The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-02-08
PREDICT REVIVAL OF RATE WAR IN
 LOCAL SHIPPING
Harbormen See Evidences of Repetition of Lively
 Times of '79
SMITHS NEW BOATS NEARING COMPLETION
Sale of Steamer Sylvester to Baltimore Man Is
 Completed

News Of important maritime tran sections, including the sale of the John Sylvester, noised about the wa terfront- to-day. brought predictions that Bridgeport soon is to see a repe- tition of the memorable rate war of 1879.
 News of the sale of the John sy1- vester brought out the information that Captain Aiming J. Smith, the we'll known steamboat man of Nor walk and this city. has planned to re- place this and others of his older ves- se1s with modern ships now nearing completion, which will be used for service between New ork and Long Island Sound ports
 Captain John w. Brown of Ba1d- more is the purchaser of the steamer John Sylvester. The transaction is being completed in New York city to- day.
 ConcurrentIy with this knowledge comes the report that the New Eng land Navigation Company will replace the night boat Naugatuck with the freight steamers New England and the Worth, and will inaugurate a new day line service with a new twin-screW steamer.
 Likewise news has leaked out from the offices of Aiming J. Smith in this city that down in the Delaware river, two large steel twin screw steamers with a speed of more than 20 knots are being built for his interests.
 Dock property along the Pequon- nook river has been sought by agents who have refused to divulge thefrs purpose. The most likely and avail able dock Is thai formerly used by the Steeplechase Island boatss in Stratford axx
 The sale of the John Sylvester and the probable merry rate war that will result from the installation of new service by Smith Between New York and Bridgeport bringsstoa the minds or many familiar with old harbor days in 1879, when on Sept. 21, Aiming J. smith came to this city as a comparatively young man. bring ing the steamer Roseda1es now lying at the foot of East Main street into. open competition with the Railroad company which then ran the Laura The Ghost of the old Crystal Wave, which was lost on southern trip is also recalled as the sides of the John Sylvester are being battened for the trip to Baltimore which will prob ably begiu under the direction of Capt. Brown and a picked crew this week or next.
 Turning back to newspaper files Of September. 1879, one reads of ova- ton which was tendered to Aiming J. Smith when he first docked the Rosedale here to run in competition with the Laura The price of pas-s sage, at first uniform at 75 cents, was knocked down until finally the John Sylvester which was brought to re- place the Laura in 1880 took passen- gers at 25 cents the single trip, and at one time so keen was the competi- ton that it was said a passenger on one of the boats could get ca dinner, drink of whiskey, a shave and hair cut included in the passage money.
 While the Rosedale Is conceded to have made the speed record from dock and dock from New York, the John Sylvester is capable of high speed and showed it in the several years she ran here. The steamer Chrystenah also owned by Smith and at one time in this service but now an up-river boat on the Hudson was also in the speed class of the old days.
 The steamer John Sylvester was built at Jersey City, N. J., 1886. She is a sidewhee1er of 495 gross tons, 338 net; 193 feet over all, 30 foot breadth, drawing g feet s inches of water of ASA indicated horsepower and carries a crew of IS.
 Capt. Brown who has purchased the Sylvester is today in New York with Aiming J. Smith where it is be- Heved formal transfer of the boat will occur. Application of transfer of ownership by the United States gov ernment has already been made and it is believed that the paper will be completed this week.
 Capt Brown is the owner of large excursion line running from Balti- more to an excursion dock in the Chesapeake Bay and will include this new purchase in the steamers of that service Since her construction in the sos the Sylvester has travelled al most every known port on the Atlan- tic ocean and into the Gulf of Mexi- co, carrying hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of happy excursionfsts in New York harbor alone, where she has until recently been in the Rock away beach service.