The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1898-03-25
From Our Correspondent,

Flag-Hawaiian Annexation.
From Our Correspondents
The drydock bulb, which has been III
the legislative dollhouse for some tline'
threatening TO die, has been showing
good deal of vegetation this week. aho
has reached such a state of growth thaI
it has been transplanted into open ar
where it now has five full blossoms IN
the shape of docks at Portsmouth, bos-
ton. League island, AlgierS ana Mare
island.
Time brings many changes, but such
quick changes as the recent war scare
has wrought seems hardly credible III
washington. Only a little While ago II
would have been impossible to nave Sc
cured from congress such liberal ap-
propriations as are now being daily rec
commended for this, that and the othef
thing. The naval committee seems TO
have taken the lead in this generosity.
Three battlcships, at $6,OOO,OO each' ana
the amount which these five new DOCKS
will require, is no bagatelle, and yet this
is only one small Illustration.
So far as new England is concerned,
she will get two docks, one at Boston ana
one at Portsmouth. All of these newly
authorized structures will be conducted
on the lines laid down by the so-called
Bunce, report, the members OF winch
board only a short time since maze
very exhaustive examination into the
subject.
While the board made no recommend
alton for Portsmouth, on account OF the
fact that this yard is exposed to gun
fire from sea, and is situated on river
whose tidal currents are very strong
and whose channel is tortuOus, the pow
ers that be are so influential here that
unless Portsmouth yard was included
for new dock, it's friends would fight
the Boston project, and so the
friends of the latter place, in order to
get a dock for the Hub, had to pat their
New Hampshire brethren on the back.
The dock at the Portsmouth yard, being
practically on the dividing line between
Maine and New Hampshire, has, there
fore, the strong support of not only the
Maine delegation in congress, but also
that of the New Hampshire contingent,
which is not to be shifted at especially
when Boutelle of the former state is
chairman of the house naval committee,
and Hale of Maine holds the same posi-
ton on the senate committee, both all
important committee assignments in
regard to drydock legislation.
And So in the omnibus provision that
was this week made for drydocks, Ports
mouth got in because it was thought
that if she was not tackled on she would
fight Boston, where really dock is
urgently needed. A contest between two
New England cities would lead the rest
of the country's representatives to say:
well. if New England cannot unite, she
had better wait until she can agree.
And so, as a strategic move, Portsmouth
was included, and will get dock as well
as Boston by the coming authorization.
In nutshell, what the Bunce board
recommends for Boston is concrete
dock. length available for docking $50
feet long, 80 feet wide at the sill, with
depth of 80 feet of water over sill and
keel blocks at half tide. The sides of
the entrance should be vertical, with
sliding caisson, Withdrawing into spe-
cial pocket on one side, as is the most
recent practice. 1t will take about two
years to build such dock, and the cost
will be 81, 100000.
The Bunce report, so-called, states,
under the paragraph in relation to Bos-
ton:
dock should be dredged out to permit
vessel to enter"
1t will be remembered that this matter
has already received attention at the
hands of the government. In the river
and harbor act of 1896, Congressman
Barrett had inserted a provision for a
survey of Boston harbor, with view to
securing a channel 1900 feet wide and
80 feet deep, from the navy yard to the
entrance of the present main ship chan
mel and from the main ship channel in
President roads through Broad sound
channel. This covers the point referred
to in the Bunce report and the next river
and harbor bill will doubtless carry a
provision for beginning work on the sur
vey mentioned, so that the desired
depth of water will be available as soon
as the new dock is ready for occupancy
by vessels.
The new Boston dock is to cost more
than any of the other five provided for
The one at Portsmouth will probably
be smaller and less expensive, the one al
Philadelphia will be an enlargement OF
the present very commodious structure
the one at Algiers will be a new stee
dock, to cost about $750000, and to be
ready in about 10 months; while the one
at Mare island will be 500 feet long, 25C
feet shorter than the Boston dock, and
will cost 81 ,000 900, and will be ready fol
use in about two years.
1t will be seen, therefore, that the
proposition as laid out now, gives Boston
the best and largest dock. The Bunct
report says that at Boston are found al
the requisites of a site for drydock
and additional protection against CUR
fire can be readily secured by mine fields
covered by batteries at Winthrop poin
and to it's northward
The present dock at Boston was COM
pleted June "a, 1888, at a cost of $677, O89
and was extended during 1S57-1S6O at {
cost of 1929, 900. The repairs on it from
1866 to 1897, charged to the dock proper
amount to So, OO1, or an average of abou
$500 per annum.
The Portsmouth dock was completed
in 1851. and cost $431, 1926 and about 1888,
600 have been spent on it since.
. Both the Boston and Portsmouth
docks are now practically obsolete, 81
far as handling our large war vessels i
concerned, and the acquisition of new
and modern structures will be srea
boon to the respective localities as wei