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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (April 12, 1906)
V SECH02I TV0 t : PORTLAND.'- OREGON. THURSDAY EVENING, :: APRIL '12 1908. BUILDING PIERS BENEATH THE WATERS OF THE COLUMBIA How; the Caissons ' Are Sunk and Operated Men Working Forty Feet Below River's Surface Under High AiPressureCaisson Fever Known as uThe Bend" One of Curious Diseases. .; is I I J: '. ... . ' '; .a '. Bulltfinf One of the ColutpbiftRiver Caissons. Pneumatic calaaona ar Mine sunk In I (ha Columbia river and on these will b built the bridge of the Northern Paolflo railway. The work of conetructlng and inking these calsaons4s the moat Inter- eating engineering feat, in the progreea of Portland. There 'will be altogether li or 1 of thla atyle of calaaona and when one atopa to think - of the vaat amount of work connected with each he will have to marvel at the way the work ia done. Hiindreda of thousands of feet of timber are used and thou sands ef cubic 'yarda tf concrete are employed. . Some of the calaaona will be aunk aa much aa 74 feet below the bottom of the Columbia and when It la known that the Colombia where aome of them are to be aunk la 40 feet deep a peraon can sain aome Idea of the magni tude of the work, for that make a eolld pier of" concrete 110 feet in depth.' On top of thla pier come the big flve-ton blocka of granite and on theae will reat the bedplates, (3,000.000 pounds. - The work at Vancouver la In charge of B. It. Crosby, one of the moat ex perienced bridge engineers of the North' ern Pacific company. He had superln tended the conatruotlon of aome of th largest bridges In the United States, In cluding aeveral which apan tne Missis sippi river. Hie assistants are 1L H. Lotter and J. Cunningham, both expert enced bridge engineers.' The, structure Itaelf waa planned by Ralph Modjeakt the chief engineer of the Northern Pa cific system, and one of the recognised bridge ezperta of the world. It will take 20 plera all told to carry the bridge over the Columbia. Of course aome of these will be In shallow water, where it will not be necessary to em ploy pneumatic caissons. - but-for the greater part of the river the bridge will epan deep water, aa ia shown by the fact that of. the 20 plera IS or 1 will be of the. pneumatic . variety. ... The pier which waa placed In the river .. years ago, when It waa propoaed to build a bridge, wilt be uaed, for It la Juat aa good If not better than It waa when It waa aunk. The building and alnklng of a pneu- Dvery seam la calked to make It water tight like a-boat. On the outalde are put aeveral layers of heavy plank and each Joint la carefully calked, ao that when the huge boa la completed It' la aa water-tight aa any ahlp. About eight feet from the bottom of thla big bos ia , laid a. . floor . of extra heavy timber a, thus leaving under the bottom of the box a compartment about eight feet in height. Running through this floor are three large ateel plpea, each about three feet In diameter. There are live emaller plpea, varying from two to Ave Inches In diameter. Theae big plpea are fitted . with air tight trapa, for It ia down through them that the men go to work upon the bot tom of the river. When the big box la completed it la towed to the exaot position .where the pier for the bridge .a to be built. It la firmly anchored by pllea and the work af alnklng It eommancea. Concrete mixed by machinery la put Into ,the big box and firmly tapped by a horde of men. The weight of the concrete gradu ally sinks the box until It rests on the bottom of the river and then, the Inter esting work commence. A the tank alnka mora timbers are added, that la the box la being built deeper and deeper aa It alnka. Whan once on the bottom the work on the bottom 'of the river la commenced. Men are aent down through the three big plpea and there they shovel and remove the dirt ao the big box with Ha great load of concrete can sink. - Air pressure la used and the dirt removed by the men Is blown up through three of the five emaller plpea. Eleotrlo llghta light up thla cavern un der the bed of the river and the men work there aa long aa they are physi cally able to do ao. At present three shifts of men are employed, each work ing eight hours, but aa the oalssohstslnk their working boura will ge reduced, for the farther down It alnka the