The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-12-10
DRY DOCK FOR PORTLAND.
Board of Trade Committee Consider Pos
sib1e Locations.

Around the big table in the mayors
office, yesterday afternoon sat Mayor
Randall, exMayor Baxter, ex-Mayor
Libby. ex- Governor. Cleaves, Hon. Joseph
W. Symonds, Collector Deering and
Speaker Seth l.. Larrabee of the Maine
House of Representatives. This distin-
guished assemblage comprised the COM
mittee recently appointed by the Board Of
Trade to see what could be done toward
securing for Portland one of those naval
dry docks which President Mckinley
recommended in his message.
1t was the first meeting of the CON-
mittee. Upon the table lay the plans Of
the harbor. which Mr.. Baxter had
brought to the committee, explanatory of
his suggestion in relation to a filling In
of the aAts between Fish Point shore and
Pomeroy's rock which was made the SUBJ
ject of his address at the late meeting of
the board.
The committee was in session from 4.30
till O'Clock, during which time the dry
dock question was thoroughly discussed.
One of the members of the committee
called attention to the fact that Senator
Hale had introduced measure in favor
of the construction of dry dock at the
Kittary navy yard, and it was explained
that the members of the Maine delegation
are all committed to help that measure,
so that whatever is done for Portland
must be additional, not antagonistio to
the Kittery project.
Coming to a consideration of the ques-
ton of whether the Cape Elizabeth shore
or Fish Point offers better site for
dry dock, Collector Deering freely ex-
pressed his preference for the former. The
Cape shore, he said, is better adapted to
the purpose in question. The water is
deeper, there is less current and the nat
ural formation is such that dry dock
could be constructed there with less ex-
ponse and be more easily operated. When
the dredging now in progress is COM
pleted there win be depth of thirty feet
at low tide all along the harbor. The
great warship New York, which has been
anchored in this harbor twice, draws but
twenty seven feet. The old dry dock,
which long ago went into disuse, would
have to be- removed to make way for a
government dock in case one should be
located there.
After a lengthy consideration of the
matter, the committee voted to send to
the members Of the Maine delegation in
Congress a letter asking them to use
their influence to have q government ex-
amining board sent here to consider the
advantage Of Portland as location for
a naval dock.
The members of the committee also dis
cussed the feasibility of using the refuse
matter from the dredge, and they all
agreed that it is q pity to have the dredg-
ing company dump at sea material which
would help to broaden Portland's shore
frontage. At very small expense paraI-
lei rows of piles could be driven is the
flats between the shore and Pomeroy's
rock, and the refuse from the dredges
deposited there by means of pumps and q
line of.pipe laid on pontoon from the
dredge to the dumping ground. In this
way the city could acquire a valuable adj
dition to its area.
The legislative act of 1887, authorizing
improvements in Back Bay, Fore river
and Portland harbor was read by Mr..
Baxter as showing that no difficulty
would be experienced in the city's get
ting possession of the shore adjoining
the proposed dumping ground. Under
that act land skirtipg the harbor could be
appropriated by right of eminent domain,
and the harbor commissioners award
damages by agreement or arbitration.
A part of section seven applies directly
to the matter in question. 1t reads:
"Said commission may provide dump
ing ground or place Of deposit for any
materials dredged within the limits of
Portland harbor. Any person who shall
remove by dredging any material from
within the harbor limits, shall be obliged
to deposit the same where directed BY
said commission. provided, che same
dumping ground or place of deposit is
within four miles Of said city, and no OBJ
lection is made to 1t by the United States
engineer in charge Of work in Portland
harhor. This requirement. shall not ap-
ply to dredging done by authority of the
United States government -
The committee will shortly meet again
to consider this matter, as well as to 70 l.
low up the dry dock movement.
The ASSIGNMENT OF CUSTOM IN