The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1916-06-29
DUMPING AT SEA.
New York Debris is a Menace to the
HarbOr.

HarbOr.
The debris of the city of New York,
which has been deposited in the
ocean outside the harbor or in Long
Island Sound since 1890, amounts to
320,274,742 cubic yards, or more
than all the material which has been
excavated for the Panama canal.
These figures are contributed to the
annual report of the chief of en-
gineers to the secretary of war by
Capt. A. S. Halstead, U. S. NJ, super
visor of the port, to show how i'm
portant is the work of the govern
ment in experimenting the disposi-
ton of this mass of material so that
it will not block up the navigable wa
ters of this part of the coast.
In all seasons and at all hours the
federal authorities keep up patrol
to watch the garbage scows and see
that they do not dump their loads too
close to the shore. It is maintained
by five steam tugs, the Cerberus, La
ment, Scout, Nimrod and Vigilant,
and one naphtha launch, the Look
out. But of these Capt. Halstead
says only the Cerebus is fit for duty
outside and prolonged tours of sea
duty, although the Vigilant may be
used freely for long inspection runs.
Four vessels, says the report, are
employed in patrolling the harbor
mouth day and night, Sundays and
holidays, and two are always on duty.
One station at the Narrows collects
permits from the town as they pass
out to sea, and stamps upon them the
hour at which the barges pass out.
Then it keeps an eye on the two un-
til it comes under the surveillance of
the outside patrol boat, which has its
beat from three to five miles outside
the Scotland lightship on the regular
ly authorized dumping ground. This
outer patrol makes note Of the con-
dition of the barges as they reach it,
and if there is any discrepancy be-
tween it's observations and those
made by the patrol at the Narrows
the shippers of the tugboats are ask
ed to explain and to show that they
did not dump any refuse too near in.
The Scotland lightship also makes
report on the movements Of the
scows, and one of the supervisors
boats is continually moving along
the water front of the city making
notes of what dumpings is going on,
while the naphtha launch plies along
the Staten Island hills, Newark Bay,
the Passaic river and other shallow
waters to see the law obeyed.
One of the most troublesome du-
ties of the harbor patrol is the pre-
vention Of the casting adrift of heavy
logs and large timbers. Floating in
the open they may, says Capt. Hal
stead, do great damage to the pro-
pellers of steamers, and it is abso-
lutely forbidden to set them in the
water. This involves the pier owners
In considerable difficulty. When they
are building an extension or renew
ing their piers they have old crib
work and spiles to throw away. They
are quite useless and under the law
the owners are required to bring
them ashore or raft them. AS mat
ter of fact, Capt. Halstead suggests,
many pier owners wait until it is
dark and then illegally send the logs
adrift, confident in the difficulty in
detecting them. When the patrol
boats meet a dangerous log they are
supposed to tow it away from, the
neighborhood of the fairway.
Capt. Halstead lays emphasis on
the fact that his men must keep the
seas whatever the weather. It is
when it is rough that the shippers
of the tows are most likely to dump
their. loads in prohibited waters, and
so the patrol can never relax it's vigi-
lance. The tows, says Capt. Hal
stead, venture to sea when they have
merely.a chance of making the dump
ing grounds, but they are willing to
risk it rather than leave the dredges
idle for a considerable time.
In the next few years it will be
necessary for theepatrol to be more
active than ever. It is probable that
a large quantity of the material ex-
cavated from the two new subway
tubes under the East River will be
towed out to sea for final disposi-
ton. It would make admirable fill
ing for the reclamation of land, but
to handle it is so expensive that the
contractors may be willing to throw
it into the ocean.-New York Sun.