The record-union., 1896-05-27

ing to do with the wind. 1t is to stop the
waves, and that is the only purpose.
The only necessity in the bay of Santa
Monica for any protection whatever
comes from the southwest wave line.
For the three years the pier has been
there, there never yet has been any
damage done it, because there has not
happened during that time any heavy
southeast gales, or southwest WIND at
sea, and southwest wave line. But 1t Is
liable to take place any hour OF time.
It is liable to take place when 5O ships
are lying in this open roadstead Qnd1-
cating), and If it did every ship would
go ashore For two or three years there
had been no dangerous wrecks in the
harbor of Apia, but one day there were
scores of men-of- war lying there, gale
came up, and hundreds OF lives were
lost, and several ships were driven
ashore Harbor protection is not for
fair weather; it is not for ordinary wea-
ther; it is against extraordinary wea-
ther; and because these three years
have passed and there has been no ex-
traordinary weather it is not, as the
Senator from Missouri says, an argu-
ment against the necessity Of protec-
tion at all Tomorrow, or week from
now, when great ships are lying there,
that terrible southwest gale sweeping
across the great Pacific may bring in
enormous waves and drive every ship
ashore. sacrificing property and human
life.
Here to the right is Point Firmin
indicating Here, at that point Gndi-
cating), is where the first board started
its breakwater, running it out two or
three thousand feet, and then leaving
an open space of 1,500 feeet, then run
ming four or five thousand feet in the
direction here shown Gndicating).
There Qndicating) is Wilmington Har-
hor.
Mr.. White-The inner harbor.
Mr. F'rye-Tt is called the inner har-
Dor; it is the inner harbor of Whining
ton which has been talked about The
h&rbOr which it is proposed to make at
san Pedro is here Gndicating) Now.
here is the remarkable fact ito be noted.
The first board of engineers found that
il a breakWater We're attached to the
shore and run eight or ten thousand
feet from shore, the harbor made by it
inside would certainly fill up with sand,
and in that Corthell and Hood concur.
SO the three army officers and the
two civil engineers agree that If a
breakwater is SO attached and ex-
tended from the shore the harbor will
fill up. What did the first board do?
They provided for that reach of break
water, then an open space of 800 feet
right in the harbor, then a breakwater
fy7rr off ind
ing). Which is the direction of the
southwest winds? There it is; Senators
can all see it. Exactly straight in to
the 1,500 feet the first board of army
officers left open. Is there any safety
in that harbor? Can any ship lie there
in a heavy southeast sale when south
west waves are coming in?
How happened it that the army board
of engineers made such a blunder? 1t
happened simply because they did not
know that a southeast gale on shore
was accompanied by a southwest wave
line from the ocean. That is all. They
made a profound mistake because they
did not make the necessary inquiry.
There is not a Senator on this floor who
does not know that they made a mis-
take. There is not a Senator here who
cannot see that if they had made it on
purpose to receive the southwest wave
line they could not have placed it in
any better position. There it is, right
straight in Qndicatng).
Mr.. Mitchell of Oregon-Is there any
dispute about that matter?
Mr. Frye-Oh, no; that is the exact
location of the breakwater. This is an
exact map in every respect. There is
no undertaking to cheat or defraud
anybody about this matter in any di-
rection on either side that I know Of
Mr. Stewart-Do they now admit that
1t would be a failure?
Mr. Frye-They never have been
asked. I do not think they would admit
it, but every Senator here who is in my
hearing and in sight of this map knows
that il was an absolute failure.
Now, the second board (whether they
had ever found out the mistake I doubt)
started theirs from the shore and fol-
lowed it right out to the end of the
breaI1waiter without any break in it.
They disagreed entirely, you viii see,
from the first board, because the first
beard said a breakwater of that kind
would fill up with sand. The second
board say. as a matter of course, lit will
not fill up with sand, because they
made their plan of a breakwater from
the pier outward without any break in
it Did they know anything about the
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