greater booomee the air pressure, until finally It beoomea ao great that aome men can atand It only-for an hour or ao. In the construction ' of the Columbia - river bridge the engineera eat 1 mate that they will never have to reduce the working time leaa than three hours, that la one ahlft of men can atay down at the bot tom of the river working for at leaat three houra. The work of how theae men get down to . their work . la moat interesting. Ladders run down the big ateel tubea In the caisson and - theae- big -tubea are fitted with airtight doors, making air tight chambers. When the time cornea to aend down men or to take out thoae locked at the bottom of the river- a small-valve la releaaed In the trap door nearest ir.e top. u renevea - tne air presaure In the first chamber and when it lp relieved sufficiently the valve In the next chamber la opened. Before long the air presaure In the two eham here becomea equalised and the lower '-' iYV j iv '; '' Our-fetore is brim- ; '..- bwi : ' ' $Sk& " ": of suggestions :, '.'!ii'':'-,v'-v i ' .: 1 ' fpT EaStCf : attire ' " ' ' i"M-mvv. wn esujijuf. ji j sjniyiM' 1 e t 4' n 'L' " '4 - Tf 'A t k .? , . i. .1 . - C ..... V i r i y 1 Traveling;. Crane to Handle Five-Ton Oranitt Blocka. Which WW. Top the Concrete Piere. Reared Inaide the . ..... , : CaUiona. - ' matte caiason la one of the moat Inter esting things known to the engineering world and the work at Vancouver is particularly Interesting, for all the up- to-date appllancea ' for quick and ac curate work are employed. When opera tlona are started a huge box built of timbers It Inchea equare la constructed. Young M ens Suits ; We have an exceptionally &rgt line of Young Men's ;. Suits (not boys' suits made in larger sizes), gar ' ments made expressly for young men 14 to 20 years. Blue Serges and Black Unfinished Worsteds in thef very latest atyles, including neat and nobby patterns . ..... 9 . . . . f . . - in gray ancr mixea gooas. v v $7:50 to $20 ALSO A MOST COMPLETE LINE OP TWO--PIECE OUTING SUITS , $500 to $18 PRfiE FINE LEATHER PURSES WITH SUITS ? : CLOTHIERS -COR. THIRD AND MORRISON ii ..-- door Is opened, Thla plan la followed out in going down the entire dlatance. door after door being opened one at a time- by- the -equalisation -of -the- air pressure in the .lower -chamber. It Is thua by stages that men go down and come from their work at the bottom of the .river. The question of removing any big rocks found at the bottom la also solved by these big manhole tubes. The-dirt and mud la blown from the bottom of the river by pneumatic pressure, but the plpea that carry thla dirt and mud are too amall exoept for email atones, there fore all big rocks have to be broken .until they are amall enough to be holated through the big steel tubes that the men use In getting up and down from the bottom of the river. The work la very tlcklJah and great care haa to be exercised to keep the various trapdoors to the various chambera looked until the air In the adjoining chambera la equal' lsed.. ' . A fever known as caisson fever fre quently attacks those srho are com pelled to work In them. - While thla Is the name given to the disease by the medical profession. It Is usually called by the men themeelvea aa "the bend." It la cauaed by the enormous air pres sure they are subjected to while at work at a great depth. It affects them In various ways but generally It la a col lapse, caualng the body of the afflicted peraon to bend at varloua angles and ahapea and -from Ita way of affecting Ita vlctlma It haa coma to be commonly called among the caiason -workmen aa "the bend." The work In calesona also haa other aerloua effects. Sometimes the air pressure becomes ao great that the eardrums are fractured and blood ves sels in the ayes, noae and mouth are ruptured. Ample opportunity will be given any one who wants to see some of this work for It la estimated that it will take at leaat two yeara before the big bridge la completed. There are 16 pneumatic calaaona to be aunk and they have only atarted to alnk the first one. It la now down upon the bottom of the river and In a day or two men' will be atarted down to remove the dirt and atonea underneath the calaaona until It cornea to Ita final resting- place on a bed of hardpan T9 feet below the present bot tom of the river. - A man caught 47 big carp last Satur day In the mlllpond and race. Aurora Borealls. what on earth could no do with the thlngaT Make manure of them, perhaps- ;- - Our Easter display & at its best We have gathered here the choicest styles from two continents - styles, approved by the best jdressers at home arid abroad. Discriminating: women will find thii the most comprehen sive and varied showing ever attempted by a western house. Hundreds of styles- all correct. Extra large sizes in every depaftm't COSTUMES SUITS WRAPS WAISTS SKIRTS GLOVES MILLINERY CORSETS -UNDER WEAR FEATHER BOAS HOSIERY -BELTS HAIR ORNAMENTS JEWELRY AND ; - -:' CHILDREN'S WEAR : :t..