The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-11-13
TRIALS OF TUG
 BOAT CAPTAINS
The Delays at Temporary Bridge Not Fault of
 Watermen
Some Persons Unreasonable

Among the much mooted subjects which are occupying the attention of the residents of the East Side who have occasion to cross the Pequonnock river at Congress street. is that one which deals with the delays caused by the opening of the foot bridge. The traffic on this temporary bridge amounts to considerable in a day and 1t often happens that pedestrians are held up for various lengths of time, particularly during the rush hours. When such is the case there is gen. eral outburSt of indignation against the bridge tenders and strong exple- tives are directed against the steam boat and its captain All of which is very we'll from one viewpoint but let those people who complain every time the foot bridge is open, consider a few facts.
 When the temporary bridge was erected it was a great help to the East Side residents, besides being an ac- commodation to the men building the new bridge. Permission was given to construct the bridge, however, with the proviso that it should not prove hindrance to navigation Water craft were to be enabled to pass up and down the river as though the bridge were not there. Accordingly, as there are no restrictions on the bridge signal for the opening of the railroad bridge is supposed to include the tenn porary structure. This explains why the bridge is opened while the tug boats are still below the railroad lift bridge. There should also be recogni- ton of the fact that 1t Is no child's play to raise the span of the foot bridge and this also requires time. Many attribute, delays solely to the To- cal tow boat captains. This is not the case. however, as each captain has his orders and must work in Conjunction
 
 if a tug should come down or up the river with a big vessel, a high wind blowing and the tide running strong, and the bridge closed to allow few people to cross. At best the steamboat man works at a disadvantage in the vicinity as there Is no space to spare in the channel. Hundreds of dollars worth of damage would be the inevit- able results. One Of the captains. to- day, said:
 "As an instance of the narrow-mind- edness of a few wind use the draw bridges. within the past week a local tug signalled for the Yellow Mill draw to open, in order to get coal above the bridge, for a long trip After the draw had swung a few feet, a fuse blew out and the bridge remained stationary. The tug captain then put the bridge tender ashore so he could remedy the the disabled draw. In the meantime an irate bystander leaned over the street abutment, and shaking his fist, shouted to the tug captain that if he had him up there he would punch his face. He was informed as to where he could find the captain. but evident ly became more discreet
 Could anyone conceive more foolish conduct from a matured man? This man didn't consider that the tug could have left the bridge tender to get ashore as best he could. received the coal elsewhere and thus caused an in- definite hold up at the bridge.
 -'In view of the facts, it is to be hoped that the pessimism of the grouch will be brought to a speedy conclusion and a fair chance given to those men who go down to the sea in ships"