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SPECIAL NUMBER
A TREMENDOUS UNDERTAKING
Pushing the Big Work on the Levee to
Protect Augusta Prom Future Floods
Few there are, who have any cou
eej/Unn of the magnitude and import
ance of the river work now going on.
The big levee under construction
ior the protection of Augusta against
the ravages of the Savannah, the im
provements being irtitle by the United
States governu ent in the interest of
navigation ami the steps being taken
to prevent the encroachment upon the
banks of the stream, and the prepara
tions being made to handle the enor
mous tonnage that is expected when
the barge line goes into operation—
all these constitute a great undertak
ing'and when the operations are car
ried on contemporaneously and with
in u circumscribed area, it makes
things lively for there is surely some
thing doing.
While sauntering along in front of
the Albion, t.'ol. John Twiggs drove
up .in his machine with a—
"Hello, Mr. Herald man, want to go
with me? Hop in and I will show you
something I ’’
Away we whirled. The sun was
coming down like a thousand of brick,
bub the breeze we stirred up counter
acted old Sol’s fiery darts.
At the Rock Quarry.
Soon we skipped across the North
Augusta, bridge and mounted the Oar
HAYWARD DRAG LIN E BUCKET AT WORK
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TWIGGS & SON ’S BUCYRUS STEAM SHOVEL LOADING CAR
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TWIGGS & SON'S ROCK QUARRY. CAROLINA SIDE OF RIVER. TWO MILES ABOVE AUGUSTA
| olinu Hills, the chain of which runs
cast and west, paralleling the Savan
nah.
The road, from North Augusta to
the tjuarrj commands a fine view of
the river, the city and the country be
yond which is bounded by lofty hills.
Stretching along the water front from
Hake O,instead to the Southern Rail
way bridge, is the great levy looking
like a huge railroad embankment,
with its tiny train passing too and
fro, laden with fresh earth to length
en the fill.
Rack of the levy lie the great man
ufacturing plants, and the city spreads
out upon the plane. By far the most
conspicuous object in the picture is
the immense Umpire Building, with
its skeleton framework of steel, tow
ering above the surrounding buildings
like a mammoth among herds of ordi
nary stature.
But here we are at the quarry. It is
situated at Ihe water s edge, at the
foot of a high bluff, just opposite the
mouth of Wray’s Creek.
Two enormous excavations have
been made in the face of the bluff,
rock for riprapping, building jetties
and putting down mattrasses for pro
tecting the river's banks against the
erosion of the stream. The opera-
THE AUGUSTA HERALD, AUGUSTA. GA.
tions of this character extend for 30
miles down the Savannah and thous
ands of tons of rock have been taken
out of this quarry and used for the
purpose, it is conveyed to the spot
where it is wanted by lighters.
Drilling and Blasting.
The rock taken out here is said to
be slate rock or gneiss. It is very
hard and has little cleavage, chipping
off like flint. Steam drills and dyna
mite are used in getting it out.
A system of waterworks and four
steam engines are employed here. A
drag line bucket is also used to re
move the overburden of earth that
covers the rock. Every time the ma
chine dips, it removes a cubic yard of
earth. There is also a crane for load
ing the boats when the stone is re
duced to the required size.
There are one hundred and sixty
hands on the pay roll when the oper
ations are in full blast at the quarry.
It may be surmised, therefore, that
with this amount of labor and with
the auxtllerarles of steam and dyna
mite a large amount of stone can be
handled.
Retracing our steps, we went from
the quary down to Bay street. On the
way, we found that the grading on
the levy had progressed as far as St.
Paul's church, which is almost down
to Washington street. The levy will
not be more than ten to fifteen feet
and consequently the work is pro
gressing more rapidly than from the
North Augusta bridge up.
Augusta As a Paint Manufacturing Center
By Mr. Frank J. Story
“I am greatly impressed with the pos
sibilities of paint manufacturing in the
Southeast,” said Frank J. Stoiy, presi
dent of the O’Connor-ftchweers Paint Co.
to a Herald representative. ‘‘As a mat
ter of fact we can make right here in
the Soutli as good paints as are manu
factured anywhere in the world and we
can certainly afford to sell them more
cheaply than paints made in distant sec
tions of tl\e country. 1 have been in
tile paint manufacturing business only
a short time. f was previously connect
ed with a house which sold standard
paints made by well-known companies
In other sections of the country, and I
have personally been very much im
pressed by the fact that we can make
right hcie in Augusta and sell at a
profit, paint made in the Northeast, and
at the same time quote more favorable
terms to our customers.’
The (>’< ‘onnor-Schwaers Paint Com
pany have been in the. paint manufac
turing business for the past fourteen
years, hut have recently undergone a
Busy Scenes at Bay Street.
The activities at Bay street were
worthy. The railroad line surmount
ing the levy has been extended along
Bay street and at its lower extremity
stood the railroad crane, which had
been engaged in removing the trunks
of trees and wreckage of one sort
and another.
