The Jersey City news., 1902-09-13

State Commissioners After
Many Disappointment
Will Provide New
Boat.
HAVE SECURED THE CIPHER
How They Lost Two Other
Craft History of Present
Negotiations.

Alter Sefeidl ulSdppOlutLAeuto dhu w
lays, the State Oyster Commissioners
now feel reasonably certain of success
in the carrying out of theire plan for a
steam patrol boat to assist in the guard
ing of the oyster beds in Maurice River
Cove and Delaware Bay. The boat that
will be used for the purpose, unless some
unforeseen obstacles interpose, is the
Cypher, a converted private yacht for
merly owned by resident of New Lon
don, Conn. While the purchase of the
boat needs the Governors approval of
the contract and the actual payment OF
the cash to complete the sale, the Com
missioners have little doubt of the trans
action being completed and are now haV-
ing the craft equipped with dynamos and
searehlight apparatus at New London.
1t is expected that the Cypher will be in
commission on the oyster grounds within
another month.
Arrangements for the operation of the
new patrol boat, which will probably be
rechristened with another name when it
arrives in Jersey waters, We're considered
by the Oyster Commissioners when they
met at Maurice River Thursday. At
present the States oyster navy consists
of four oyster schooners and a gasolene
launch, the Bay. The sailing vessels
patrol the oyster grounds and the Bay
is used chiefly by Richard L. Howell,
the supervising engineer, and the oyster
superintendent, Captain A. L. Bacon, III
surveying and other official work. With
the arrival of the new power boat the
Bay will be sold and one OF the sailing
vessels will be put out of commission.
BEGINNING OF NEGOTIATIONS.
Provision for the purchase of a steam
patrol boat was made by the Legislature
in the oyster appropriation last winter.
Under the law the purchase had to be
approved by the Governor. The neces-
SHY for the steamboat was impressed
upon Governor Murphy when he went
down to make an Official inspection OF the
oyster beds last spring, and when the
commissioners decided to purchase The
Senator, formerly the private yacht CT
W illlam ii. Crane, the actor, the con-
tract received the executive approval at
once. But before the commissions agent
got u bill OF sale tor the boat its owner
discovered that it was intended Tor New
Jersey, cancelled the negotiations and,
rather than let The Senator go outside
khode Island, sold it to another pur-
chaser for Sl, 500 less than the oyster
commissioners had offered
Another boat was found in Baltimore
a couple of months ago that suited the
commissioners very well. They went
down to see her, agreed with the agent
on a price, and returned hot haste TO
Trenton Again the Governor approved
the purchase, but before things could go
any further a telegram came from Balti-
more saying the boat had been sold to
somebody else.
Then the New London boat was heard
Of The owner has no objection to its
conversion from yacht into an oyster
police boat and doesn't care if it does
come to Jersey, SO a searchlight is being
put in that VIII show up operations and
possibly thieves on the beds at night sew
eral miles away. What the boat Will
be named has not been decided, but the
Commissioners do not like the present
name.
"A man named Osgood, of Norwich,
Conn, built the boat, explained Commits
sioner =. L. Riley. He has ideas as to
yacht building and his wife's ideas We're
dlnerent. w nen the boat was built the
builder tried to effect compromise and
please both. The result was that neiliter
was satisfied, so they called her The
CIPHER That means nothing"
FIRST EXPERIENCES.
Colonel Thomas L. Austin, the Mill
vile postmaster, who used to be Oyster
Superintendent, has been energetic in
urging the need of the steamboat. He
has little faith in naphtha and gasolene
launches.
The first one We bought came down
the river and bay under her own power
and made record trip" he SAID The
builders sent Il Swede to run her. When
she got to the docks here. the Swede ask
ed tor receipt showing that she had
been delivered in good running order.
The boat was as pretty as little red
wagon, anyway, and | wanted a ride in
her, so l told the fellow he would have
to take me up to Millville, twenty-six
miles up the river, before he got his re-
ceipt. He said all right, and | asked
two or three fellows to ride up with me.
We got in and the Swede began to fuss
with the engine. He'd been working at
it half an hour and we hadn't moved.
Does it take that long to start the
thing?" / asked him. Huh, he grunted,
sometimes one, two day
We got started along toward noon
next day, and she ran all right. A few
weeks afterward Frank Smith was run
ming her when she stopped Frank be-
gan to take off bolts and nuts and things.
When he got hatful of them off she
started. What are those things on for
if she goes without them?" says /. Give
it up says Frank. Well, then, leave
leave them off / said, and he did. Now
she runs pretty we'll / think she was
carrying too much weight. 2
When the Commissioners told the APP
preparation Committee of the Legislature
aboht the steamboat one of the argu-