San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-05-20
HE WANTS TO KNOW WHAT
KIND OF A HARBOR
IS WANTED.
As Soon As He Receives His Answer
He Will Immediately Begin
The Work Of Construct
ing The Place Of Refuge
For Vessels.

" eNAAJ &toy AL
ger has made response to the Senate
resolution calling for statement as
to what has been or is about to be
done with reference to making con-
tracts for the improvement Of San
Pedro Harbor, Cal.
The secretary submits the whole
subject to Congress for further in
struction as to it's purpose-whether
to create simply a harbor of refuge or
one of refuge and commerce. The sec
rotary cites the action of the Walker
board in deciding to expend all of the
appropriation Of $2,950,OOO upon a
breakwater and then states his position
as follows:
The department has had many impa-
tient inquiries as to when the. work
Will be advertised and while there is
no disposition to retard. the matter a
day the difficulty presented is always
the same, i. e. what was the intent of
Congress, when it made this appropri-
alton, for habor for commerce and
refuge"
The report shows clearly that the en-
tire appropriation and more will be re-
quired for the breakwater, and that
to make a harbor for commerce large
additional sums will be required, the
exact amount of which is largely con-
lecture on account of there being the
possibility of rock to excavate instead
of salt and sand, but taking for grant
ed that no rock exists, the chief en-
gineer has by the secretary's direction
and from all information there is in
the department, made two approx
mate estimates for completing the har-
Dor for commerce according to the
plans suggested by the board. The
secretary says:
1T is believed by me that a harbor
covering 800 acres, or half a mile by
a mile in area-where ships can be
towed in, moored, towed from one dock
to another, winded or turned around,
etc.-would be the least that could be
considered.
First estimate: Based on report of
the board is for deeping the channel
to the inner harbor, thirty feet with a
width of 400 feet and construction of
two suitably designed timber pierce To-
Gated at a safe distance on either side
of the jetty entrance and carried out
to a five fathom curve to accommo-
date vessels whose draught would pre-
vent their entrance to the inner har-
Dor to be used during completion of i'm
provements in inner harbor.; dredg-
ing from cetral channel to piers to 30
feet in depth, $4,000 feet of bulkhead
for wharfage, s2,47s,0OO; cost of break
water $2,9O1, 1877; total $5,3S0,7S7.
This plan has the Objectionable
feature of the destruction of the piles
by the toredo unless creosoted, besides
the disadvantage of it's exposure to
fire as in the case of those wharves
where steamers are moored alongside
and engines are run upon them.
The second plan is to dredge in the
lagoon and excavate a space of practi-
cally 800 acres, half mile in area and
here the estimate is largely guess
work. Several islands will have to be
removed in the maps and it is pos
sible that there may be rocks to blast
and remove. But an estimate has
been made to give 80 feet of water
for this area where an average cut
of 20 feet will be required and for this
inner harbor with dredging of the
channel into the same, the estimate is
50, 175,00O The cost of the breakwater
will be 1901, 7S7, making the total cost
for the breakwater and inner harbor
S. 176, 7S7. The question is, shall the
expenditure of $4,000 be made for the
breakwater or harbor of refuge, leav-
ing the harbor for commerce for fu-
ture exchange and appropriation?
From my construction of the law,
have. not yet been justified in COM
mencing the work without fully under
standing what the intent of Congress
was when the law was enacted. If it
was and is the intent of Congress the
work on the breakwater shall be ad-
vertised and the appropriation ex-
pended for that alone and the matter
shall receive immediate attention. If
not / hope such instructions will be
given as shall leave no doubt as to
what the duties of the War department
| are in the matter"