Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-22
BAY rs VERY SHALLOW
SHIPS DRAWING OVER THIRTEEN
FEET MUST ANCHOR.
Vessels Lie Three and Four Deep In
the River, Which Will Need to
Be Dredged Annually.
By WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

By WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star and
Chicago Record Herald
MANILA. June 20, 1904.
The most important public work now In
progress in the entire east is the construc-
ton Of a new harbor for the city OF Manila
which. when 1t Is completed, Will surpass
even that of Hong Kong for the convent
ences of commerce. although 1t Will lack
the scenic effects and other natural attrac-
tons, and the depth Of water. Two mliiion
dollars have already been appropriated,
and three millions more will be required oe-
fore everything IL completed, including
wharves, warehouses, cranes, tram"ayS
and machinery for loading and unloading
ships: but the government will have 16S
acres of valuable piers and warehouse prop
erty. which it may rent or sell at any time
for much more money than the cost ana
thus realize a profit out of the enterprise.
The Bay of Manila is big enough for all
the ships in the world but 1t is so shallow
that everything drawing more than thlr-
teen feet Is compelled to anchor out long
distance, receiving and discharglng cargo
by means of lighters. The Meet OF Hier
chantmen swinging at their moorings make
a beautiful sight from the shore, ana lar
toward the horizon you can usually see a
group of battle ships lying on the naval
station Of Cavite.
II ia a pretty picture. but, as Napoleon
Bonaparte would say, it Is not business,
and it costs about as much to bring pack
age fromsa ship in the harbor to store or
warehouse in this city as the freight
charges all the way from the United states
or Europe. Thus the lighterage OF import
ed goods add considerably to the expense
Of living.
The River Pasig Crowded.
The river Is very crowded. Ships lie three
and four deep along the docks. and In load
ing and unloading are compelled to cross
each others decks. There Is an enormous
local traffic. not less than ten thousand
steamers and sailing vessels being engaged
in the internal commerce OF the ISLANDS. ana
Manila, being the metropolis and CONNER
cial capital most of them are coming mere
and going and seeking landing places along
the river bank which they cannot find The
docks so narrow. and the bridges are SO
low that the dockage is extremely limited
Even If the bridges could be removed the
river is narrow and shallow. so that the
barges which come floating down loaded
with freight and are poled back up stream
are apt to stick in the mud anywhere or
any time. The bars are migratory: You
never know when they have changed their
location. and while the pilots try to keep
track of them, it is impossible for every
boatman to do so.
We went up the river the Otner udy III d
steam launch drawing three feet of water
and ran aground seven times Six times
we hired passing boats or natives from
the shore to tow us Off. but the seventh
time she stuck fast. 1t was after dark
the tide was out and we would have been
compelled to lie there until l or CLOCK
in the morning but for a good Samaritan
in the shape Of an Omaha man employed
fn the new street railway. who came
along in a light naphtha launch and took
us off Our boat remained where we left
her until the tide came in and lifted her
off the bar. 1t happened to be unusually
low tide that night so people told US. and
we learned of several other pleasure par
ties who also went aground, but were not
so fortunate in being rescued. The river
offers eXcellenta dvantages to the shipping
interests because there are twenty six
miles of stream that may be utilized for
harbor purposes and can be adapted for
Eght-draft boats, the bridges being ar
ranged in order to allow them to pass up
and down.
Spanish improvements.
When the Spanish abandoned light
draft galleons and began to use deeper
vessels and steamships of other nations
began to come into Manila a commission
of engineers was appointed to provide
harbor facilities. They first constructed
substantial walls of masonry on both
sides of the river as far up as the bridges
and extended piers parallel with the river
some distance out into the bay. But all
vessels of more than thirteen feet draft
have always been compelled to anchor at
considerable distance from the shore
where they are exposed during the ty-
phoon season to storms which are not
only often disastrous. but make the trans
fer of passengers and cargoes dangerous
and expensive. To provide these vessels
shelter the Spanish government COM
pleted about $500 feet of breakwater
and. at the time when the war began
had 4,7S5 additional feet partially con-
structed. The American administration
has undertaken to finish the work inau-
gurated by the Spaniards. with material
notifications There are now two break
waters known as the eastern and the
western. The western, which is now
about 1000 feet long. Is to be completed
as the Spaniards designed and extended
$50 feet farther into the bay. detached
breakwater 5000 feet long Is to be con-
structed in a southeasterly direction of
massive rip-rap masonry, so as to make
a basin. The masonry will be very
heavy. not less than one-third of the
more. and the breakwater will be finished
on the inside and on the top with a
smooth face, so that it can be used for
dockage If necessary
Within this Enclosure, amounting to
about $50 acres, the bottom is being
dredged so that there will be at least
thirty feet of water everywhere at mean
ana .ho. tnat VIII accommodate every ship
smaller vessels. about 146 acres in ey
tent, will be dredged to a depth of eigh-
teen feet and connected with the river
by channel Of the same DEPTH
Retaining Land From the Bay.
A water-tight bulkhead has been con-
structed around an area Of 1853 acres adjoin-
ing the shore and the Enclosure is being fill
ed in to a height Of seven and half feet
above mean water with sand and earth
pumped up from the. bottom of the harhor
by monster hydraulic suction dredge with
a twenty-four inch discharge pipe. which
delivers about 1900 cubic yards of material
Per hour. This material. which Is mostly
pure, fine sand, is left in heaps at different
places within the nclosure SO that it can
be distributed over the entire surface on a
level twice a day as the tide comes in
1t settles rapidly. and the filed space is
solid as the earth itself, and the surface is
perfectly level and will remain SO until it
is filed above the hiSh tide level Then m,