In addition to the above, work pertaining to the Adjutant-General's Office has been done in this office. EXPLORATIONS AND SURVEYS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF CALIFORNIA. ANNUAL REPORT OF LIEUT. JAMES F. McKINLEY, ELEVENTH CAVALRY, AID, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1901. ENGINEER OFFICE, HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF CALIFORNIA, SIR: I have the honor to make the following report of operations for the year ending June 30, 1901: Capt. A. B. Dyer, Artillery Corps, U. S. A., was acting enginee · officer at these headquarters from the date of the last annual repor until July 1, 1901, when, under the provisions of paragraph 3, General Orders, No. 14, Headquarters, Department of California, current series, he was relieved from that duty and I assumed charge of the office, taking over all public property pertaining thereto. Mr. C. Winstanley has been continuously on duty in the office as topographer and draftsman. No field work has been performed during the year. The routine work of the office has been carried on; many maps have been mounted and distributed, notably those of the Philippine Islands; tracings and blue prints have been made when required, and the care and preservation of the numerous and valuable astronomical and surveying instruments belonging to this office has consumed considerable time. Very respectfully, JAMES F. MCKINLEY, First Lieutenant, Eleventh Cavalry, Aid, Brig. Gen. G. L. GILLESPIE, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. Acting Engineer Officer. APPENDIX H H H. ERECTION OF NEW BUILDING FOR GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. REPORT OF CAPT. JOHN S. SEWELL, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, OFFICER IN CHARGE, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1901. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE FOR ERECTION OF NEW BUILDING FOR GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, Washington, D. C., July 1, 1901. GENERAL: I have the honor to submit the following report of operations upon the new building for the Government Printing Office up to June 30, 1901: This building was authorized by the sundry civil act approved March 3, 1899. This act provides as follows: Government Printing Office building: That there be constructed, upon the land acquired by the United States in square numbered six hundred and twenty-four, in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, under the provisions of the act entitled "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, and for other purposes," approved July first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, a fireproof building for the use of the Government Printing Office, at a total cost, including approaches, elevators, lighting, and heating apparatus, not exceeding two million dollars. That the building herein provided for shall be erected under the direction and supervision of the Chief of Engineers of the Army, by contract or hired labor, or both, as may be to the best interests of the United States, and upon plans and specifications to be prepared by him and approved by the Public Printer. And the said Chief of Engineers is hereby authorized to enter into a contract or contracts for the construction of the whole or of any part of said building, and for the removal of the old dwellings and other buildings now standing upon said land, subject to appropriations to be made therefor by Congress, and he shall also have the employment of all persons connected with the work: Provided, however, That the selection and appointment of a competent architect to prepare the plans and specifications for the elevations of said building shall be made by the said Chief of Engineers and the Public Printer jointly. Toward the construction of said building and for each and every purpose connected therewith, including the cost of all professional and other personal services that the Chief of Engineers of the Army may deem necessary, and for the rent of office rooms in a locality convenient to the work, three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to be immediately available. This appropriation and all appropriations which may hereafter be made for this purpose shall be expended under the direction and supervision of the said Chief of Engineers. The limit of cost was increased from $2,000,000 to $2,429,000 by the joint resolution approved February 17, 1900, which reads as follows: Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the limit of cost of the new building for the Government Printing Office, authorized by the sundry civil act approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, be, and hereby is, increased by four hundred and twentynine thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to meet the increased prices of building materials, and to permit of making the south end of the powerhouse extension, for a depth of about forty-five feet from G street northwest, of the same height as the main building. Previous reports upon this work were submitted on November 30, 1899, and on November 30, 1900. They were printed in Executive Documents No. 32, House of Representatives, Fifty-sixth Congress, first session, and No. 25, House of Representatives, Fifty-sixth Congress, second session. As no report on this work has been previously submitted with the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers, this one is practically made up of the two above referred to, with such additions as are required to bring it up to date. The preliminary project for this building, in accordance with which the building was authorized and the first appropriation made, was prepared by me after consultation with the Public Printer and his mechanical staff, and submitted under date of January 13, 1899. The gist of this project was as follows: The site of the new building is at the northwest corner of North Capitol street and G street west. It fronts 408 feet on G street and 175 feet 3 inches on North Capitol street. It is separated from the site of the present building, or collection of buildings, by Jackson alley. A space of about 60 feet by 112 feet at the northwest corner of the site is occupied by the original power house, which is thoroughly up to date, and has been incorporated as a part of the new plant. The preliminary project included the extension of the power plant to G street, with its present width and height, and the erection of a main building, U-shaped in plan, fronting 278 feet on G street, 278 feet on Jackson alley, 175 feet 3 inches on North Capitol street, with an interior court about 29 feet by 168 feet. This would leave between the power house and the main building a driveway 18 feet wide, running from G street to Jackson alley, and furnishing access to the interior court at its west end. The structure was to be fireproof, with masonry mainly of bricks; the interior to be finished with glazed and pressed bricks; all door and window frames to be of cast iron; the floors to be designed for a live load of 300 pounds per square foot, uniformly distributed, and to be thoroughly fireproof in all their structural features, but finished with about 14 inches of hard-wood flooring in all places where the employees are required to stand and work for any length of time. The building was to be heated by steam, wired for electric light and power and for interior telephone and alarm systems, and furnished with all needful elevators, stand pipes, water tanks, and the best type of sanitary plumbing. Especial attention was to be paid to provision for safe and speedy exit in case of fire or panic, and for the health and comfort of the employees. The main building was to have