lieutenant in the Vcltiguer Rifle regi ment. He was a captain in the engineer ing corps of the Confederate army. After the war he engaged In land surveys in the territory of Washington, and he also did much public surveying of lands after Washington was admitted as a state. Colonel Smith built the lighthouses for the government at Shoalwater bay and at New Dungeness, Smith's island and Ta toosh island, on the Straits of Tuca. He laid off the city and harbor lines of Ta coma, and subsequently built the gas and water works for the Tacoma Light & Water Company. He was the engineer for the Northern Pacific on the surveys for the lines from Vancouver north to the Yakima river, and up the Columbia. He had charge of the location and construc tion of the line from Kalama to Tacoma, and he located the line now running from Tacoma across the Cascade mountains to the Yakima and Columbia livers by the same company. On Vancouver island, B. C, Colonel Smith laid off lands for the board of pub lic works. He also had charge of the ex plorations for the Canadian government up Fraser river In connection with the construction of the Canadian Pacific rail road. He engaged successfully in mining enterprises in the rich Cariboo district, and he possesses a most accurate knowl edge of the topographical features of the province of British Columbia. Colonel Smith has had charge of some of the most important improvements of Oregon, in which state he has long re sided. He was the engineer of the North ern Pacific railroad on the construction and location of the line from Kalama to Portland. He built the complete system of steamboat locks around the Willamette falls at Oregon City. He was chief engi neer of the Oregon Pacific Railroad Com pany, which runs a line of road from Ya quina bay east to the summit of the Cas cade mountains. On January 1, 1SS7, Colonel Smith was appointed chief engineer and superintend ent of the Portland city water woiks by the water committee He laid out and planned the present efficient water-works jay " if 'ifoMr I y J PlX a ? w JflMES Photo by DaIes. 5CHUYLER. engineer on many other Important water works and irrigation projects throughout the West and in the Sandwich islands. He has made some interesting and useful contributions to the literature of his pro fession, which have added to his reputa tion among engineers, particularly in the form of papers read before the American Society of Civil Engineers, of which he is a member and past director. He is also one of the very few American members of the British Institution of Civil Engi neers, the oldest, the largest and the most conservative engineering society in the w orld. He is a director of the Ameri can Society of Irrigation Engineers, a member of the Technical Society of the Pacific Coast, and also of the California Association of Civil Engineers. The first secretary of the water committee was his brother the late Philip C. Schuyler, a Portland pioneer, whose enthusiasm in behalf of the projected Bull Run water works, now so handsomely completed, is pleasantly recalled at this time by his old friends. JOHN A. LESOURD. Mr. John A. Lesourd, the chief draughts man and inspector of iron work of the Bull Run pipe line, is a srentleman whose abilities are never qmstioned. Away back in the '70s Mr. Lesourd held the high ly responsible position of chief draughts- 7 GE Oliver Photo by McAlpIn & Lamb. Iowa, in 1S36. He was appointed principal assistant engineer of Portland in 18S0. He held this office until 1SS4. It was during the period of Mr. Oliver's incumbency that many of the most important works in improvement of streets were laid out, and the personal supervision which the gentleman was called upon to exercise over these improvements resulted in his gaining much practical experience. In 188G Mr. Oliver did some preliminary work in the surveys for the contemplated Bull Run pipe line, and during 18S7 and the fol lowing year he was engaged principally in land surveying and in railroad work. In 18S9 and 18S0 he made the surveys and superintended the laying of the pipe line from the city to Palatine Hill. In June of the latter year he was appointed in spector of the city water works, which important office he held until he was made assistant engineer of the great plant, on which he has since been engaged. In addition to the work connected with his office as assistant engineer, Mr. Oliver since May of the present year has per formed the duties of superintendent of construction of reservoirs. Among the important services Mr. Oliver rendered in the construction of the pipe line was his securing the rights of way for the line from Bull Run river to Mount Tabor, and the subsequent rapid laying of the pipe along this route was due largely to the ability the gentleman displayed in set tling the question of rights of way. Mr. Oliver, from his long residence in this city, is classed among the Portland boys by his numerous friends and ac quaintances, and they are all proud of the record he has made here as a success ful civil engineer. RALPH H. MOORD. A distinctive and original feature in the Bull Run system is shown In the design Mr. Clarke was his principal assistant. He has been a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers