Daily Los Angeles herald., 1882-01-15
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
Important Meeiing Wilmington Harbor-
Memorial to Congress Adopted.

|
Memorial to Congress Adopted.
Parsuant to call, a meeting of
the Board of Directors of the Los
Angeles Chamber of Commerce
was held at the Council Cham bers
yesterday afternoon, full quorum
being present.
| In the absence OF Mr.. j. de Barth
Shorb, President of the Chamber,
Mr.. M. Dodsworth was called to the
chair.
DR.. Wldney, at the request of
of the Chair, stated that the OBJ.
ject of the meeting was to adopt
a memorial 10 Congress urging
upon that body the speedy COM
pletion of the work thus fer so sue
cessfully prosecuted by the Gov
eminent for the improvement of
Wilmington Harbor. He then
submitted the following memo rial
to Congress, prepared by the Citi.
zens Harbor Committee and the
Harbor Committee OF the Cham.
Der of Comm cree:
MEMORIAL
To the Honorable, the Senators
and the Representatives of the
United States at Washington.
GENTLEMEN:-In view of the
urgent need of more rapid prose-
cution of the harbor improvements
at Wilmington, Los Angeles coun-
ty, California, We the Citizens
Harbor Committee, and the Cham.
Der of Commerce, OF Los Angeles,
together with the other siguers OF
this.memorial, would respectfully
present to you the following state.
ment and petition AID we would
most earnestly call your attention
to 1T, and ask your careful coDsida
Grafton of the facts as presented.
First-Until the com pletion of
this work Of harbor Improvement
at Wilmington the California
coast from San Diego to San Fran
cisco remains without q single port
of refuge for shipping in stOrms,-l
nothing but open roadsteads for |
distance of five hundred miles.
Second-The roadstead of San
Pedro, lying without the bar of
Wilmington harbor has been for
a quarter of century, and must |
always be the commercial outlet of |
a large portion of Southern Cali.
fornia and Arizona. The freight
received and shipped through 1t
has steadily increased from au az
gregate OF 6,3ll tons in the year
1858 to l43, $40 tons for the year
1881, aud is rapidly growing with
each year. Our grain vessels are
laden at this port directly for
Europe. The passenger move-
ments through the port for the year
reach a total Of 9,7O5; arrivals of
sea-going vessels. steamers, ITO;
sailing vessels, 1877, making an ag-
gregale OF 357 arrivals of ships dur.
Ing the year. These vessels come
from, and depart for all parts of
the world Duties collected upon
foreign merchandise for the year,
$48. $50.
Third-To meet two wants, viz:
the creation of q harbor of refuge,
and the accommodation of tue rap.
idly increasing commerce of the
port, the United States Govern
ment, after three careful and ex-
haustive surveys, commenced the
work of developing Wilmington
harbor. So far, q total of $50, 1000
has been appropriated. With this
money q breakwater 8, ZOO feet in
length has been cOnstructed-the
outer 1900 feet of it only, however,
to the level of low tide. The plan
Of the government engineers re
quires that this should be carried :
above the level of hige tide-and
ship channel ten feet deep at low
tide, and $50 feet wide, has been
dredged through the bar.
Fourth-The object of the works
now ia process of construction ut
Wilmington is not the making of
an artificial harbor, but simply to
clear q channel through the bar,
and give entrance to q harbor al.
ready existing. This harbor,
within the bar, is completely Iasd.
locked and sheltered from storms.
1t has q ship channel several miles
in length, with a depth a. low tide
of 2e feet at its lower end, shoaling
after some two miles to 16 feet. It
has ample space already for the &C.
commodation of several hundred
vessels at one time, and by the i'm
provement Of it's side channels
could accommodate twice the num-
ber. For an idea of it's extent and
capabilities We refer you to the ao-
cOmPanying map, but would state
that the channel has been much
improved and deepened since the
map was made. We also refer you
to the reports and surveys of the
engineers, now on file In the War
Department.
Fifth-When the work was com.
msnced the bar had upon 1t only
eighteen inches of water at low
tide. It is now deepened to ten
feet by the work already done. The
engineers in charge say that
depth Of at least seventeen feet
may be opened through the bar,
and they further state that all
work dOue is permanent, rs the
tide will keep open the channel
when once cleared.
Sixth The ohanuel as now
opened, although 1t is alrdsdy OF
great use, is still too shallow and
too harrow for the needs of the
commerce of the port, all the
heavier vessels having still TO lie
without the bar ia the open road.
stead, exposed to storms, and
transshipping their freight by a
tedious and expensive system Of
lightersge. AT times communi-
cation il entirely cut off with the
shore, and vessels are frequently