Evening journal., 1896-10-03
OPINION OF A WATERMAN.
WHAT WILL FOLLOW CEAsELESS
DUMPING OF MUD INTO THE
WESTERN CHANNEL.


WESTERN CHANNEL.
To the Editor Of the Evening Journal.
Sir. / am more than pleased that
your paper has constituted itself a
champion Of the rights of Delaware
and of the citizens of the state. / re
fer TO the unwarranted and OutrageOu
act of making our waterway the dump
ing ground of any or all mud dredged
from the river within the Jurisdiction
of the State of Pennsylvania. Does the
marine engineering Of to-day consist Of
deepening one channel at the expense
OF another in q different state-and
that other the original channel to the
sea? Why should all these hundreds
of thousands OF cubic feet of debris
from Schooner Ledge be transported
miles to be dumped almost in the
mouth of the Delaware and Chesa-
peake canal? Why place it there Of
all places unless there is a method in
this engineering madness?" What a
hue and cry there would be If the shoe
were one the other foot, and Delaware
mud were to be hauled and dumped in
or near the mouth of the Schuylkill.
What would the staid and even tenn
pered citizens of the city of BrOtherly
, Love say TO such an exhibition of ex-
treme seliishness on the part of the
little State of Delaware? Baked in
the attempted shutting up of some Of
the tributary streams below Delaware
, City, by means of certain proposed
dikes or jetties which are supposed to
deepen the channel adjacent to which
they are placed say supposed to
deepen the adjacent channel while the
fact is, in regard to the Finn's Point
jetty that instead OF deepening the
eastern channel, the lead line shows an
extra depth Of from four to six feet in
the western. Can it be possible that
this reckless dumping of mud in the
western channel is merely to cover up
an error of judgment on the part of
certain eminent engineers who located
the jetty at Finns Point? 1t may be
this. or 1t may be Gas has been sug-
gested), that Philadelphia does not
want anything in the way Of a ship
canal that would let in an out the
ships of all nations to the enterprising
port of Baltimore.
It is rather late in the day to prevent
the evil already done, but not too late
to put a stop to the evil that can and
will be done If this transfer of Penn
sylvania mud and rock goes on much
lONEtI. DNlili1 after lNC Uirl lOuu tl
mud was deposited, Senator Gray was
appealed to in the form of a protest
by the shad fishermen and others of
this city. They protested, and are now
wondering where that paper has got
ten, as nothing has been heard from
it, It is q matter of small consequence
TO some great men whether a portion
of any community is injured i'm it's le-
gitimate business or not. The shad
fishing brings thousands of dollars into
this town. and now the principal fish
ing ground for our fishermen is ruined
and a thing of the past The other
available grounds are monopolized by
the citizens of New Jersey, and If the
fisheries laws are not put in better
shape the shad net will be cast from
but few boats hailing from this port.
Hoping that the publicity you have
given the above matter may be pro
ductive of good, ] remain
Yours truly,
WATERMAN.
! New Castle October 2, 1896.