poem,

"And if they once may win the bridge,
What hope to save the town?"

Meanwhile, the elder Roebling had died, leaving behind him his
estimates and the general plans of the structure, to cost, independent
of land damages and interest, about $7,000,000. This great work which,
if not "conceived in sin," was "brought forth in iniquity," thus
became the object of great suspicion, and of a prejudice which has not
been removed to this day. I know that to many I make a startling
announcement, when I state the incontrovertible fact, that no money
was ever stolen by the Ring from the funds of the Bridge; that the
whole money raised has been honestly expended; that the estimates for
construction have not been materially exceeded; and that the excess of
cost over the estimates is due to purchases of land which were never
included in the estimates; to interest paid on the city subscriptions;
to the cost of additional height and breadth of the Bridge; and the
increase in strength rendered necessary by a better comprehension of
the volume of traffic between the two cities. The items covered by the
original estimate of $7,000,000 have thus been raised to $9,000,000,
so that $2,000,000 represents the addition to the original estimates.

For this excess, amounting to less than thirty per cent., there is
actual value in the Bridge in dimension and strength, whereby its
working capacity has been greatly increased. The carriage-ways, as
originally designed, would have permitted only a single line of
vehicles in each direction. The speed of the entire procession, more
than a mile long, would, therefore, have been limited by the rate of
the slowest; and every accident causing stoppage to a single cart
would have stopped everything behind it for an indefinite period. It
is not too much to say that the removal of this objection, by widening
the carriage-ways, has multiplied manifold the practical usefulness of
the Bridge.

The statement I have made is due to the memory not only of John A.
Roebling, but also of Henry C. Murphy, that great man who devoted his
last years to this enterprise; and who, having, like Moses, led the
people through the toilsome way, was permitted only to look, but not
to enter upon the promised land.

This testimony is due also to the living trustees and to the engineers
who have controlled and directed this large expenditure in the public
service, the latter, in the conscientious discharge of profe