Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-06-25
The Diggers who Are Destroying
WIIdwOod's Beach
MR.. EDITOR:

MIR. EDITOR:
Is 1t vandalism to rob the beach O
its sand, to destroy one of WILDWOOD
proudest possessions-her unmatched
bathing beach Have the men who
are seen day after day in front Of Bakel
and Roberts avenues, cutting away thi'
beautiful beach and carting 1t back Of
the island to fill in meadow land, any
conception of the wrong which they arr
doing to the owners of lots which liz
outside the boardwalk, and, in the
beach? Are the men who sent them
here TO commit this work ofdestruction
entirely devoid of every sense OF justice
and fair play toward the City of Wild
wood, who by their act Is deprived OF
thousands Of dollars in taxes-tOWard
the owners of the submerged lots, who
are entitled to the natural accretions,
and toward those who have built close
to the board walk, who fnd thei ocean
at times reaching up to their fences,
and, unless this digging and carting Is
stopped, will soon find their homes un-
dermined =?
Your correspondent stood at the end
OF the new Wild wood board walk and
looking south Inward, saw a great cove
jutting into the land, gully-holes were
in the beach; few houses on the board
walk aud Shiny posts, the remains OF
what wa once a jetty, stood like dark
sentinels watching men, who with pick
and shovel were engaged 10 the dis
graceful act of disfigurlng and destroy"
ing this part OF Wildwood's beautiful
beach.
One year ago the remains OF the jetty
above mentioned were two feet above
the strand. Today as a result of the
continuous digging away of the beach,
the top of these old ~jetties Is five feet
above the strand, and at the end of
some of the the graveled streets
have already been washed away.
Beyond, in front of the Crest, the
strand was as level and smooth as a
sheet OF slate and similar conditions
existed In front of the new board walk
and all the way up to Anglesea; only
here, IN this, the most thickly popu-
lated, and at nj time the most beauti-
full part Of the island, were these shame
ful conditions to be found.
Your correspondent stood on the
board walk. 1t was in the dusk of the
evning, the beginning of the summer
season, at a time when self pride
should suggest to the inhabitants of
Wild wood that the strand and streets
put on their summer attire and look
their very best to welcome the coming
summer guests, but the diggers were
there digging and disfguring the beach.
He saw mem look at them and cry,
SHAME" He saw the loaded carts
roll over the graded avenues, the hoofs
of the horses and wheels of the carts
cutting holes and ruts into them and
the dropping sand litterlng them till
they had the appearance Of an un-
kemp country road; and he saw them
disappear back toward the meade VS..
II there is nc law to prevent this, such
law should be enacted; and Ii there Is a
law Of this kind, Is 1t not showing dis
respect for that law and contempt for
the people, when carts are seen hauling
these loads of the beach's sand directly
under the windows of the city hall ?
And your correspondent asks, as many
others are asking, why should this be
permitted, and why here and at no
other place on the island?
It is said that the ocean causes these
excavations made by the diggers to
again be filled In with sand and there
fore no harm is done. Never was there
a greater fallacy. 1t Is true that when
the rising tide yer these holes they
are filled with sand but the sand comes
from the surrounding beach and fire.
quently changes the current as it is
doing now, and as it did In this same
place twenty years ago, when the en-
tire ocean front and thousands of dol
lars worth o. private property were
destroyed.
AN ADMIRER OF WHAT ONCE WAS
WILDwooD's PEERLESS BEACH.
-oCo-