The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-22
MUST HAVE IT.
Congress Must Deepen Portland
IIarbOr.
DECIDED ACTION BY THE BOARD
OF TRADE.


OF TRADE.
Prominent Men Speak in No Uncertain
Tones-The Resolution Says Thirty Feet
$3.50. 0OO-very Interesting and tntha-
siastic Meeting.
At the special meeting of the Board q
Trade yesterday to consider the question
of deepening the harbor. President Wins.
low read the following resolution drawn
up by the committee:
To the Officers aud Mem bers of Portland
Board of Trade:
Your committee appointed at the last
annual meeting of the Board TO investi.
gate the needs of Portland harhor to ao-
commodate the commerce of the port
with the steadily increasing size OF YES.
sells; after general consultation with
persons having full knowledge Of the To-
cation and extent of needed improve
ments of the harbor at present required
as a transatlantic shipping port, would
respectfully recommend the adoption of
the following preamble and resolves by
this Board:
Whereas, The great change in ocean
traffic, resulting from the substitution OF
steam for sailing vessels. and especially
from the great increase in the size Of
steamships, makes it impossible for our
harbOr to offer the facilities REQUIRED BY
these modern vessels
And whereas, this condition has be-
come so serious, that with the exception
OF the facilities afforded by few
wharves in the lower harbor, we are shut
off from any further sharee in this most
desirable class of business, and in conse-
quence our harbor, which is almost with
out its equal for ease of access, and its
sheltered condition, is losing it's opporl
tunity for business and the reputation it
has so long enjoyed, therefore it is
Resolved, By the Portland Board of
Trade that this obstacle to the growth
of business requires that the area in front
of the wharves In the upper harbor
should. with as little delay as possible,
be dredged to such depth as will allow
the largest vessels to reach the wharves
and docks in this section of the harbor
Resolved, That in the opinions of this
Board this area of deep water should hc
SO enlarged as to give not less than one
thousand feet In width and a uniform
depth of thirty feet at low water.
Resolved, That we respectfully urge
upon the government tho early execution
of this work as a measure of great i'm
portance to this city and state.
E. B. WINSLOW,
GEO. S. HUNT,
CHAS. H. CHASE.
Special Committee of tho Board of
Trade
From information and estimates that
your committee has obtained from re-
ports and those oonversant with such
work, it is believed that the sum of $780,
600 will be required for the consumma-
ton of this most important work, and
therefore be it voted that the Board of
Trade request our representative from
the First district. and our delegation in
Congress to use all efforts that may deem
requisite to bring this matter to sue
cessful conclusion.
On motion of Mr. Hunt it was voted
that the above be added to the pream BILE
and resolutions.
He also read the following letter to
Collector Deering:
Portland, Me-, Jan. goth, 1896.
Hon. John W. Deering, Collector OF Gus
toms, Portland, Me.
Dear Sir:-In reply to your enquiry
we have the pleasure to inform you that
the length of our longest vessel coming
IL
The deepest draft iss27 feet 9 inches We
are now building much larger vessel,
longer and broader than Rnthing we now
have. and we hope to see her here next
season. In order to accommodate her the
railway will have to lengthen their
wharves and this is now under discus
sion. We think it very important there
should be plenty of water, 1000 feet, from
Calls and Atlantic wharves, as the
steamers always come in between these
two wharves end require q good deal of
room to dock. The steamers now being
built are mostly twin screws, and if they
should back on to q bank in docking it
might prove a very serious matter We
are glad to have this opportunity of Civ
ing you the above information.
Yours truly,
+ DAVID TORRENCE AND AGENTS.
General Manager John B. Colye of the
Boston, New York and International
Steamship lines. was called upon to
speak and said that he was in sympathy
with the movement for deepening the
harbor. During the past year the Man
haitian and Cottage City In coming out
of the dock at low tide had touched bot
tom several times at point about five
hundred feet from the end of the wharf.
They sounded and found it but fifteen
feet at low water. The steamers draw,
when loaded, seventeen feet. They find it
necessary to follow the channel close to
the Grand Trunk wharves ~
Monday afternoon the St. Croix came
in at g. 80 and run in close to the
wharves, although it was nearly high
tide.
In the upper harbor she takes the bot
tom, stirs up the mud and drags on the
bottom at low tide.
The ST. Croix draws seventeen feet OF
water and it is impossible for her to pass
up and down the harbor at the lowest
tides without touching bottom.
He declared that the companies he
represented would be glad to cooperate
with the Board of Trade in any efforts
they might make. They we're now in
tending to build another coastwise steam.
err that would be of 1000 tons burden,
nearly double that of the new st. Croix