seven stories, a basement, and an attic, and in the project the south end of the power house was to be divided into two stories. There was to be a vault for the storage of stereotype plates under the G and Norta Capitol street sidewalks, and the basement of the main building was to extend under the interior court and the driveway. The plans of the building have been developed along the lines described in the preliminary project, with one important addition, which was authorized by the joint resolution above quoted, and which consisted in making the south end of the new power house, i. e., the part over the coal room, part of the main building. This necessitated a sallyport to enable the driveway to debouch on G street. At the time when the building was authorized the transfer of the site to the United States was not complete, and a number of old houses were still standing on it, many of them being occupied. I was placed in charge of the construction of the new building under date of March 11, 1899. On March 20 an office was opened at No. 735 North Capitol street, nearly opposite the site of the work, and preliminary work on the plans was begun. A search was begun for a suitable architect to take charge of the elevations of the building, and after consideration of a number of names and examinations of specimens of work by the Public Printer and myself, Mr. J. G. Hill, of this city, was selected and appointed in the manner required by the act authorizing the building. He was appointed under date of April 3, 1899, and immediately took up the work of designing the elevations. At the present time the architect's plans are all completed and approved, with the exception of such small sketches as are found necessary, from time to time, in carrying out the details of his designs. In all discussions relative to the general lines of the floor plane, the number of stories, arrangement of rooms, the heating and other mechanical equipment of the building, the Public Printer was represented by his mechanical staff, consisting of Mr. H. K. Collins, chief engineer, and Mr. W. H. Tapley, chief electrician, of the Government Printing Office. I found that these gentlemen had made a careful study of the needs of the office, and had already arrived at perfectly definite conclusions in regard to many of the points brought up for discussion. Under these circumstances, it was deemed best for them, if possible, to design and supervise the installation of the mechanical equipment, as they were more conversant with the needs of the office than any outside expert could possibly be. The Public Printer having very kindly consented, this office employed electrical and mechanical draftsmen, who, working under the supervision of Messrs. Tapley and Collins, have developed the plans for the mechanical equipment of the new building. Mr. Collins has charge of the plumbing and steam heating, and Mr. Tapley has charge of electrical wiring and elevators. The plans for the foundations, structural work, fireproofing, and all other items not included under architectural details or mechanical equipment have been developed in this office. On May 1, 1899, notice was received from the Public Printer that the transfer to the United States of the property included in the site was completed. The old houses had already been advertised for sale under date of April 18. On May 18 bids were opened and the houses sold to Mr. Andrew Gleason, the highest bidder, for the sum of $1,300. By July 6 he had completed the work of demolishing and removing the houses. Meantime the foundation and excavation plans were in course of preparation, and were so far advanced that bids were invited for the excavation work, under date of June 10, 1899. Bids were opened July 10, 1899, and the contract was awarded to S. Carmody & Son, the lowest bidder, at 44 cents per cubic yard for general excavation, 75 cents per cubic yard for trench excavation, and $2 per foot for test borings. As soon as the site was cleared test pits were dug to the probable level of the base of the foundations, with a view to determining the bearing power of the soil. These tests resulted in very valuable data, proving that the safe-bearing power was not less than 4 tons per square foot, instead of only 2, as had been assumed in preparing the preliminary estimate. The tests were made as follows: The pits were excavated inside of drums 6 feet in diameter; a 12 by 12 inch Georgia pine timber was set up on end in the pit and braced to the sides, so as to keep it vertical, but leave it free to settle; a platform was built on its upper end by means of cross pieces and braces, and this was loaded with pig lead. A little earth was thrown in around the bottom of the stick to prevent the earth beneath, which was sand saturated with water, from working out from under the stick. This method of testing is quite severe and is hardly fair to the soil tested, because of the small area tested and the punching tendency of the stick. Nevertheless, the stick carried in different places from 8 to 12 tons, without any settlement that might not be charged up to finding a bearing in the loosened sand at the bottom of the pit. In designing the foundations the live load in tons under each column or pier was divided by four and the dead load by three; the sum of the quotients was taken as the requisite area for the base of the foundation in square feet. In computing these loads the building was assumed as fully loaded. The sewer on the G street side of the new building was an 18-inch sewer laid under the parking. It was so high that it would have appeared in the G street plate vault of the new building, and it was doubtful whether it was large enough to carry the sewage from the new building in addition to what came from houses farther west on G street. At the request of this office the District government laid a new 21-inch sewer under the street and at a lower level opposite the site of the new building. It was found possible to get this new sewer sufficiently low to provide for the drainage of the new building by gravity alone-a very important point. The soil on which the new building for the Government Printing Office stands is mainly sand, with here and there pockets of clay, and with more or less gravel everywhere. The ground water stood in it at a level not much below that of the basement floor at the southeast corner, and about 3 feet higher at the northwest corner: this indicated that there was a general movement of this water from the northwest to the southeast, a fact made more probable by the existence of a large and deep trunk sewer under North Capitol street, draining to the south, and also abundantly confirmed by subsequent observations. There was so much water in the soil that it was utterly impossible to dig the trenches for the foundations without shoring them solidly with sheet piling; the sand would not stand vertically for a single foot unless it was shored. There is a conduit in Jackson alley carrying steam pipes and electric cables from the old power house to the old Government Printing Office. It was exposed by the excavation, and had to be shored up and underpinned. Considerable underpinning was also required about the Yale Steam Laundry, which joins the new building for the Government Printing Office on the west, and about the old power house. For these reasons shoring and underpinning make up quite an item in the cost of the foundations, which were finished, however, within the original estimate of cost. In excavating for the foundations, wherever a clay pocket was struck the excavation was carried through it to reasonably clean sand, regardless of the grade. The trenches were filled up to grade again by the |