Norwich bulletin., 1918-03-23
Convincing Speakers At Highway Hearing
1@ 17-79 -.9 Prominent Citizens Tell Commissoner Charles j. Bennett of Great Need For Better Road Between This City and Submarine Base Much Material Needed to Garry Out Building Programme at Navy Yard and Naval Officials Are Forced to Depend Largely on Second Hand Merry Go-Round' Ferry at New London.

e@So2See~-Ae ke-J AA4eSShSA 9PN-AS follows:
 At tfes invitation of President Cary I and Secretary Branche of the Chamber of Commerce of Norwich, I will en- | deavor to enlighten you gentlemen re- garding commerciais activities at the | submarine base. My object is to in- vite and promote competition among i the business men of Norwich and to establish a source of supply of mate l rial in oursl immediate vicinity from the north.
 About S2,o0o,0oo has been appropri- ated for the purpose of establishing a submarine base on the east side of the Thames river and about IA miles this side of New London. Construc- ton has been in progress for the past several months and in spite of the severe weather conditions this winter Ia great deal has been accomplished 4 The money appropriated provides for a power plant, machine shop, electrical laboratory, ordnance building, supply storelnouse,. submarine officers school enlisted mems school, barracks to house about 1000 men, quarters to ac- commodate about 128 officers, barracks for marine detachment, detention building and dispensary for the medi- cal department, buildings for ammu- hilton depot, and piers on the water front for submarines and other crafts. Only a small percentage of this con- struction is now completed and with more favorable weather conditions in l view progress will be more rapid. Much Material Needed.
 ] You can readily see that in order ] to carry out the building program at
 the base a great deal. of material is
 required for this purpose, and after
 construction is accomplished a great Ideal of material will be required for
 the maintenance and operation@of this base. In this, connection the supply
 of necessary material Ald time of de- livery are very important factors. For 1 the past several months we have been
 handica ppeds in. this respect due to railroad and express congestion, which 1 of course means a delay in our pro-
 gTess Delays are something with which we cannot afford to contend, l especially at this stage of our na tional emergency, and every possible means should be adopted to overcome 1 this defect. l New London is our nearest source of supply from the south. and a great deal of material is heinz purchased there. However, delivery facilities de- pend upon the satisfactory operation Iof the ferry. If the ferry refuses to run, or meets with an accident it means that truck deliveries and traf- Ifice is suspended and that we are cut from this source of supply to a great extent and operations at the base are lhampered. ...
 In the past fortnight we have ex-
 perienced this condition which is thor
 oughIy convincing that additional de- livery facilities are necessary in or +1 l
 Furthermore, New London cannot meet all our requirements and it is absolutely essential that steps be , taken to bring aid from the north Briefly. our requirements consist oi .. all kinds of building material, machin- ! cry, hardware. tools, electrical SUD- |. lplies, furniture stationery boat and ship fittings. engine room and fire room supplies. oils, greases and lubri- cants, dry goods. packings of all kinds
 lumber. metal in bars. sheets and
 plates, foundry supplies, acids and f paints office equipment, provisions an6 commissary supplies.
 In connection with the purchase oi
 material for the government the law
 requires competition. Proposals aiS . isent out to the different dealers invit. f ing bids. On every proposal the datt
 of opening is. noted a1d the dealel
 should act promptly sending in his bic
 in time for the opening. In awarding : orders on bids the supply officer! 7 consider mostly cost and time of de
 livery. Tn some cases cost is the mos , important factor and in some case I time of delivery. It all depends on tn,
 urgency which exists as to the re f lquirernents
 e Reliable Delivery Facilities important h In order, to be successful in com
 petition reliable delivery facilities ar e lvery important, and I cannot to n lstrongly urge you gentlemen to us
 tyour 7unceasing efforts toward havin t Ia highway constructed between Nor h iwich and the submarine base which i : a solution to the problem. This high Q Ewayf will help to promote commercia - iactivities between Norwich and tn n lbase, will give us unlimited competi d tion.7 together with reliable and ex a Ipedient deliveries from. the nortf U This will naturally aid us in our pro d tgress and military activities and no1 e is the time that everything possibl
 should be done to win this. war I
 time of peace this highwaye will sti
 be needed. as the base is permaner e naval establishment, and it's mainte ,- nance and operation will be neces n sary.
 'f In conclusion I wish to request tn If sEContinued on Pace 7l