The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-04-19
STEAMER KENNEBEC CASE.
THE OPINION JUST H4NDED DOUN
BY THE CIRCUIT COURT. Nv.

BY THE CIRCUIT COURT.
bee, Which, While Chartered by the
New Haven Steamboat Company, Ran
Into and Sank Pennsylvania Rail
road Company Coal Barge I'm New
Haven Harbor-Distrfct Courts Deci-
sion In Diminishing the Libel Sustained.
An inteesting opinion in the case of
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
: against the Steamer Kennebec has just
been handed down by the United States
Circuit Court of Appeals, second circuit,
TO which the case was appealed from
the United States District Court, east
ern district of New York, which dis
missed the libellant's libel for damages.
The opinion is by Judge Lacombe. The
steamer Kennebec, while chartered by
the New Haven Steamboat company in
October 1899, ran into and rank a load
ed coal barge owned by the Pennsyl-
wanna IetlilOdo CoHlPdIyy hSdl lHS
steamboat dock. The opinion is there
fore of considerable interest in this city
and is as follows:
The Kennebec, a large passenger and
freight steamboat, was bound from
Providence into New Haven. Her dock
lay far up the harbor at the mouth of
Quinnipiac river. Next below her dock
lie two others, known respectively as
the water dock and the coal dock, the
latter distant about three hundred and
fifty feet from the steamboat dock
From the face Of this coal dock across
to shoal water on the other side the to-
tai fairway is not over five hundred
feet wide. The hour was about 1880 a.
M, October 27, 1899, and there was a
heavy fog. From point in the harbor
off the Long wharf, five-eighths Of a
mile below the coal dock--on which
wharf the Steamboat company had sta
toned man with a horn and main
tanned a red light to aid the navigation,
of the steamer in the fog-her pilot laid
a compass course which, if no obstruc-
ton were found in the fairway, would
clear the coal dock by one hundred
feet and bring him safely to the steam
when he reached the line of the coal
dock he was one hundred feet outside
of it's face in the fairway of the chan
mel There and then he encountered IL
bellant's barge, her presence not being
disclosed to those on the steamer until
they We're almost on top Of her-barely
fifty feet off.
OF all the many instances Of careless
ness which have come before this court
since 1t was constituted, it may well be
doubted whether there has ever, been
disclosed any more gross than this,
which left the barge tied up in a narrow
fairway just short of the terminus of a
steamboat route, one hundred. feet out
from the face of dock, with no effort
on the part of any one to advise navi-
eating vessels of her whereabouts. The
way 1t came about Is as follows:
Moored to the face of the dock, which
the chart shows to be a long one, was a
barge; outside of that was fastened an
other barge and outside of that again
schooner. These We're there at night
fall on the 26th About $3.50 p. m. tug
brought five other boats to the same
place, where they were berthed one
against the other outwArdly from the
dock, the whole eight abreast, bows up
the stream, the inner one fast to the
pier, each of the others moored to the
boat next inshore as if such boat was a
part of the pier. By adding up their
respective widths, it appears that they
thereby practically thrust the face of
the dock, itself lawful obstruction to
the extent of it's own superficies and its
seven feet out into the fairway. In it.
self this would seem to manifest a wan
ton and reckless disregard Of the rights
of others; it was aggregated by an
equal lack or ordinary common sense in
caring for the lives and property thus
exposed. AS was stated before, it was
foggy night, had thickened consider
ably after midnight. There had been
some feeble efforts to show lights (they
will be referred to later) which the fog
rendered abortive; all of the men in
charge of the respective boats were in
bed, some asleep, others listening to the
various sounds which told them other
vessels were navigating, The repre-
sentative of the owner of the coal dock, |
a Waterman, was there; he allowed the |
vessels to tie up in the manner de- |
scribed. Indeed, vessels had often done |
so before, the owner of the dock appa- |
rently finding it more profitable to ac-
commodate boats seeking berths by ap-
propriating the public thoroughfare to
its individual use than by building an
other dock. Complaints of this abuse
had been made frequently before, and
on this very night, long before the Ken
nebec arrived, complaint was again
made-to the watchman-of the manner
in which these eight boats We're
berthed. Neither the Waterman nor
any other employees of the owner of the
coal dock made any attempt whatever
to give worning through the fog to YES
sells coming up the fairway that such
owner was appropriating large part of
the channel to its private use that even
ing, and was SO operating its dock as to
maintain what might fairly be called a
in the highway of COM
merce
AS to the presence of any lights on
the berthed boats the testimony is con-
flicting and not persuasive Even ac-
cepting the testimony offered by libel
DERIVATION OF GRAPE NUTS.
Contains Meth or Grapes Nor Nuts.