The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-01-29
HARbOR DREDGING
URGED TO LESSEN
INVASION DANGER
Colonel Black Says Improve
ments Would Double DIFF
ficulties of Attack.

the shallow waters of New York har-
Dor would tend greatly to relieve
present congested conditions of freight
and at the same time prove of the
greatest strategic value to American
battleships was the statement yester-
day of Col William M. Black, U. s. A,
member of the Board of Army En-
gineers for Rivers and Harbors and
of the New Y ork HarbOr Line Board.
Colonel Black said that if the $13,-
100000 appropriation asked for was
granted by Congress that it would
mean the widening and deepening Of
Buttermi1k Channel, the elimination
of rocks in Diamond Reef, clearing
He'll Gate of dangerous reefs and
shoals and would open to merchant
vessels of the larger type pier space
between the Williamsburg bridge and
Thirty-fourth street He said that it
would mean practically two entrances
to New York harbor for large vessels,
including batt1eships, and in the event
the harbor was besieged it would re-
quire twice the number of enemy
ships to do it as compared with the
present time.
In Bnttermi1k Channel at mean low
water there is a. depth of 27 feet, Col
one1 Black said. At low water during
the spring tides the depth might be
one or twoZfeet less. and if this con-
dition is made worse by strong winds
feet less The other channel to the
north of Governors Island, over Dia-
mond Reef, (which has a depth of
more than 80 feet, is INSTRUCTED by a
rock lying at a depth of % feet. Coen-
ties Reef lies opposite that entrance,
with a depth of about "a feet.
'tOf course, for the commander of
a large. battle ship, if he had all the
time in the world and traffic was not
congested, the present depths would
be ample Colonel Black said. But
such is not the case. Between the
deep water of the upper bay off Gov
errors Island and the deep water of
Long Island Sound there are reefs Of
a total length of 500 feet, obstruct-
ing a straight channel 35 feet and
more in depth. If that 1880 feet
were removed two entrances would be
available to New York harbor.
Few persons realize how very con-
gested New Y ork harbor is" he COP
tinued "sBut there IS no congestion in
the East river between the Williams
burg bridge and Gath street The reay
son is that there is not water. There
are piers there but it is necessary
often to partly load a, vessel, shift her
to deeper water and finish loading
with lighters. If this vast territory
could be properly dredged it would
open up tremendous space for bunk
ing large vessels which now crowd the
piers on the North river"
Colonel Black said that opposite to
the entrance of the New York Navy
yard there is Cor1ear's reef, which
causes bad currents and greatly hin
ders the navy in getting vessels in and
out of the yard. This, he said, could
bes eliminated if the < appropriation
were granted. The channel east of
BlackwelFs Island also is shallow and
should be deepened, he said.
It is proposed to widen the channel
in He'll Gate between Hanets Point
and Mill Rock and deepen the channel
over Frying Pan Shoals and over Pot
Rock. Dredging also is proposed over
battle-ground, off the Sunken Mead
ows.
with this work done New York
harbor would be in excellent condf-
ton" he said. NtThe larger vessels
could use the Sound route, and this
would be utilized particularly by the
coastwise vessels between here and
New England. Those of light draft
Sc this route now, buN it would open
the way for the deeper vessels, which
have to go miles out of their way to
get deep water
When asked about military dangers
of the present situation Colonel Black
replied:
ut is unnecessary for me to go
into that"
However. the strategic feature of
the matter received the official notice
of Josephus Daniels, Secretary OF the
Navy, who in a letter to Champ Clark,
Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives, urged action on projects for a.
waterway thirty-five feet deep and L.
900 feet wide in Butternilk Channel
and other i'm proven1ents. The pro-
jects also were recommended to Con-
gress by the War Department and
were included in the Rivers and Har-
bors bill which the House passed and
the Senate rejected
Secretary Daniels in his letter to
the Speaker, said:
There is not sufficient water in
these channels, to insure the entering
or leaving of a first class battleship
at all times.
be handled per day, and then only pro-
vided the weather conditions are nor
NAL. If the winds are such as to
blow the water out of New York Bay,
then the depth of water in the APP
proach channel is not sufficient safe
1y to navigate a large ship. AS an
illustration the following is noted:
con November 3, 1915, the u. S. S.
Texas, one Of our new first class bat
tleships, was ready to leave the yard,
but the prevailing northwest winds
had so reduced the depth Of water
in the Buttermilk Channel that even
at high water there was not sufficient
depth to insure her leaving the yard
in safety. This ship, therefore, was
forced to remain in the navy yard
for over "a hours"
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