The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1852-04-29
The wheeling Bridge.

Ia he Editor 81 Hs Ohion. .....t-a,.
~ attention has been called TO a communication in
~, oauer OF The 23th instant. headed The Wheeling
pl,e bearing dale at Wheeling, April 10Th, and signed
l. Icob G Metcalf, John l.. Newly, and others. The
Vacation OF this card in several OF the newspapers OF
si. civ al this particular time, while proposition is
Hog before committee OF Congress to iegaiiss the
% ati,s present elevation, alter IL has been adjudged
& AZ supreme Court OF the United States to be OBJ
,aton 10 navigation and therefore nuisance, stems
!. ;moose upon me, as one oil the representatives of
IA, deeply Interested the necessity oil brief reply.
your correspondents say 'hat there is now great
aood ii the Ohio river and the greatest thai has
IA for twenty years and that they have this
nss,sd the psssage under the Wheeling bridge Of the
,'s, boa on the Ohio river--the Cincinnati boat
.lsc,,d by Chancellor Walworth to guide The court in
su,pr The height OF the bridge that the boat stopped
!, The Wheeling wharf, and during the lew minutes she
,smaned there e,0 back her chnneys, and then passed
under the bridge, having space still to spare OF eleven
ls," They therefore conclude that 'lhe bridge is no
;s,nre and .',hat the coart must bavx been in
way misled
5ru, az ,he necessity pposed on steamers Of hrowtng
All oy lousrinp their onneys involving serious deten
ion aud great hazard OF life, that Chancellor
W.wouh, after most laborious examination, running
through period Of several months reported the bridge
n he nm obstruction to navgaton and that his report.
after argumen, by counsel Of eminent ability on both
,es was sustained BY the courtsx judges concnrrns,
and only two Dissenting
"Chancellor Walworth says great number of wit
question whether the process oil ioUiag such chmneys
as are carried upon the Pi,tsburg and Cincinnati packets
and Others Of The largest class OF boats which navigate
e waters OF the Ohio is not attended with injury to the
chmneys delay to the boats. and danger to the limhs
and lives of passengers or Of the officers and So
M the question depends upon opinion merely there is
yy great conflict in the testimony oil the Witnesses But
when we examiOe the tac testified TO by them, think
there decided prepondefance OF testimony IN favor OF
The affirmative of the question: Even with the smaller
and shorter chlnneys on The boats which pass through
the Louisville and Portland canal where the boats pro-
csed very slowly and lower and raise their chnneys al
leisure accidents frequently occur TO The chalneys though
from the nature of the navigation through the canal,
The process of raising and lowering does not produce so
much delay there in ordinary 1t is easy to per
ceve that il the -four, i've, SIX rings let down upon
als that pass the canal should fall and break from their
hinges they sometimes do the lives OF The passengers
ssd crw or some oil them, would necessarily be endan.
:" The very elevated as well as large ehmneys used
pon the PIltsbuTg and Cincinnati packets, and other
oats Of thai class land which in another place he says
he teachings oil experience, well the deductions oil
ence, have shown 10 be necessuy,) cannot certainly,
With any facility or safety, be lowered by hinges at the
pp They ara. therefore, obliged TO lower taem at the
Hanic.se deck by meaas Of derrick. The weight Of The
ur,s Of ihs two chmneys. which must be let down
wOn these large boats, isesmaed by the witnesses to
MTOm three 10 IOuI tOns eDofUlOus weight Ddnk
waiver the cabin or rather the berths OF passen
,sssa the procers sf lowering, wohld probably prove
das,rous in the extreme II by any aceitsnt the chin
ys should come down by the which is very likely
10 occur iron the carelessness stupidity oil the green
hand that the owners and officers OF western boats
20 often obliged 10 employ
The danger OF lowering chmneys TO pass the Wheel
ing bridge, in passing down The river, is very much In
creased BY the velocity OF the current when The water al
Wheeling is very high, unless the boat is subjected TO
the delay OF slackening her fires, stopping her engine,
landing her above the bridge, and dropping her down
Stern foremost by warp"
If your correspondents had written one two days
later when the flood had attained still greater height,
they would have been able TO report the navigation
moi only inpeded by the necessity OF lowering chimneys
10 pass the bridge, but that the navigation OF the river
by the Ptsburg and Cincinnati packets had been en-
tIsy supended-several OF the larger class Of boats
being unable pass the bridge at all. ......
am, very respectfully, your obedien servant.
THOMAS M. HOWE.
HoUsr OF REPRESENTATIVES,, April 20, 1882