Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1920-06-18
RIVER
SURVEY PLANNED
River and Harbor Bill Passed
by Congress Provides for
Work in Local Waterway

The river and harbor bill was pass
ed In the closing hours of the session
of congress which closed more than
a week ago. 1t contained provision
for the survey of the RaTitan River.
Word to this effect has just been re-
ceived firm Washington by c. S. At
kinson, secretary of the Raritan Term
inal and Waterways Association. This,
of course, is gratifying to the mem
bers. who are interested in the plan
to deepen the channel of the Raritan
River to New Brunswick.
The last news regarding the river
and harbor bill was that 1t was in
the hands of the conferees because the
senators and congressman could not
agree as to the lump sum the bills
should carry. The senate had doubled
the sum advocated by the House, so
that it was 100000. The House
conferees stood firm, and rather than
have the bill fail the senators reeeded
and the bill went through with many
other measures in the last hours and
1t required several days to ascertain
that he had actually been passed.
The need for deeper water in the
Raritan river is more apparent than
ever. Under the direction of f. l..
Blood. general superintendent of the
work of erecting the immense plant of
below New Brunswick, is being pushed
as rapidly as possible. All of the steel
for the frame work of the big build
ings is on the ground. The electric
equipment ard the big boilers are
there, and the immens cline -kilns are
fast nearing completion. In fact Won
derful progress has been made since
the advent of better weather condi-
tions.
For several months the work of dig
ging the canal which Will run the full
length of the big plant so that the
barges loaded with greensand may be
brought directly to the dock, is assum-
ing shape rapidly under the direction
of the contractor Many thousand
cubic yards of earth have been taken
out by the big steam shovel. The
canal will afford excellent facilities
for handling the raw material exped-
itiously, and has been dug to q depth
of fifteen feet at low water.
The tanks for the refining of the
crude oil, which will be brought in
Gnkers from Mexico, are nearly COM
pieted, and this part of the plant will
be In readiness for operation in the
near future. However, without
deeper water in the Raritan river the
oil steamers will be obliged to anchor
about half mile below the dock of
the Eastern Potash Corporation. in
natural basin which was discovered
by General Superintendent Blood. and
tighten their cargoes at this point
The matter of the survey will now
rest with Colonel Sanford, the new
district engineer, whose headquarters
are In the Army Building, New York
CITY. Data regarding the present and
prospective traffic in the Raritan will
be submitted to him by the officers of
the Raritan Terminal and Waterways
Association. and it is expected that
> can Du Bois. president. Charles A.
Mccormick, director; Lewis Nixon,
vice president. and others, will have
conference with Colonel Sanford at
an early date in order that he may
De apprlsed of their interest, and the
great need for deeper water to meet
the requirements of commerce.