The New York herald., 1879-08-24
Protection OF the Harbor-Shan the
Laws he Enforced

|
tugboat Frank Pidgeon towed through the
Narrows two scows loaded with street
refuse, and about an hour later the con-
tents of these scows were dumped quar-
| ter of a mile southeast of Buoy No. l6,
mile or less off Norton's beach at Coney
Island, and nearly three miles from the
point at which authority has been given to
dump this refuse. At the time this dump
was effected the food tide had just begun
to run, so that all that portion OF the filth
dumped which was not heavy enough TO
tall Immediately to the bottom and remain
| there as an obstruction was washed land
ward to the seaside resorts or into the
upper bay and toward the city. Ap-
parently this tugboat is regularly in the
police service-part of the machinery OF the
| Street Cleaning Bureau.
On the same day, but little later, the
tug U. S. Grant towed four scow loads of
similar material to point about half mile
east of the above described spot, and there
| these scows also were dumped. about
mile from Coney Island beach and three
inside theauthorized limit for dumps, and,
of course on the full run of the incoming
tide. But a short time later the tug Arctic
dumped one scow load on the East Bank,
few hundred yards southeast Of where the
U. S. Grant had dumped Jour- Apparently
both these tugs are in the police service,
for it has been proposed in the Board of
Police to discipline the commander of the
U. S. Grant for the above described act,
though why one captain should be singled
out of three is not clear.
On Sunday, August II, the tugboat
Alanson Sumner towed eight scows loaded
with mud dredged from the river bottom
near the city to point about quarter of
mile southwest of Buoy 16 and in the chan
mel on line from that buoy to the hospital
| ship, and the contents of the scows were
dumped there. An expert says of the mud,
such as was dumped from these scows, that
it weighs two hundred pounds to the cubic
yard that it goes to the bottom like lead
and there from it's weight and tenacity,
clings in shoals By fair estimate, there
fore, three hundred tons of permanent OBJ
struction went into the channel in that one
dump. The Alanson Sumner is in the SER
| vice of the Union Dredging Company,
which has a contract with the Dock Depart
ment, and she was at the time under the
| command Of Mr.. Thomas Dobbie.
These are facts observed by HERALD re-
| porters, written out and printed in simple
detail precisely as they occurred. How
often similar acts have been done in the
upper bay may be inferred from the map
we give to-day, which exhibits the conse-
quences.
cast any dead animals, carrion, offal or
other putrid or offensive matter into the
New York Bay or into Raritan Bay, within
the jurisdiction of this State. The law does
not say that it shall be unlawful to cast
such things into the bay at one point and
lawful to cast them in at another. 1t i'm
plies and intends that all such substances
taken down the bay to be dumped shall be
carried so far seaward before DUN ping as to
be clearly out of the State limits-out Of
any water that may fairly be called the
harbor or bay of New York. And that is
sufficient answer to Captain Hedden, the
Superintendent of the Bureau of Street
| Cleaning, who is reported rs saying that. at
the time the captain Of the tugboat U. S.
Grant dumped his scows, as above
stated, he had right to do
so, as that was then within the
limit allowed for dumps. Mr.. Hedden
ought to be more familiar with the laws
that relate to his duty. That point was
not within the limit allowed for dumps,
and could not be within the limit; for no
person whatever, Shore Inspector, Police
Commissioner or anybody else has any
right to give authority 10 dump there, be-
cause such authority would be in clear
contravention of the statute, and the PER-
son giving il would simply make himself
party to the violation of the law, and the
permission would be u nullity. We doubt
even if the Shore Inspectors permission to
dump at buoy No. is valid; Tor all water
westward of line from Sandy Hook TO
Rockaway is, we believe, within the limits
forbidden by the statute, and the statute
declares that this official shall give no per-
NIT Inconsistent with the first section of
| this act" But that point does not come
up just here.
Every violation of the statute to which
we refer is made misdem eanor, and .'any
person offending against the provisions Of
this act" is made liable to double penalty
to .'imprsonmentf for term of not less than
six months and to u fine OF not less than five
hundred dollars" and he may be arrested
by the authorities of New York, Kings,
Richmond or Westchester county. But
the offender is not thus loosely left to the
possible attention of county authorities,
who may be concerned with primary elec-
ton q party convention or some other
absorbing pursuit from which they cannot
of law that has no money in it. On tho