JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT A NEW GATEWAY TO AMERICA What the Plans are and what Eifect this Improvement will have on New York's Commerce Gagk Library ^^^^ Year Ho. 3. ^ TO secure the test care, telephone our Estimate Department, 4170 Main/ for the storage of your household goods and valuables. Expert packers. Carpets cleaned by electric or vacuum machinery The Eagle Warehouse and Storage Co.?.?.?,™? OFFICERS and DIRECTORS of the EAOLE WAREHOUSE AND STORAGE COMPANY OFFICERS SETH L. KEENEY, President JOHN E. CASSIDY, Vice-President HERBERT F. GUNNISON, Secretary and Treasurer DIRECTORS Andrew D. Bajbd Julian D. Faikchild William Hester James McGovern John E. Cassidy Robert Furey ' Beth L. Keeney John McNamee Daniel J. Creem Herbert F. Gonnison T. M. Lloyd D. H. Valentine Wm. M. Van Anden Manager John E. Cassidy ***** JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT A New Gateway to America What the Plans Are and What Effect This Improvement Will Have on New York's Commerce. OFFICE OF PUBLICATION: EAGLE BUILDING, BROOKLYN. NEW YORK Entered at the Brooklyn-New York Post Office as second-class matter. VOL. XXV, No. 3 of the Eagle Library. Serial No. 157, March, 1910. Trademark, "Eagle Library," registered. Yearly subscription, $1.00. Almanac Number, 50 cents. 2 'JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. THE BAY DREDGING CONTRACTING CO., of 215 Montague St., has been doing work around Jamaica Bay for over three years. It has three of the largest and most up-to-date Dredges in the East, with a capacity of 400,000 cubic yards a month. BAY DREDGING CONTRACTING CO. 215 Montague St., Brooklyn, N.Y. CONTENTS Page. Preface 5 The New Harbor at Jamaica Bay, by Chas. B. Lav 7 Why Jamaica Bay Should Be Improved, by Henry A. Meyer 11 History of Jamaica Bay, by Noyes F. Palmer and Frederick Van Wyck 13 Jamaica Bay Needs 30-Foot Channel, by Calvin Tomkins 14 Remarks Before the Barge Canal Terminal Com- mission, by N. B. Killmer 15 The Value of Improving Jamaica Bay Now, by Nathaniel H. Levi 18 Page. The Building of Jamaica Bay Harbor, by Fred- erick Boyd Stevenson 19 One Thousand Ton Barge Terminal: By Elbridge G. Snow 21 The Influence of the Jamaica Bay Improvement on Real Estate, by Elwin S. Piper 22 Chapter 568, Laws of New York 22 Extracts from Majority Report, Jamaica Bay Commission 23 Government Map of Jamaica Bay 24, 25 Extracts from Minority Report, Jamaica Bay Commission 31 Accept the Eagle's Invitatioh to come and visit its Information Bureaus in Brooklyn or New York. Particulars gladly given regarding any resort. The most splendid system in the world. Branches at 608 14th Street, Washington, D. C; 53 Rue Cambon, Paris, France, and 3 Regent Street, London, England, for the traveler. GO GET A EUEOPEAN RESORT DIRECTORY AND PARIS GUIDE New Editions Out in May JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. Some Days from Now the Pennsylvania Railroad will begin operating between Manhattan and Jamaica. They are now spending millions of dollars on their new terminal at Jamaica, and Jamaica Bay will soon be the largest harbor in the world. SOUTH OZONE PARK is ideally located between these two new improve- ments and is intersected by the Rockaway Plank Road, which is being widened to a 1 50 foot boule- vard running from Brooklyn City Line to the Rocka- ways. This readily proves that lots at South Ozone Park are the very best investment on the market. Lots can be bought for $375 and upward on easy terms of $9 down and $1 per week. Come out and see what bargains can be snapped up at South Ozone Park, only 45 minutes from Park Row. Take Fulton Street City Line " L" train to end of road, then Freeport trolley to grounds. Or write for booklet of lots and houses. DAVID P. LEAHY REALTY CO. 22 Court Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT The question of the Jamaica Bay Improvement is one which has been discussed pro and con for many years. Some of New York's most influential citizens have been, and are, very enthusiastic over the project. Who is the father of the plan is not a settled question. A number of citizens living in the neighborhood of Jamaica Bay suggested a plan of improvement years ago. Frederick Wygant, a lawyer, of Manhattan, has been interested in the project for many years. Probably most credit is due, however, to Edward M. Grout for the beginning of a real agitation. He was the first to put before the government a definite and tangible proposition. Since then, organizations have been effected to promote legislation and educational campaigns. Other men and organizations have been just as persistent in claiming that the scheme is impossible of successful solution. However, the commission appointed by the Mayor has made a thorough investigation, and, although there is both a majority and a minority report, all members of the commission agree that Jamaica Bay should be developed as a seaport. With the appropriation by the United States Government of $225,000 to be spent annually for a number of years, providing New York City does its part, enthusiasm for the project has been considerably enhanced. It is practically certain that the city will appropriate $1,000,000 for the preliminary work, and so put its stamp of approval on the favorable reports of the commission. The city appropriation will, in the first instance, be devoted to the survey work involved in the laying out and planning of what promises to be the greatest harbor that has ever been projected. Necessarily, it will be a work of some years, but, when completed, a revolution of