since 1S82. His connection with the Portland works be gan in March, 1S93. F. H. YOUNG. Mr. F. H. Young, assistant engineer of the Bull Run pipe line, early had the ben efit of a thorough education In the profes sion to which he proposed to devote the best years of his life. He was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, In 1S56. After having taken a thorough course In civil engineering at the Western Pennsylvania university, he at once demoted himself to field work, in which he gained a most val uable fund of practical information. He followed this work succesbfully for 17 years. He worked on many of the im portant railroad surveys, both in this country and in Mexico. Some of his most Important work was done in the Improve ments of harbors in the state of Wash ington with Richard Nevins, jr. Mr. Young enjoyed a high reputation as a civil engineer before he came to Port land, and it was not long after his arrival In the city before his abilities were recog nized by the tender of his present posi tion on the Bull Run pipe line. Mr. Young has been constantly engaged on the water works since 1891. He located the bridge across the Sandy river in Feb ruary, 1892. In October of the same year he located the distributing reservoir at Mount Tabor. Commencing active work on the pipe line Itself in January. 1S93, he located the line from the Sandy river to the headworks, eight miles up the Bull Run river. At the close of last season's work he was transferred to the office and assigned to the duty of testing all mate rials used in the construction of reser , voirs, such as cement, gravel, sand, brick, etc. In this work Mr. Young has had the fullest confidence of his superiors, and the able and impartial manner In which he has given his decisions in all cases has JW ;ass Pi SSRU,- Ssfellk tV'Vw 'III ' m JSriN A LtasuRD. man on the construction work of the sys tem of locks and canal around the Wil lamette falls at Oregon City, and since that time he has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession on some of the most Important works of the state. He has devoted much time to the con struction of large milling plants and to building mills, and in their successful op eration he has earned an enviable reputa- system, which Is the best plant of the tion. In 1SS1 he was tendered the respon- 7 ,48) KfiiA Iff HH.Ysung. R H MnnRE- Pl.oto by McAlpIn & Lamb. and execution of the gatehouse chambers, which comprise the entire distributing system, and the complete mechanism for controlling the water for the various res ervoirs and the main city supply. The otherwise complicated mechanism of the distributing system is greatly simplified by the interior arrangement of the gate chambers. This entire work, covering hundreds of tons of iron and steel work, was furnished and placed in position by the Risdon Iron Works of San Francisco, under the imme diate supervision of Ralph H. Moore. Mr. Moore is a native of San Francisco. That he has attained the great success he has before reaching his 30th year is evi dence of his great natural engineering ability. In 1SS9 he graduated from the university of California, at Berkeley, in the coune of mechanical engineering, and in 1S90 he accepted a position with the Ris don Iron Works, with which he has since been associated. The careful and artistic manner in which this Important work has been carried to completion testifies to his thorough edu cation aa a practical engineer, and the en- won for him the esteem of everybody who has furnished materials for this important public undertaking. E. E. COOPER. Mr. E. E. Cooper has had direct charge of the construction of jhe concrete con struction work on the Bull Run pipe line under Mr. Schuyler. His work has been: principally confined to reservoirs 1, 3 and 4. The position has called for the constant attention of a man thoroughly versed in all the intricacies of the civil engineer's profession, and the manner in which Mr. Cooper performed the duties of this re sponsible trust has entitled him to the full confidence and support of his su periors. Mr. Cooper is a native of Clinton county, New York. He attended school at St. Paul, Minn.,, where he took a full course at the Minnesota state university. He was first employed by the St. Paul & Duluth Railroad Company. From this work he entered tne service ct the xsortr. ern Pacific Railroad Company in 1S71. One of the most Interesting incidents of Mr. Cooper's career in railroad construction work was the help he rendered in start ing the fire to thaw the ground which en abled Colonel Smith to turn the first shovelful of earth on the construction of. the great transcontinental line, the North em Pacific. Mr. Cooper was engaged on the con struction work of the Northern Pacific until 1884. From this work he came to Oregon in 1S73 to take charge of the con struction of the mountain division of the E.E CespER Photo by McAIpin z Lamb. Oregon Pacific railroad, running from Yaqulna bay east to the summit of the Cascade mountains. He afterward held an important position on the Southern Pa cific. For a number of years he was in charge of the masonry and iron bridging in the Siskiyou mountains on the line of this road. Ha was employed oa the Iron