The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1901-03-16
PLANK ROAD WAR
Merchants Express and
Transportation Com
pany Complains
That Passaic Is
0bstructed.
SAYS U. S. LAW is VIOLATED
Afhdavit Received By Com
missioner Whitehead
Accuses Supt. Jack
son and Harry
Sanford.
SAYS U. S. LAW is VIOLATED

Another phase of the Newark Plank
Road imbroglio was exhibited yesterday
when United States Commissioner John
Whitehead, of Newark, received an affi-
davit from Joseph II. Wood, superintend-
ent of the Merchants Express and Trans
portation Company, in which he charged
Wisconsin Jackson, superintendent of the
Plank Road Company, and Harry San
ford, an employe of the company, with
violation of the United States law passed
March 3, 1899. which prohibits the OBJ
struction of the navigable capacity of
rivers.
The specific charge is that these two in
diyiduals have obstructed the navigable
capacity of the Passaic River, by driving
certain piles and bulkheads alongside of
and on the east and west sides of the
Plank Road bridge. The affidavit sets
forth that the construction of the piles
and bulkheads has not been authorized
by the Secretary of War or the chief of
engineers of the United States Army.
There are three witnesses to the affi-
davit former Sheriff Herman Lehlbach,
w. P. Field, and Major E. II. Ruffner,
of New York, in charge of the army en-
gineering corps of this district. Lehl-
bach and Field are civil engineers. The
Papers are now in the hands of Assistant
United States District Attorneys Cort-
landt Parker, Jr., and will be forwarded
to Washington at once
Warrants for the two men were issued
yesterday afternoon, but they were not
served yesterday. 1t is probable that to-
day Jackson and Sanford will be notified
to appear before United States Commits
sioner Whitehead on Monday. At that
time they may waive examination, going
before the United States Grand Jury, or
they may elect to appear before the Com
missioner for examination, furnishing
bail
Mr.. Wood, when seen by reporter,
maintained that this latest move
in the Plank Road controversy had
nothing whatever to do with the opening
OF the draws in the river, and would have
been made just the same were the Plank
Road route to Jersey City still open to
traffic
$50 far as my actions in this matter
are concerned" said he, sit makes no
difference whether the draws are open or
shut. The company could leave the
draws open till doomsday without inf1u-
encing my action. I was appointed by
the Board of Trade one of committee
of two to look after navigation interests,
and it is simply to protect those inter-
ests, not at all to protect the interests
of traffic across the bridges, that 1 have
acted as I have. Our first steps were
taken in this matter way back in Janu-
ary, before any threat had been made
to open the draws.
'sThe simple fact is that navigation is
seriously threatened by the presence of
those piles and bulkheads in the Passaic
River, and which, we believe, have abb
solutely no right to be there. On the east
side of the Passaic River draw the open
ing was originally sixty-seven feet, and
on the west side sixty-eight feet. The
Plank Road Company narrowed the open
ings to sixty-five and sixty-six feet re-
spectively, or about two feet on each
side. The bulkheads are the abutments
of the bridge, and in front of those piles
have been driven into the river for a
width of two feet. The east side. al
though it is the narrowest, is that most
frequently used by boats passing through
the draw, as the tide, during certain
times of day, prevents the use of the
westerly opening. So any obstruction or
narrowing of this narrow channel is es-
pecially dangerous.
THE established width of all draws be-
tween Newark and New York is eighty
feet. That is to say. from long custom,
the Army engineers will not recommend
the construction of any draws of mar
rover width. The Plank Road Company
obtained no permit to build these bulk
heads and drive in the piles, which are
objectionable to the War Department no
less than to local navigation interests.
The company claims that the piles were
put there to support the old bridge. But
engineers in our employ have found that
the old bridge does not touch the piles
at all. They also found that the new
iron bridge which was built was so con-
.structed that it would of necessity be
supported by the piles. This, I think,
shows very clearly the purposes for which
they were driven into the river