time. If it shall appear to the Secretary of War, on the report of the Chief of Engineers, that for any cause the work can not be carried on, or material there for can not be obtained as rapidly as is necessary for the best and most vigorous prosecution of it, he is authorized to provide material by purchase in open market, or by special contract for the fabrication thereof, and to carry on the work by days' work or otherwise, as it may seem to him expedient. This appropriation shall be charged against the revenues applicable to the expenses of carrying on the government of the District of Columbia, so that one half will be paid from the Treasury of the United States and the other half from moneys derived from taxation in the District. Within a few days after the appropriation bill became a law work was inaugurated preparing plans and specifications for laying the new 48-inch mains. Proposals were invited in April for the necessary pipe and valves, and contracts made in May and June with the Gloucester Iron Works of Philadelphia, Pa., the Camden Iron Works of Philadelphia, Pa., and the McNeal Pipe and Foundry Co. of Burlington, N. J., for the pipe and special castings, and with the Mohawk and Hudson Manufacturing Co. of Waterford, N. Y., for the valves. In addition to the line specially mentioned in the act of Congress it was deemed advisable under the terms of the law to lay a 30-inch main from New Jersey avenue and B street to East Capitol and Eleventh streets, and plans and specifications were prepared for this work and the necessary pipe ordered under contracts already made. In May a contract was made with Messrs. Springmann & Brother, of Washington, D. C., for hauling the pipe from the depots and wharves to the locality where it is to be laid, and at the close of the year contracts had been awarded to Thomas B. Coyle, of Washington, D. C., for the necessary trenching, to Messrs. Clendeniu Brothers, of Baltimore, Md., for the lead, and to Rowland A. Robbins, of New York, N. Y., for the jute required for calking the joints By June 30, 4,100 feet of straight pipe, averaging about 1,300 tons, and about 45 tons of special castings, had been cast at the various foundries, 1,405 feet, averaging 472 tons, had been delivered in Washington, and work well advanced upon the valves. It is hoped and believed, unless unanticipated delay arises in the delivery of the pipe under the various contracts, that before the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1890, water will be flowing through the new mains. Amount appropriated by act of March 2, 1839 $575,000.00 July 1, 1889, amount covered by existing contracts. $1,751.70 13, 449.73 256, 639, 79 271,841.22 303, 158.78 July 1, 1889, balance available... No further appropriation is asked for the next fiscal year. (See Appendix Z Z 3.) 4. Erection of fish ways at the Great Falls of the Potomac.—No work of construction has been in progress during the year. Plans and specifications for a new system of fish-ways are being prepared under the supervision of the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. By direction of the Secretary of War the construction will be carried on under the direction of the Commissioner above mentioned, the engi neer in charge being held responsible only for the proper protection of the dam at the Great Falls and for the disbursement of the funds ap propriated. No further appropriation is requested for the next fiscal year. (See Appendix Z Z 4.) 30,044.32 IMPROVEMENT AND CARE OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS AND CARE AND COMPLETION OF THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT, IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. Officer in charge, Lieut-Col. John M. Wilson, Corps of Engineers, Colonel, U. S. Army. The Executive Mansion has received the usual care, and improvements have been made from time to time as far as the limited appropriation would admit. The old, decayed wooden water-tank on the roof has been replaced with an iron one holding 2,200 gallons of water, and the Rider hot-air engine in the basement, which was worn out, was replaced by a Knowles pumping engine,and boiler. The elevator has been thoroughly overhauled and put in good order. The lighting system was overhauled and maintained in good condition, a critical examination made of the plumbing and sewerage, and considerable improvements made in the plumbing. The entire floor of the upper corridor was taken up, the floor girders strengthened, and a new floor laid. The bath-room in the southwest corner, second floor, was separated by a partition from the remainder of the room and improvements made in it, and the main room improved by new flooring, etc. A number of rooms, halls, etc., were repainted and recalcimined, and a few new articles of furniture, china, bed and table linen purchased. New matting was placed in the main corridor, red and green parlors, and two bedrooms. The heating arrangements were overhauled and maintained in good order. Repairs were made to the stable. The conservatory and greenhouses