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The Kansas City & Memphis Railway & Bridge Co. is now constructing abridge across the Mississippi River at Memphis, Tenn. The construction ofthis bridge was authorized by an Act of Congress approved April 24, 1888, andthe bridge is being built in accordance with plans which were approved by theSecretary of War in the same year.

The bridge crosses the Mississippi River with three spans, the span nextto the Tennessee shore being 770 feet long in the clear and the other two spans600 feet long. The actual length of the spans between centers of piers is 790feet and 5 inches and 621 feet. These spans are without precedent for rail-road bridges, except in the single case of the Forth Bridge in Scotland and theSuspension Bridge across the Niagara River, both bridges constructed undercircumstances so unlike those of the Memphis Bridge that they cannot be con-sidered as precedents. The long span of 770 feet in the clear is about 100 feetlonger than the National Capitol at Washington.

The charter requires this bridge to be 75 feet above high water, which is22 feet higher than has ever been required for any bridge previously builtacross any of the western rivers, the greatest height being the requirement forthe Ohio River, which is 53 feet above high water.

The four piers of the bridge are now in process of construction. Theshore pier on the Tennessee side is begun. The caisson for the first channelpier (the deepest foundation) Fas been sunk more than 84 feet below low waterto the hard clay which underlies the alluvial deposit and is now within 12 feetof its final depth. The caisson for the second channel pier is completed and isnow being sunk, being already 50 feet below low water. The foundation of thefourth pier near the Arkansas shore is finished and the masonry has been builtabove high water.

No objection is raised to the length of span required. The plans of thesuperstructure are nearly completed, and the work has been contracted for onthe basis of the length of spans named above. In spite of the extraordinarylength of these spans and the consequent additional cost, no attempt will bemade to have the lengths reduced. The condition of the foundation work isconclusive evidence of this.

The height of 75 feet above high water seems, however, to be an unneces-sary requirement, and it is earnestly desired to have this height reduced from75 to 65 feet, which last height it is believed will accommodate the river trafficas well as the greater height now required.

The Kansas City & Memphis Railway & Bridge Co. therefore desires thatthe following amendatory act should be passed:

APPENDIX Gr.

ARGUMENT FOR AMENDMENT OF CHARTER.

AMENDATORY ACT.

An Act amendatory of an act to authorize the construction of a bridgeacross the Mississippi River at Memphis, Tenn., approved April twenty-fourth,eighteen hundred and eighty-eight.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House op Representatives op theUnited States op America in Congress assembled, that Section 3 of the Actentitled “ An Act to Authorize the Construction of a Bridge Across the Missis-sippi River at Memphis, Tenn.,” approved April twenty-fourth, eighteen hun-dred and eighty-eight, be, and the same is hereby amended by striking outthe words “ seventy-five,” and substituting the words “ sixty-five,” so as to makesaid section read as follows:

“Sec. 3. That the said bridge shall be made with unbroken and con-tinuous spans. Before approving the plans for said bridge the Secretary ofWar shall order three engineer officers from the Engineer Bureau to bedetailed to the duty of examining by actual inspection the locality where saidbridge is to be built, and to report what shall be the length of the mainchannel span and of the other spans: Provided, That the main channel spanshall in no event be less than seven hundred feet in length, or the other spansless than six hundred feet each in length; and, if the report of said officersshall be approved by the Secretary of War, the spans of said bridge shall beof the length so required. The lowest part of the superstructure of said bridgeshall be at least sixty-five feet above extreme high water mark, as understood atthe point of location, and the bridge shall be at right angles to and its piersparallel with the current of the river. No bridge shall be erected or main-tained under the authority of this act which shall at any time substantially ormaterially obstruct the free navigation of said river; and if any bridge erectedunder such authority shall, in the opinion of the Secretary of War, obstructsuch navigation, he is hereby authorized to cause such change or alteration ofsaid bridge to be made as will effectually obviate such obstruction; and allsuch alterations shall be made and all such obstructions be removed at theexpense of the owner or owners of said bridge; and in case of any litigationarising from any obstruction or alleged obstruction to the free navigation ofsaid river caused or alleged to be caused by said bridge, the case may bebrought in the circuit court of the United States within whose jurisdiction anyportion of said obstruction or bridge may be located: Provided further,That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to repeal or modifyany of the provisions of law now existing in reference to the protection

of the navigation of rivers, or to exempt this bridge from the operation ofthe same.”

Sec. 2. The right to amend or repeal this act is hereby expressly reserved.

OBJECTIONS TO 75 FEET HEAD ROOM.

Besides the increased cost involved, there are two very serious objectionsto the requirement of 75 feet clear head room.

The first of these lies in the fact that it involves the lifting of the entiretraffic which will cross the bridge ten feet higher than a head room of 65 feetwould require, and that this represents so much increased expenditure forpower and fuel, with a corresponding increase in cost, which must ultimately beborne by the shipper and producer.

The second objection, which is a more serious one, lies in the fact that thisheight will bring the eastern approach to the bridge about ten feet above thelevel of the bluff on which the city of Memphis is built, which will interferewith the existing arrangement of streets, and also require a grade on theapproach up which it will be necessary to work engines in a manner whichis objectionable and disagreeable within a city, and is a source of danger toframe buildings, of which there are many in this part of Memphis.

If the height of the bridge could be fixed at 65 feet instead of 75 feet, allthese difficulties would be entirely avoided.

FIRST MEMPHIS BRIDGE CHARTER.

The first charter for a bridge across the Mississippi River at Memphis wasgranted by an act to authorize the construction of a bridge across the Missis-sippi River at Memphis, Tennessee, approved February 26th, 1885. Thischarter fixed the length of the channel spans at not less than five hundred andfifty feet and required the height of the lowest part of the superstructure'to beat least sixty-five feet above extreme high water mark.

Section 3 of this act reads as follows:

“ Sec. 3. That said bridge shall be made with unbroken and continuousspans; two spans thereof shall not be less than five hundred and fifty feet inlength in the clear, and no span shall be less than three hundred feet in theclear. The lowest part of the superstructure of said bridge shall be at leastsixty-five feet above extreme high water mark, as understood at the point oflocation, and the bridge shall be at right angles to and its piers parallel withthe current of the river. No bridge shall be erected or maintained under the