There were two steamers at the
wharf and the government snag boat,
Tugalo. A steam dredge was busy
excavating the trench for a wall and
loading a lighter with the earth, while
a little tug boat toiled and sputtered
with a lighter loaded witli sand.
Then, the Katherine came steaming
up to take the mud scow across the
river and dump her load. As she went
over she crossed the bows of the lit
tle tug, struggling with her heavy
sand burden, which was obliged to
change her course. If craft keeps
multiplying in these waters, there
may have to lie a harbor master soon
to enforce navigation regulations.
The old terminal wharf and ware
house is Boor, to he demolished, to give
Place to the new terminals to be erect
ed for the barge line, as well as the
other transportation lines and boats
that may wish to use it.
Altogether, the ride was full of in
terest and animation as well as pleas
ant instruction'in regard to the big
works now in progress destined U
prove so beneficial to Augusta.
change in management. A controlling
interest has been bought by Frank J.
Story and W. T. Neill. Mr. Story ia
president; Mr. ,1. Ji. Schweers, vice
president. and MV. \V. T. Neill, secre
tary and treasurer;
Tiie manufacture of paint will be con
tinued under a more extended and bet
ter arrangement, so that the business
that this concern has always enjoyed
wil! he all the better taken (‘are of. The
home people have 1 itronized the fiVm
liberally and paints of its manufacture
are i(‘presented on all classes of build
ings .both public and private, in Augus
ta and its territory. On large operations
their paints are sold in competition with
nationally advertised paints, and are
favored, all things being equal ,on ac
count of its being made right here and
can lie obtained in any quantity and
shade at any time. Mr. Story and Mr.
Neill are both experienced builders’ sup
ply men, and they have added to the re
tail end of the paint business other lines.
It is the i first ahn of the O’Connor-
Sehweers Paint (Company to render ef
ficient service to its customers and to
that end they will nqt undertake the
handling of any material unless they
nave experienced and practical men to
handle it. They have with them Mr.
Mr. A. (iinibel, formerly with one of the
largest supply houses in the South, who
is an experienced estimator and sales
man. Mr. Gimbel devotes especial at
tention to tiie glass end of the busi
ness. and lie both estimates and installs
all kinds of glass, such as plate glass,
prism glas, bent glass, mirrors, etc. Tn
their tile department they have Mr. M.
I'ezza who designs and executes all
kinds of tile work, such as floor designs,
borders, names and figures. All this
work Js prepared in their shops and there
is no delay'jin waiting for these things to
come fromjyhe factory.
This work is looke.* after by men who
know nothing hut tile work in all of
its branches. They put down mosaic,
terrazo and composition floors, wall tile
and porch floors. So it is in any of
its departments the O’Connor-Schweers
Paint Company offer to its friends and
patrons expert service, the very back
bone of any business that expects to
grow these days. In systematizing and
equipping its various departments, this
firm has anticipated Augusta’s great
growth for the next few years, and will
he In position to take care of the in
creased demands that are sure io he
made upon paint and supply houses.
WHERE WEBSTER SPOKE
The news dispatches carry tlie impres
sion that the tower on Stratton moun
tain, which was dedicated a lew days
ago, is on or neaV the place where Dan
iel Webster made a great campaign ad
dress in 1840. As a matter of fact the
places are miles apart, though in the
sgme town. The tower is on top of
Stratton mountain, one of the finest
peaks of the Green mountain range, while
the scene of Webster’s address was on
a gentle vise of ground near Grout’s
pond and alongside the road from Ar
lington ovre the mountain pass through
Sunderland and Stratton to Wardsboro
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VIEW OF RESERVOIR ON THE HILL—SUPPLIES THE PRESENT WATER WORKS S’
TEM OF AUGUSTA. GA.
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BANK PROTECTION WORK FOR GOVERNMENT. ON SAVANNAH RIVER. AUGUSTA, GA.
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| CANAL CONIROL GATES, HEAD OF THE LEVEE SYSTEM ON THE SAVANNAH RIVER.
‘ AUGUSTA. GA.
and Jamacia. To the present genera
Mon this old road through Stratton seem*
a strange place for a political The
farms, width were probablj cultivated
tir-rp seventy-five years ago. nave
grown up to forest and the buildings
have disappeared. Even the field.where
Webster spoke is now mostly a tangiea
thicket.. An occasional lumber camp
and fishermen, hunters and tt«ulers are
the onlv inhabitants and they but tem
r"rary.-Bennington, Vt„ Banner.
GEORGIA’S SEAPORT IMPORTS.
The two important sea ports of
Georgia. Savannah and Brunswick,
“AUGUSTA IN Is|
have shown a remarkable j nc J
exports and imports during
32 years. For instance, the j.
at Savannah in 1880 were n
which grew in 1911 to «5i
Imports at Brunswick have’ 1
from $4,958 in 1880 to sig 6 ,
1911 Exports have grown at'
nah from $23,992,364 in 1880 t
076,045 in 1911, and 3104255
1912. Exports have grown’ at’
wick from $966,582 in 1880 t
138,847 in 1911, and $19.8801
1912. *