New Britain herald., 1926-12-11
CONNECTICUT RIVER NAVIGATION

l i~NNSN "
 ernment army engineers are busy a good part of the time in an attempt to make of the river which glorifies
 the state more than a convenient sewer for the cities and towns along
 it's banks.
 Holyoke and Springfield are cer-
 tain that the improvement of the
 river above Hartford would be of
 great benefit to Central Massachu- sets, especially to Holyoke and Springfield. The army engineers seem inclined to be of assistance, too.
 It will be remembered that in February, 1925, the chief of en- gineers recommended the dredging of a channel 100 feet wide and seven feet deep at low water between Hartford and the Enfield rapids; this at an estimated cost of sS3 LOGO, plus sl7,000 for maintenance the first year and s11,000 annually thereafter. But the fly in the oint- ment Is that the engineers at the same time stipulated that one-half of the expense of dredging the chan nel should be borne by the cities which would benefit most from river navigation above the Enfield rapids. Under this stipulation the costs to Springfield, Chicopee and Holyoke woE d be about s55,ooo.
 Letting the government do the dredging and pay all the costs, com- pared with the cities involved pay ing for half of the costs, Is not the same thing, however. Hence We find that the economically bent Cham bers of Commerce in the cities named have been unable 10 agree upon some plan to furnish the money. Needless to add. the govern ments Of the cities are entirely de- void of enthusiasm about spending s55,oo for the improvement of river navigation, regardless of the i'm mense benefits" that might accrue.
 Nobdy would have the hardihood to hint that there is a species of the pork barrel connected with the scheme. Yet this is what the army engineers in their report have seen fit to state;
 No permanent benefit has
 resulted from the work so far
 done by the government, and
 none is expected until com-
 prehensive project is worked
 out, although to date total of
 s120,21S have been expended
 on the project"
 Plans to improve the Connecticut river south of Hartford seems more bereft of technicalities. Maj-Gen. Edgar Jadwin reported to Congress that he recommended $40, ,000 be ex- pended during the year beginning July 1, 1927, for the improvement of the river south of Hartford, this in addition to the fact that during the past fiscal year dredging on the Connecticut river south of Hartford ! was carried on at an expense of | SIS, ,769, while total expenditures | during the year on this project | to sS5,25O The project be- low Hartford Is reported to be about | S4 per cent completed, including the | channel from the mouth of the river to Hartford, the Saybrook jet lies, the retaining walls at Hartford, he clay banks and Shears shoals, md other minor parts of the pro- ect.
 That the expense of making the Connecticut river amenable to com nerce on a larger scale is large and growing Is evident from the report hat to date s1,302,541 has been ex- pended on the river improvements rom the mouth of the stream to Hartford. The city that benefits most is Hartford; but how much it 'enefits is open to discussion. What benefit has been derived by the apital city is given in the words of he engineers report as follows:
 "The work done has offered
 the city of Hartford and other river ports the advantage of |, water transportation, has stabil-
 ized the channels across the
 river bars, and has effected a
 reduction in the water rates on ! bulk commodities" While the cities and towns above { hartford are failing to find it ad- ( antagcous to expcnd half of the ost of dredging, it is estimated that |, he annual saving in freight charges I o all cities between Hartford and $ iolyokc would exceed $500, 900. The ities are eager to bag the benefits.