--J'i;;-r;."-'. Our credit system makes it easy for you to dress as fashion dictates arid not miss the price you pay. If you've never bought clothes here this is a good time to begin. We hope to see you before Easter. Eastern Outfittins: Co. ; , T -r ... ...,.., ."n-r. w -.tt ... jj-. r The Store Whert Your Credit Is Good , - Washington and Tenth Streets SOCIETY TO CARE FOR - VERN AND EDITH EDDY . Deserted by their father, given up-by a mother unable to care for them prop erly, Vera and Edith Eddy, two pretty children, aged 4 and t years, respective ly, were brought to Portland last night by W. B. McCoy, sheriff of Sherman county, and turned over to the receiv ing home of the Boys and Girls Aid society. The commitment stated that the family war' a charge on the county. and that though the mother desired to keep her children, she was unable to provide for them suitably. i A deputy eherlrr or crook county also took to the home laat night five children An Unequalcd Offer ; " A iet of our famous 116 False TEETH for 10." Painless extracting free with thla offer. Exam ination and consultation ' free. " Crown and ' Bridge ' work a specialty. Extracting, 60 cents WISE BROS.. Dentists' ; THIO AJTS WASTsmQTOJf. 039. . . Opea Bvealngs and Inadaya. of the Hoover family, aa follows: John, aged 11 years; Cley, aged 10; Martin, aged S, and Virgil and Virginia, twins, aged S. The commitment .in this case etatea that the , father, Samuel T. Hoover, abandoned his family and that the mother Is unable and incompetent to care -for her children. - Homes for these children' are desired by . the ao clety. ' An effort will be made to place) the twins in the same home, and alao the brother and alater of the Eddy fam ily. .. . "putting off- adverttatng try "pattta to" Journal advertising. Ladies' Outfitter Leading1 Furriers . : . . Tne "Woman's Store Fourtn and Morriaoa Exclusive Parisian-Hats '" for Easter 'Wear " Are marvels of stunning style. These modela are' hanliltMlv nrlrlnal anil a clualva and cannot b duplicated. ! THE FAMOUS SILVERFIELD MODEL at $4.98 Jtunnlng hats In the newest sailor. Empire, Warwick styles and (hundreds of other beautiful and artlstlo motifs, the garniture Is particularly charming thla season SASTIia rsCIAb 94.98 : Special Attention Is Called to Our Millinery . Workroom Which Is under the supervision of an experienced and competent high-class designer, who will give all the - Information and assistance desired. . Snowring of the New Steer :- Lingerie Waists Many Novelties ' " x " Moat complete and carefully selected ahowing of new Lingerie Walate. many exclusive, all correct, aeveral fetching noveltlee are displayed at price - . $1.50 to $6.00 ' We also ahow It great assortment of the moat elaborate modela from $7.50 to $25.00 WOMENS GARMENTS FOR EASTER From every worthy menu- -'- . facturer In thla country we ' have gathered our Spring ensemble and It la one In which every woman will be interested. . . .. Easter- Special EXCLUSIVE 8UIT8 These elegant effects are exaot coplee of Individual Pari sian models, tne height or fashion for Easter, finished In careful manner and 1 made of the highest ohar acterof dress fabrics: every new . style feature for Spring is embodied la thla broad showing . . $50 and $55 Suits ... $43.75 Gloves for Easter The newest ef fects in long , dress and pexty Gloves, It and 1 button 'lengths; black, white and all the newest shades; glace . range of- prices and - suede; $3.00 to 03.50 Child rens Confirmation . -''V. Dresses. We hare an tmmens line ef new Whit Dreeees, of lawna, Bettings, per cales' and linens, made In many plain and fancy atylea, trimmed with ribbon.' lac and embroidery. The most beau tiful Jin f dreeawa for conflrmat!-- wear la the elt Price from $4.00 to r