were all overhauled and repairs of various kinds made, and a new superstructure was placed upon the greenhouse west of conservatory. The officer in charge invites attention to the propriety of separating the office of the President from his home, and submits suggestions for consideration. In addition to the general work performed for maintaining in good condition the improved public reservations, two, heretofore unimproved, have been partially improved, and several only partially improved have been highly improved. Extensive improvements have been made at the triangular reservation in front of the National Theatre; grounds have been raised, asphalt walks laid, lawns sodded, trees, plants, and shrubs planted, and curbing properly cut and reset. The high iron fences around Lafayette and Franklin squares have been removed and the parks maintained in excellent condition. The northwest section of the grounds south of the Executive Mansion has been graded, covered with soil, and seeded; curbing laid, gut ters constructed, and a road made south of the State, War, and Navy Building. Extensive improvements have been made at Judiciary Square, on the north, west, and south fronts of the Pension Building, and the east front has been graded and will be completed at an early day; asphalt walks have been laid, new drains constructed, lawns laid out, and trees and shrubs planted. In the Smithsonian grounds the area between the two Museum buildings has been graded, lawns made, and roads and paths constructed. The main asphalt road between Seventh and Twelfth streets has been completed, 1,408 square yards of pavement having been laid, and 1,034 square yards of asphalt paths have been constructed on lines of travel leading to the Museum Building. At Reservation No. 17, lawns have been laid out and seeded, roads, paths, and gutters constructed, curbing and brick sidewalks laid, and trees and shrubs planted. Water was introduced into several reservations. At the Washington Monument improvements were made in the steamexpansion joints and in the lighting arrangements, storm windows and doors introduced, steam-heating pipes placed on lower floor, and thirtyone memorial blocks inserted. Numerous and extensive repairs were made to the elevator. The mound around the Monument was completed under contract, as far as delivery of earth was concerned, and operations well advanced grading, soiling, seeding, and preparing to construct roads. New sewer-pipes were laid at various places for the purpose of draining the grounds. A granolithic pavement, with curbing and gutter, was laid around the Monument, the outer curbing being the circumference of a circle with a radius of 70 feet, the center being the middle point of the Monument floor. A handsome white marble lodge has been constructed. Attention is invited to the detailed report of the officer in charge and to his estimates and recommendations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891. His estimates are as follows: For improvement and care of public grounds... For compensation of persons employed on public buildings and grounds. vator: Salaries of employés.... Fuel, light, contingencies, etc. (See Appendix A A A.) CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF ROADS AND BRIDGES IN YEL. LOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. The beginning of systematic construction of roads and bridges in the Yellowstone National Park followed an appropriation made by act of Congress approved March 3, 1883, the portion of the appropriation allotted to construction work to be expended under the supervision and direction of an Engineer officer to be detailed by the Secretary of War. This work has remained, since 1883, under the supervision of the Engi. neer Department. The condition of the roads and bridges in the Park prior to the adoption in 1883 of a systematic project was as bad as could be. The roads, few in number and generally short, were mere wagon trails; the grades were frequently excessively steep, and the roads full of stumps, rocks, boggy places, and dangerous side-hill slants. The few bridges were of weak and cheap construction, and the crossings of the streams generally had to be made at fords, which at time of high water were impassable. The project for this improvement, adopted in 1883, and continued to the present time with variation only as to location and detail of work, consists in repairing old trails and in the construction of substantial roads about 18 feet in width, well crowned, ditched, and drained, and, where necessary, to be covered with gravel or broken rock; also the building of good bridges across the streams. The permanent roads to comprise a circuit of about 145 miles, extending from the Park line at Gardiner, Mont., to the Mammoth Hot Springs, thence to Norris. Geyser Basin, thence to Upper Basin, thence to Yellowstone Lake via Shoshone Lake, across the continental divide of the Rocky Mountains, thence along the Yellowstone Lake and River via the Falls and the Grand Cañon to Yancey's, thence to Mammoth Hot Springs. In