Evening star., 1920-01-17
MENACE
IN SIGHT ON RIVER,
OBSERVERSSTATE
Impossible, However, to Pre-
dict Result of Ice Break in
Upper Potomac.

conditions are rather uncertain"
was the remark of Lieut.. Russell Dean,
in command of the police harbor pre-
cinct and captain of the police boat. this
morning. discussing ice conditions on
the river.
There is nothing in sight to suggest
the probability of f1ood,' he added:
but he asserted it was impossible
to forecast what probably will hap
pen when ice in the upper Potomac
breaks and comes in the direction
of this city.
Should severe freeze follow the
snow" he added. I'VE may have a
repetition of the ice conditions two
years ago and the river remain
closed until the latter pSss.,t of Febru-
Absence Of large quantities of
snow in the mountains far above this
city was looked upon by the Iieu
tenant as being favorable to the
passing of the ice without doing the
damage mag. tnat was done two years ago.
yesterday and today told of immense
quantities of ice in the lower river. The
Nor1o!k steamer came in on time this
morning. however, but Capt w. w.
RoWies hat.;e experienced some difficulty
getting down the river with the gov
ernment boat A. NJ. Wetherill
Ice Ten Inches Thick,
Ice in protected places between
Harpers Ferry and Great Falls is
as much as ten inches thick. il is
reported, while in the lower river il
is shelved to depth of several feet
where the channel narrows. and it
is the sheived ice that is causing so
much trouble to the small craft
There are many small boats fast in
the ice about the river front, and a
number of heavy dredges are an
chored in the basin above the docks
OF the river steamers, where they are
believed to be safe from floating ice
later on. Many owners of small boats
have taken their boats from the
water in anticipation of possible
trouble with the ice. not having for
gotten their experiences of two years
ago.
Below Chain bridge, it is stated.
there is solid ice as much as seven
inches in thickness. and very little
of it has broken except in places
where the Firefighter worked Be
low Aqueduct bridge the F'irefighter
is making an effort to keep the
channel open. but the quantity of
moving ice in the channel it is stated
makes it difficult for boat captains to
make much headway with their tugs
and other craft.
Daily trips of the steamers of the
Norfolk and Washington Steamboat
Company anu DOatS ply
ing between this city and Fort Wash
ington and Indian Head has resulted
in keeping ice in the channel broken.
but the large foes obstructing the
channel have made it necessary for
trips of small craft to be abandoned.
May Abandon River Traffic.
There has been no thawing of ice the
past few days, rivermen say, and
few more days of cold weather may
result in Tightening the ice to such an
extent that river traffic may have to
be abandoned. Much of it already has
been abandoned and merchants are
depending upon the parcel post branch
of the postal service and privately
owned motor trucks to bring supplies
from points between this city and
Point Lookout.
Residents of Maryland and Virginia
and few persons residing in the Dis
trict are continuing the work of har-
vesting ice. Ice is being harvested in
lower Maryland to a greater extent
than for the past several years, ac-
cording to reports. and hotel owners
and others who cater to Washington
fishermen already have ice enough
gathered to last them the coming sea-
son.
Because of the great amount of ice
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