The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-01-04
THE OAK BAY CANAL
Text of the Adverse Report of
Captain Symons.
roo FEW WILL BE BENEFITED.
Puget sound Gun Factory Probable
Ordnance Required for Washing
ton and the Pacific Coast.

WAsHIsGTos CITY. Jan. Especial l.
captain Symons, engineer in charge, in
his report TO the secretary of war gives at
length his reasons for Directing to the con-
sfruction of ship canal between Port
Townsend bay, Puget sound and Oak bay.
As bis report will in all probability settle
the matter for some time TO come il is
worth while to give what he says. at least
the principal part. The report is as fol-
lows:
"A there is no existing channel between Port
Townsend bay and Oak bay there can be no
question as to its being worthy OF improvement
ne project is TO make q channel where none
exists, and the preliminary report which have
been called upon TO make has, infer, for its OBJ
leet 70 enable dec sion 20 be arrived at as to
whether this ship channel is needed for the pre-
sent and prospective demands OF commerce. and
what public necessity or convenience may be
subseryed thereby. The western boundary CT
fort townsend bay Is the mainland, and the
eastern is peninsula which. in all probability,
WIS once an island. but which is now united to
the mainland by q low gravel ridge
A ship channel TO connect the two bays might
be OF considerable importance in time OF war
with n naval power.
II the channel were made IL win be of some
convenience in the local navigation OF the west
ern portion of Puget sound, which centers at
Port Townsend. IL would enable q smaller
class OF vessels TO run from Hoods canal 70 Port
ION0seDu ali the year IMAM can Go TX at present.
and il would be convenient for towing RATS of
logs from the south to the Hadiock mill " hen
the weather was too rough 10 allow them 10 be
towed around the Marrowstone point with
am constrained to the opinion that the com
nierce which would be benefited by the pro-
posed ship canal il, and viii be for some time,
very limited, end not at all commensurate
with the cost of opening and maintaining the
canal Nearly ell the commerce centering at
Port Townsend goes 70 the eastern, northern
-r1ssfd
not use the canal il IL were opened. That which
would use the canal could under ordinary cir
cumstances attain its desired end by going few
miles further around the peninsula into the
open end OF the bay.
The construction of q ship canal at this point
would be simple matter of excavation and the
revetment OF the banks, as the water in Port
Townsend and Oak bays are practie ally on the
same level. In considering it, maintenance,
however. Ii must be remembered that the came
pile up and conneet the mainland and island
would be at work to iii up the canal, and that
In all probability constant work would be re-
In the future il great iron and steel works are
established at irondaie, proposed, the beDe-
hts 10 be derived from the canal may justify its
being built At present cannot believe that
they viii.
The quartermaster general of the army
has informed the committee on appropria-
tons that there is an urgent necessity for
plank wagon road from Fort Candy to
Ilwaco. The Senate passed bill for this
purpose last session, and it has also been
favorably recommended by the House
committee on military affairs.
AS the telegraph has informed you, the
army board to determine as TO the adj
visibility of erecting and equipping
another gun foundry has reported in favor
of some point on the PacInc coast as the
site thereof. The act of congress under
which they worked required that estimates
for such foundry at Benicia, Cal, should
be submitted; but II can be said that the
hoard does not stand committed to the
choice of this place. although the estimate
was delivered TO congress as required.
Indeed. there is good reason for saying
that location on Puget sound meets with
much favor.
The members of the board say that the
original estimates for forti..cations on the
Paci..c coast made no provision for the
defense of Puget sound, and that it is
deemed by them expedient 10 add TO the
estimate a considerable armament for that
section.
'.The number of guns required for the defense
of Puget sound is estimated they say, "as
thirty l2ineh, thirty-ivt lo-inch and thirty five
SINH guns, and 100 I2-inch mortars."
This is pretty good proportion of all
the ordnance required for the Pacific coast
and shows l.rst of all that the Puget sound
district would not be an out of the way
place for the mandatory.
Again, the board says the foundry should
be near the source of supply of raw
materials.
The board drops the fourteen and six
teen-inch guns in It's revised estimates and
gives as equivalents for the entire PACING
coast:
Twelve-inch guns, 81; ten-inch guns,
I'D; eight-inch. AZ; total guns, go;
twelve-inch motars, go.
The board is TO make a supplemental re-
port on the site for the Paciuc coast gun
foundry. Then look out for the Puget
sound district.
The postal officials have informed con-
gress that the claims of the following post
masters in Washington have been acted
on for losses sustained by them from burg
laries and other casualties not the result
of their own carelessness: {. ID. kimball,
Mount Vernon. <97, funds lost in transit,
dismissed; Sidney :. Ford, Sharon, S22.03,
funds in transit. allowed.