Evening star., 1909-06-27
THE LOWER HUDSON
Miles of Water Front ACCesSi-
BILE to Ocean Steamers.
GRAFT IN DOCK LEASES
Interesting Points on the Banks of
the River.
WORK ON NEW CATHEDRAL
How the Famous Hamilton Elms
Were Saved-The Jumel Mansion
and It's Occupants.
GRAFT IN DOCK LEASES
WORK ON NEW CATHEDRAL
BY WILLIAM F. CURTIS
Special Correspondence of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald.

BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald.
NEW YORK, June Is. 1909.
No other city is so conveniently situated
to handle commerce as this narrow is
land OF Manhattan. which has a water
front accessible to ocean-going steamers
of twenty-three miles with half as much
more on the Brooklyn side OF the East
river. and on the New Jersey shore of the
Hudson. Nor does this include the is
lands of New York bay. nor yet the va
rious nlets on the Jersey coast. all of
which are utilized as railway terminals
and steamship docks for handling coal,
cotton, lumber. live stock. grain and
other heavy freight. Manhattan Island,
as you know, is a narrow strip of land
from hals a mile to two miles wide, and
about nine miles long. and. having deep
water navigation and a fringe of doc S
on all sides, freight can be handled more
economically here than at any other place
] know. 1t is short haul from any
dock TO the business section of the city
and belt lines of railway encircle 1t,
touching all the steamship piers and con-
Meeting with all the railway stations and
ferries.
told you the other day about scheme
which that brilliant young genius o.
Transportation, w. j. Wilgus of Mime
sofa has proposed TO the public service
commission for the distribution of freight
10 and from steamers. He proposes to
build-eithar an elevated or an under
ground railway as the public service COM
missioners consider most advisable, all
the way around the water front of New
York, connecting with the various sub
ways and railway tunnels for the con-
yenience of passengers who go out to
al in n
Will have delivery stations at every dock,
so that the cargoeS can be distributed
throughout the city underground, and
transferred from the hold of snip 10
the warehouse OF a wholesale merchant
without seeing daylight. | believe such
a scheme was in contemplation in Chi
cdgo, connecting the wholesale district
with the railway stations, so that the
streets Will be relieved of heavy truck
ing.
Lease of the Docks.
Tie municipality of New York owns
the river frontage an both sides, and
down at the finance department in the
cit yhall the controller will show You
deeds that date back as far as 1894, one
of them signed by King George II and
others by De Witt Clinton and his pred
ecessors as governors of the state. con-
veying 10 the mayor. aldermen and
commonalty, within the city of New
York granting patent for all the right
and title of the people OF this state to
the land covered with water along the
easterly shore of the North or Hudson
river. and from low-water mark. running
900 feet into said river" There are SINH
lar deeds conveying the riparian rights
upon East river and the Harlem and
Spuyten Duyvil creek.
There are twenty-four wards In the
Manhattan borough of the city of New
York. and all Of them have water fronts
except five, which extend on either side
OF 9Th avenue above 42d street.
The dock property is under the control
OF a department of the city government,
and has been the cause of a great deal
OF scandal, for the reason that piers have
been leased at rates that are absurdly
below their actual value, and certain in
fluential individuals, among them Mr..
Richard Croker, have leases extending for
several generations and which cannot be
taken away from them, although the
rental is merely nominal. These leases
have been assigned, or the docks cover
ed by them have been sublet to steam
ship and railway companies. at an enor-
nous advance, which gives the original
lessee an income not only for himself, but
for his posterity, that Will insure the
highest degree OF luxury. If the docks or
New York were leased at their proper
value, or even at one-half the average
rentals paid for private property in the
same neighborhood, they would bring
treasury every year, whereas I am told
taat the total revenue from this source
Las. year was only S1.s39, ,S6S.
The New York Central Railway Com
Iauy has a long line of docks at the
oads of the most important thorough
fares. for which il pays only $4,000
year upon a lease lasting a lifetime; the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company has
ferry landings at Cortlandt. Desbrosses
and 2sd streets for which it pays only
nominal sums. The Lackawanna railroad
pays only $4,000 year; the Cunard
Steamship Company, $3.50; the White
Star line. S5i ,Ooo and otIer steamship
companies a similar amount.
The city treasury is robbed of more
revenue by these dock leases than il
loses from ali the other forms of graft
combined
Scenes on the River Front
There are many interesting points upon
the waterfront of New York, particularly
on North river. Opposite 1ith street, on
the Jersey shore, just above Hoboken,
where the neutrality-suspicious. and North
German Lloyd steamship companies have
their piers, is a castelated structure
which every stranger inquiries about. 1t
is tne former home of the late Com
modore Stevens, and is now occupied by
the Stevens Institute Of Technology,
founded by his muniticence. Some of LIE
most noted naval vessels were built there
including Ericsson's famous little Moni-
tor and Stevens Battery all immense
floating fortress which was constructed
by Commodore Stevens at his own ex-
pense during the civil war for the de-
Tense OF New York harbor.
Opposite 42t street AT Weehawken. y.
j., is place Of amusement which oc-
cupies the former estate of Col King,
which was tie headquarters OF Gen. La
fayette after the Brandywne campa gn
In the revolution. and was the scene OF
the duel between Alexander Hamilton
and Aaron Burr in July, 1901 The
quarrel which led to that terrible tragedy
was personal. although for honora BILE
motives il was attributed to political ri
valry. Burr provoked il. Ham--ton re-
luctantly, with the old-time notions of
honor, accepted the challenge and fired
in the air Burr fired 10 kill. y boulder
upor which Hamilton fell was Inscribed
with his initials by Col. King. the owner
of the dueling grounds. and may still be
seen The St Andrews Society erected
a monument to mark the spot but IL
has been badly defaced and partially car
ried away by the patrons of the resort
Aaron Burr fought two duels on this
SPOT the first in lI99 with John b. Church
a brother-in-law of Alexander Hamilton
Shots were exchanged but neither party
was injured. Many other affairs or
honor have occurred there before and
since the lest being in September 1S45
when two blood-thirsty rivals met to
decide their fate as 10 the woman they
loved. The econd turned what might have
been a tragedy into farce by loading
the pistols with cork bullets.
There is very little else OF historic In
terest on the Jersey side of the river.
although the slopes westward from the
ataap cliffs called the paliSadaS arc coy