The herald., 1896-12-31
tawgood Has Some Valuable Statistical
Information Also
The Southern Pacific Railroad Has a Con-
tempt for Petitions
One Plan or Nothing for Santa Monica,
While San Pedro Offers -Four
Alternative Plans for
Breakwater.

As far as the public is concerned.winds
and waves, swells and tides. sea slopes,
holding grounds ard up shore currents
are things of TIE past. The crowd that
has filled the assembly hall OF the cham
Der of commerce during tEe past eight
days, listening to the testimony with
tense eagerness can now resume its
usual occupations, no wiser than when
the public hearing began as to where
the deep sea harbor will be located.
Policeman Heacock. who has stood
guard at the door--just what for has
not yet appeared-.is relieved of that
duty, whatever may have been the sup
passed necessity The stenogra pliers,
whom Mr.. Gibbon almose demoralized
on Tuesday with his rapid enurciation.
folded their books and picked up their
pencils with a sigh of relief when Ad-
iniral Walker announced at / o'clock
yesterday that the testimony was all
in and the board would adjourn sine die
CORTHELL AGAIN ENUNCIATES.
The first person to take the floor
in defense of Santa Monica's claims was
Engineer Corthell, who objected first to
Mr.. Moores calling the bay a blight"
That term, he claimed. would be ap-
piled to funnel shaped body of water
ZIP which tides chase. and could be more
properly applied to San Pedro. AT San
Pedro the mean range of spring tides
is 20 per cent higher than at Santa Mon
lea, low tides being the same. In other
words. the difference is two-tenths of
foot in time, about two minutes. Last
Sunday he was at Port Los Angeles
observing the tide, and had observations
taken at the same time in San Pedro
with the above mentioned result.
Referring to the statements of Messrs.
Moore and Hawgood concerning the
want of room at Santa Monica, Mr.. Cor
thell failed to see what possible objec-
tion there could be against the entrance
to a breakwater three-quarters OF a mile
wide. Were there breakwater at such
place, he asked, would not vessels
obliged to run for shelter prefer a. de-
tached breakwater at Port Los Ange-
les than to go to San Pedro?
Mr.. Corthell quoted from the report
of the government engineers in 1892 to
prove that Professor Davidson and
General Alexander had the sand move
nlent in mind. and We're evidently con-
WINGED of the necessity for two openings
in the breakwater to provide for such
movement. Coming now to the sea slope,
about which so much has been said. he
maintained that 1t is a fact we'll known
to mariners all over the world that
brealkwater in deep water is more de-
structive than in shallower water. Quo
tations for a book entitled Wrinkles in
Navigation, by Captain Leckey, were
given to prove this contention
This extract described peculiar condi-
tions existing along the coast of India
at Bombay. at Lisbon, at the mouth of
the river Tagus, which, compared with
conditions existing at San Pedro, show
that the latter are worse than those in
existence on the Malabar coast.
Referring to the requisites for COM
mercial harbor he opportunely asked
whether these cannot be secured as we'll
at Port Los Angeles as at San Pedro.
If it would cost S4Ot, 900 to make suf1i-
GENTLY deep channel at San Pedro. would
not the cost of the whole harbor exceed
the appropriation? In thus querying
the speaker suggested that the board
make its own estimates He could not
figure out less amount, when the build
ing of a mile and half of heavy jetties
is required. To deepen at Deadman's s
island from thirteen to eighteen faith
oms. according to Benyard's statement,
1t will be necessary to remove 81 900 cubic
yards of material. Mr.. Corthell hopes
the board will take Mr. Hawgood's esti-
mate of the cost For some years En-
gineer Corthell has written the explana-
tory passages on river and harbor work
for Johnson's s encyclopedia, including the
Suez and Nicaragua canals and other
important pieces of engineering, and,
therefore, considers himself qualified to
Judge of the cost Of such work
ENGINEER HAYWOOD TAKES rs
SUE.
Mr.Hawgoodc contended that undercer-
tain condition, twenty-five feet is suffi-
cient depth for a harbor, and referred to
Portland, Or, which is situated up a riv-
er, andmaintained that depth is not suit
able for harbor on the sea coast. The
speaker gave some data regarding what
was required in other harbors. At Liver
pool there is a large dredger constantly
at work deepening the channel, in order
that vessels may leave New York and
go into Liverpool without delay. At
Baltimore a project is now under way to
obtain a DEPTH of thirty feet At Annapo-
lis, Nd, there is twenty-eight feet. At
boston the depth they now have is
twenty-eight feet, and is entirely mad
equate for the business of the citv A.
galveston, Tex, dredger is at work
to obtain depth of thirty feet. The Eads
jetties at New Orleans, with which the
speaker is familiar are entirely made
Quate for the business of New Orleans
which is hampered for want of water. 1t
is at disadvantage with Baltimore and
other points. and will have to be i'm
proved within the next five years.
The Suez canal, which once had n1en+v
Of water, must be deepened, and Mr.
Menceal, in his report on the Nicaragua
canal, urged that there must not be a
point less than thirty feet deep.
The tendency nowadays is toward. the
building of vessels of larger draught
One had recently left Boston drawing
thirty-One feet, and the only wav in
which large vessels can be navigated
there is by going out of port on high tide.
In regard to the sand drift, the speak
er stated that drift is likely to- happen
in any harbor on a sandy shore. Several
points were mentioned al which the fore
shores of the harbors have been widened
to their injury, to obviate the drift.
CORTHELL GROWS ELOQUENT
Mr.. Corthell showed the board on the
map that the sand drifts and spits move
with the wind. On the eastward side