Norwich bulletin., 1922-11-25
Handicaps Thermes Co.

uting point for the towns to the north and east.
 Handicaps Thermes Co.
 Superintendent W. R. Hastedt of the American Thermos Bottle CO. endorsed what President Lerou had said ad stated that their business was a long way be- hind orders it can't get transportation 0 freight. It has 12 cars in New Jersey i and 15 in Viz nia which could be load cd into vess D. if the vessels could get up the river. Water carried freight; he said. by way of the Panama Canal was what enabled the company to compete with Japanese goods.
 Inquiries About Public Wharf Major Peterson inquired if there were any public wharf here. saying thaJ: ire qu-ntly the government has required a city to build and maintain a public dock.
 President Lerou informed the govern ment engineer that all the docka Ee here is taken and Lucius Briggs spoke Of in dividual shippers having arranged for dis charge of cargoes with private owners of docks. Much crushed stone for the city and state had been discharged here that way. It was probable. thought that i there woull be no difficulty about making such arrangements.
 ] Distribution Through Norwich ! Major Peterson asked what could be shown as what portion of the fre i-ht re- ceived in or brought to Norwich for boaft shipment would be for or from industries outside the immediate town territory. If the benefit were purely local. as had been the case at Westerly, the EO~ern- ment would be likely to ask the city : 10 pay some share of the impr ovement. At Westerly the government paid one fourth and Westerly three-fourthSl 1 Russell A. Clapp of the Come cticut Sales and Engineer Co.,, responded, stat : Ing that there were mills about MdntvfIle : and Oalldale that would be glad to use boat-freight facilities at Norwich if
 q deeper channel were secured.
 Boat Line Manager Speaks I Manager Lamb of the ThauH River Line, which operates the steamer Cape
 Cod. said the boat draws 12 l-2 feet
 aft and touches the bottom in the river in spots. She cant come up the river
 in fog, because she can't take the cbanc- 7: es Of anchoring in the narrow channel as she might go aground. Care has to be
 used in loading the freight and at times , it has been necessary to leave part of a shipment behind because of fear or in-
 creasing the draught of the boat by h;avy
 loading.
 ' At the suggestion Of Major Peterson, Secretary John J. O'Rourke of the
 chamber of commerce called on several to speak after he had mentioned that , Norwich was surrounded by a nuuIber of , small villages and was the distributing . point for Eastern Connecticut.
 William C. Park of the Airlie Mills al Hanover stated that at present they : shipped largely by rail through Baltic
 but of sufficient boat-freight facilities
 could be provided they could ship from Norwich by the use ot trucks and there
 was a plant at Dayville that could shiT ' the same way He mentioned the Pc.
 nemah mills at TaftTlle. the Lawtor II : mill at Piainfieid and Jewett City mill, as others that could use Norwich boa
 lines.
 sl Manager Moon of the Versailles Sani
 tary Fibre mills endorsed the plan fol 7. deepening the channel in the river ana t F. V. R. KnoUse. who has been loca ' agent for several years for Norw1ci boat lines declared that it had alwayl II been difficult to interest New York peopl, - in running boats here because of tn, ., shallow channel At one time the steam T CT Chelsea, which drew If feet, brok' Y out every blade in her propeller througl U striking some object on the bottom $ probably a submerged pile. The IA foo F depth doesn't allow enough water fo
 DpdLS llidN nOulu uSt LllG 1fle ll II adequate channel has been one of tn e reasons for the poor boat service. ,- River Captains Speak
 Capt. Martin Colberg, who mas been ol
 the river since 1892, asserted that
 boat drawing IF 1-2 feet was bound t
 strike in a 14 foot channel. He ha
 known of man who considered runnin
 boat line from Boston to New Londo
 and Norwich, but he needed a IS foo
 channel and dropped the subjec when h ,- found the Thames had only 14 feet t IT Norwich
 e Secretary O'Rourke of the chamber 0 h commerce confirmed the statement tha
 both operators are looking for Norwic $ business and said that one of the larges 1T companies in New York is thinking C IS running boat line here. If the river 'e deepened there will be other lines ,lookin l- for Norwich business.
 Capt. George c. Crocker was called oI II He remarked facetiousfy that he didn n know much about the subject as he hs 10 been on the river since 1865 and va p, the oldest living pilot and master ( -I t vessels. He had held pilot license fc 'L exactly 50 years, 1 month and day I, up to the time he retired, and had eI -ii erated boats on the river all the va from 25 feet in length to 515 feet. E ,e declared enphatically that the cham, a4 was too narrow and should be deept ,d and wider. The present day type ra barges that draw from Is to IS fei
 can't get to Norwich. and that is u 4- kind that would want to come here if tf m could. ts MT. Knouse added the point that boa w were in danger Tn winter from beir re crowded out of the channel by ice. H. The hearing was adjourned at 2.3o. ly