the Port of New York will have been wrought. The passages of freight steamers will be shortened some hours and the inconveniences: of the present ter- minals of the port will be overcome, while the facilities for ocean traffic will be greatly improved. Whether the passenger steamers will find their dockage there is a question which must be left to de- velopment. What the influence on the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, of the completed work, will be can hardly be overestimated. It is quite clear that there will be great changes in real estate values. Proper- ties of Brooklyn now held for future development will naturally be enhanced in values. Brooklyn will lose the distinction she has so long held as a city and a borough of being a city of churches and homes. She will become as great a part, commercially, of Greater New York as is Manhattan. Every citizen of the greater city will share in the benefits of this improvement, for it will mean that commerce which now cannot find room for its activities in the inadequate facilities of New York's docks and wharves will find room for enlarging its operations. The Chelsea Improvement is a big undertaking, but compared to the Jamaica Bay Improvement it is a pigmy. Few citizens of New York realize— in fact, cannot realize in this preliminary stage — the vast- ness of this undertaking. 6 JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. 17c. Per Day Makes You the Owner of High Class New York City Property at RICHMOND HILL ESTATES The property that will benefit most through the Great Jamaica Bay Im- provement. 1 8 Iminutes from Herald Square. , _ . r Rockawav Parkwav running through our I 5 minutes rrom semi.Bu ng ai w Flatbush Avenue or Rockaway Beach. 6 Transit Lines. Two Trolley Lines Pass Property. High and Dry. Finest Improvements. Beautiful Homes. TERMS same as Rent or Money to Build. Spot for * : mi-Eun 5 a:ows Write NOW for HOME AND INVESTMENT BULLETIN. A "Gem" at Kiomuond Hill EstaW*. DAWLEY & WILDEROTER, 215 MONTAGUE STREET, Tcr cnumicc I 3086 and 3087 Main TELEPHONE;*: ; gc)g Ric hmond Hill BROOKLYN, N. Y. The New Harbor at Jamaica Bay A Legislative History of -the Ptoject, by Hon. Charles B. Law, in the House of Representatives, February 14» 1910. Mr. Chairman— I desire to avail myself of the privilege accorded me by unani- mous consent of the House to insert in the Congressional Record a statement of the genesis, history and status of the project to create a harbor in Jamaica Bay, New York, for which the rivers and harbors bill, now up for consideration in the House, provides an appropriation of $250,500. I wish to dispel, if I can, the erroneous impression that seems to hav# prevailed on the part of some that the project is not for the immediate fu- ture, but for coming generations. I ex- pect to be able to show to the satisfac- tion ot those interested in the matter that if this project receives the sup- port and co-operation of the City of N'ew York, to which it is entitled and upon which Its success depends, there is no practical reason that can be assign- ed why work cannot be actually com- menced in xhe year 1910. It Is perhaps pertinent at this point to say ft few words concerning the physi- cal characteristics of Jamaica Bay and its geographical .relation to the City of New York. The bay measures about 6ix miles east and west and about four miles north and south. It is connected | with the ocean by Rockaway Inlet and constitutes a perfectly sheltered harbor. It hat a water surface of approximately 25 square miles with an entrance less than half a mile wide. Its waters are generally shallow but penetrated by nat- ural channels radiating from the entrance toward various points on the shore. The expense of necessary dredging will be at a minimum because the material to be dredged will be principally sand and gravel and some clay. The reports of the United States Geological Survey show that no rock is to be encountered. The entrance to the Bay is about seven miles east of the Narrows and is readily accessible either from the ocean or from New York Bay. The New York Connect- ing Railroad skirts the shores of the bay and will connect with the Pennsylvania Railroad to the West and with the New York, New Haven and Hartford and the New York Central Railroads to the North and East. The bay occupies the southeastern portion of Greater New York and comprises mors than one-fourth of the combined areas of the Boroughs | of Brooklyn and Queens. It is sur- I rounded by a vast territory of unim- proved land and marsh land which can be acquired by the City of New York and reclaimed by the dredged material from the channels proposed to be constructed. According to the estimate of Hon. Ed- ward M. Grout, former Controller of the City of New York. at least sixteen thousand acres of valuable land can be made by the City of New York, the value of which will be greater than the total cost of the improvement to the city. It is important at this point that we con- sider the fact* and circumstances making necessary further development and ex- tension of the New York water front. An absolute need of increased water front and dockage facilities in and about the shores of New York has arisen, caused by the marvelous growth of that city during the past few years and the tre- mendous increase in the commerce of its port. According to the reports of the census taken in the year 1890, the present City of New York then had a population or 2.507.414. The census taken in the year 1900. shows a*net increase of popula- tion during the ten vears from 