addition a cross-road from the west line of the Park to Lower Basin and Fire-Hole, thence to the Falls of the Yellowstone; a cross-road from the latter to Norris; a road from Yancey's to the east line of the Park, and a number of short branch roads and trails from the above-named roads to minor objects of interest off the main lines of travel; in all, about 225 miles of new road, about twenty large and fifty small bridges, and many culverts contemplated in the project. The cost of completing the project was estimated in the Annual Report, 1887, as $250,000. Recent revised estimates, however, place the cost of completion as $260,000, in addition to the appropriations and allotinents already made. Total expended from commencement of work in 1883 to the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1888, $134,779.42. The work performed, 1883-1888, was as follows: Miles of new road built.. Miles of new road repaired and maintained. Miles of original wagon roads and trails repaired. 52 52 63.5 17 Number of large and small bridges built... Expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1889, $25,000. Miles of new road built... Miles of new road repaired and maintained Miles of old wagon roads and trails repaired.. Miles of wagon trail through Madison Cañon, reopened and made available for travel.. Number of bridges built.. Number of bridges repaired.... 7 52 57.5 245 The road distances above given are from odometer measurements made in May and June, 1889. The 7 miles of road built were distributed as follows: between Gardiner and Mammoth Hot Springs, to replace a steep and dangerous piece of road; completion of road from Norris to the Grand Cañon and site, at that locality, of the new hotel; about one mile in Swan Lake Flats; and continuation of the road down Gibbon Cañon to cut off the steep and exceedingly dangerous portions of the existing road between Norris and Lower Geyser Basin. This last named road had, by the close of the year, nearly reached Gibbon Falls. In addition to the aggregate of work noted above as done since the commencement in 1883, may be mentioned the construction of culverts, parapets, railings, and repairs to old roads since abandoned. The details are given in the report of the officer in charge. The appropriation of $50,000 by act approved March 2, 1889, will be applied to continuation of the Gibbon Cañon Road, to opening and completing, so far as funds will admit of, a road from Upper Basin to and around Shoshone Lake, thence across the continental divide to the west arm of Yellowstone Lake, thence along the lake and river to Grand Cañon, and in general repairs. The sum of $120,000, estimated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, to be expended in completing the road from Upper Basin to and around Shoshone Lake, thence across the divide to and along Yellowstone Lake and River, thence to the Grand Cañon, thence to Yancey's to intersect the road from Cook City to Mammoth Hot Springs, in completing Gibbon and Madison Cañon routes, in improving and maintaining the old road from Lower Basin and Fire-Hole to the Falls of the Yellowstone, in maintaining roads and bridges generally throughout the Park, and in making some small extensions to existing roads; also in purchasing a portable rock-crusher and in erecting a dwelling and warehouse for engineer purposes. The officer in charge submits an estimate of $25,000 for explorations and surveys from which to project an engineer road-map, the necessity for which is stated in his report. Owing to the late date at which appropriations are frequently made, the season when expenditures can be made to the best advantage is lost for the fiscal year; for that reason, in order that the work may be done at the most favorable time, it is earnestly recommended that future ap propriations be made without limit, as in the case of each of the items of river and harbor acts. The interest of the work would also be greatly advanced, and economy subserved, were the appropriations placed on the footing of those for rivers and harbors, by making them expendible under rules and regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of War, the work to be done by contract or otherwise, as might be most economical and advantageous to the Government. Amount appropriated by act approved October 2, 1888. $25,000.00 50,000,00 July 1, 1889, outstanding liabilities.... July 1, 1889, amount expended during fiscal year, exclusive of liabilities outstanding July 1, 1888.. July 1, 1889, balance available..... 50,000.00 (Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project.... Amount that can be profitably expended on roads and bridges in fiscal year ending June 30, 1891.. 260,000.00 Amount that can be profitably expended on survey in fiscal year ending 120,000.00 25,000.00 (See Appendix B B B.) PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF CHARTS OF THE NORTHERN AND NORTHWESTERN LAKES. Under the supervision of this office additions have been made to the engraved copper-plate of chart of Sand Beach Harbor of Refuge, Lake |