Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-02-19
NEWARK BAY ICE
STILL MENACES
FREIGHT BOATS
Owners of Vessels Complain
About Conditions Caused by
Railway Bridges.

But two local boats passed through
the barriers of ice in the Passaic
River and Newark Bay this morning,
and 1t is not known whether they will
be able to make the return trip from
New York tonight or not. As the
Evening Star told exclusively yester-
day, the bay in the region of the New
Jersey Central and Lehigh Valley
Railroad bridges is hardly navigable.
Two freight lighters belonging to the
Wright & Cobb Company were frozen
in from Saturday last to yesterday,
when they came up the river assisted
by tugs They left for New York this
morning.
Another steam lighter, owned by the
Newark Express and Transportation
Company, was also locked In the foe
since Saturday. 1t reached it's dock
last night. She was SO firmly fast
ened that it took the efforts of tugs
to release her.
Fear was expressed today by trans
portation men generally that the
present condition of the weather
would increase, rather than diminish,
the danger to Newark bay navigation.
Large cakes of ice are being released
III I1e upper TedCntS Vi tiiC tCShlS
and are floating down in great num-
bers. Reaching the piles on which
the two bridges of the Central and
L ehigh railroads are placed, they pack
into a great mass.
None of the transportation man
ayers will accept any per1shable
freight while the danger lasts. All
eggs. butter and like necessities must.
therefore,. be brought into Newark by
rail from New York. Tons of ma
terial needed in other places are lying
on the wharves awaiting the opening
of the river.
New Spans Needed.
William II. Coates, general freight
agent of the Wright & Cobb Com
pany, talking of the situation, said
that the first move in the effort to
improve Newark bay should be to re-
place the existing bridges with spans
of more modern type. He said ut
would be useless to dredge the bay
and fill the land around 1t until the
supporting piles are removed. They
are and have been a menace to navi-
cation ever since they have been
there. In weather like this they
make the ice form a perfect dam.
Nearly every year dl tlilS lililC II diit
in the river has been entirely sus-
pended, causing loss to the taxpayers
of the city.
determined effort to have the
bridges removed was begun by the
Newark Board of Trade in 1908. A
petition, signed by Mayor Haussling.
other officers of the city and by
Peter Campbell, the president of the
Board of Trade, was submitted to
the secretary of war. The engineers
of the department made and ex-
haustive survey and filed their re-
ports. That was all ever heard of
the matter. The petition and the re-
ports are now resting in the files of
the war department.
/, 1T is known that the reason the Fed
eral authorities are reluctant to order
the reconstruction of the two bridges
is generally known. A great number
of similar structures are in existence
the country, and If the two
condemned a precedent would be es-
tablished. 1t would result in the
wholesale condemnation of railroad
bridges throughout the country. and
in many instances force heavy finan-
cial investment by small railroads.
One Newark man said this morning:
".rhe only way we will ever have the
condition remedied will be to send
a boat down there and have it sunk
Then something will be done"
If the present thaw continues the
Newark bay blockade will probably
end in a. few days. The soddep ice
will bank up against the piles, but
soon break again probably. II, how
ever, sudden cold snap comes the
barrier will become almost impene-
trstble and navigation will receive an
other check.