Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1912-12-13
Peoples
Rost trun1
Rnps sxndlcate,s Plan.

To the Editor of the Evening Star:
Sir-A powerful and richly subsi-
died movement is going on in New
York, with the object of bringing
about the transfer of most of the
coastwise steamships and a large
part of the carfloat business from the
North to the East river.
A great syndicate of foreign bank
ers, which controls many lines of.
ocean steamships and which has got
ten control of several coastwise lines
in American waters, is back of this
project The purpose TO bring about
these transfers of shipping is of as
much vital concern to all manufac-
turing and jobbing interests in New
Jersey as it is 20 the numerous conf
mercial organizations and individuals
of New York city who oppose the
scheme to force many present occu-
pants of North river piers to so to
East river. berths.
The nail has been hit squareiy on
the head. as to this matter, by for
mer Commander Jacob w. Miller, u.
S. N, of Morristown, worldwide
eminent authority on transportation,
and now the chief engineer of the
Cape Cod ship canal. Commander
Miller says that none of the large
boats now in use in our coastwise
trade nor the large cartloats that
berth in the North river can be
handled with economy or dispatch in
the narrow East river.
Today we have many eoastwise
ships berthing in the North river that
are much larger than the transat-
lantic steamships Of forty years ago,
and there are carfioats moving be-
tween the New Jersey shore and
North river piers that carry twenty
eight fifty-ton cars each, which is
four to six times the load of the
largest carfloats of thirty years ago.
The North river part of New York's
harbor may be considered as a vast
freight switching and transfer yard
in which the total amount of freight
handled in a year is four times the
total tonnage moved into and out of
the Suez canal last year. This great
freight yard, as we may term it, in
the waters of the Hudson, is main
tanned at very little cost to the rail-
roads and steamship companies, as
nature by it's mighty movements of
salt and fresh water SO scours the
ways as to give plenty of deep water
at all times and placid currents, SO
that the berthing of shipping and car
| floats is easy and economical
| On the other hand the currents in
| the East river are violent because
the harbor is visited by two deriva-
tions from the tide wave of the ocean.
| one of which approaches by way OF
Long Island sound, the other by
Sandy Hook.
These two tides meet and overlap
each other at Hell Gate, and since
they differ from each other in time
and height they cause the violent cur
rents that exist in the East river
and especially in the sections where
certain powerful interests wish to see
much of our transportation bertheo
after being by action of the city OF
New York elbowed from the NORTH
river.
An instance of the great difficulty
of navigating ships in the lower East
| river was exhibited when the i'll
fated Maine departed from the
.
Brooklyn navy yard for the last time
the capable and brave Captain Sigsby
being in command. Soon after the
Maine reached the middle of the
river the largest excursion steamer
in the farbor came along headed fol-
Hell Gate. The Maine was bounc
southwark. Sigsby saw that tho
violent currents had the excursion
steamer in their grip. and that his
vast mass of steel and iron was
also like toy in the waters. A cot
lision seemed unavoidable. In order
to save the excursion boat, with foul
thousand people on board, Sigsby in
stantly pointed his ships nose TOWARD
a pier, and rammed It so that piles
flooring and superstructure for mor'
than two hundred feet were crushed
like eggshells
So sigsby prevented what Nigh