1S90 to 1900 of 92S.788. In ten years time this city added to its population more resi- Charles B. Law. dents than were in the year 1900 to be found in any other city in the United States, save Chicago and Philadelphia. The report of the New York State Census, taken in 1905. shows a total population for the City of New York in that year of 4,013,781, or a net increase of 576,579 over the population of 1900. Again in Ave years this city has added to its pop- ulation more residents than in the year 1900 were to be found in any other city of the United States, save Chicago and Philadelphia. The increase in commerce of the Port of New York has kept pace with its tre- mendous strides in population. During the. thirty years between 1875" and 1005, tbe value of the imports and exports en- tered and cleared at the Port of New York practically doubled while the ton- nage in foreign trade alone increased at , a still greater rate. The total value of J manufactured products in New York and Brooklyn in 1905 showed a net increase | since the year 1880 of more than 100 per | cent. In his report to the chief of en- gineers, United States Army, Colonel John G. D. Knight, who had in charge the government surveys of Jamaica Bay, in discussing the future tonnage at the Port of New York, reaches his con- clusion, after exhaustive study, in the following language: "We can say that this tonnage will greatly increase and that it is thought that in ten years available water front for wharfage around Manhattan and in upper New York Bay will be exhausted. Provision for additional frontage must be made, which provision should be on New York Bay, if practicable, and Ja- maica Bay affords the only site for such addition." It was only five years ago that this scheme to create a harbor in Jamaica Bay was regarded by the vast majority of people as a mere dream so far as the present generation is concerned. It was generally believed that if the thing was done, it would be in the far distant future and for the use of future generations, and yet, It has happened during that five years period of time such practical prog- ress has been made that now the initial appropriation of $250,500 to commence actual work is being made- by Congress and it is confidently believed that the City of New York will shortly make its initial appropriation of $1,000,000 for the same purpose. I believe that, the people of Brook- lyn will be interested to know the steps by whirh this progress has been achieved and the practical ideas that have pre- vRiled in bringing about the result, and the purpose of this statement is mainly to give a concise history of the improve- ment. After a most painstaking study and in- vestigation of the subject I became con- vinced that the primary condition of suc- cess rested in a plan of co-operation as between the United States government nnd the City of New York. The reason for the necessity of such co-operation will be apparent upon considering the practical situation. It was obvious that the United States would not expend vast sums of money in dredging channels un- less the general government could be as- sured that the City of New York would construct the docks and other appurte- nances necessary to make said channels available for commerce. On the other hand, the City of New York would not. of course, construct such docks and piers without assurance that the United StateB would dredge the channels necessary to make them available for use. Hence was the absolute necessity of providing for a co-operative plan. Accordingly, in the winter of 1907, there was inserted in the rivers and harbors act of that year a provision directing the Secretary of War to cause a preliminary examination or survey to be made of: "The waters of Jamaica Bay, including entrance to said bay at Rockaway Inlet, and those waters having their outlet in Dead Horse Tnlet, with a view to framing a plan for their improvement and rec- ommending the order of such improve- ment with the cost thereof, and to recom- mend the proportion of such cost to be borne by the city of New York; and the 8 JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. Secretary of War is hereby requested to confer and co-operate with the Com- missioner of Docks. -and Ferries of the city of New York, or with any other duly authorized agen(s. officers or representa- tives of the city of New "York, and with any commission of engineers appointed, or who shall hereafter be appointed, to survey or examine said bay and to recom- mend to the city of New York plans for the improvemen' of said Jamaica Bay or the lands in and about said bay." After drafting this provision and be- fore it was submitted to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors of the House of Representatives. I submitted a copy of the draft to the members of the Jamaica Bay Improvement Commission, to which I shall make further reference hereafter, and in turn accompanied by two mem- bers of this commission, I called upon Mayor McClellan of New York and sub- mitted it to him for his approval. At the close of this interview the Mayor heartily approved the provision, but expressed doubt as to the possibility of getting it enacted into law. It was. however, in- corporated in the rivers and harbors bill which was passed and approved by the President March 2. 1907. It is unquestionably true that the genesis of the movement, so far as defi- nite and practical effort is concerned, is found in a communication on the subject addressed to the commissioner of the sinking fund of the city of New York, dated March 17. 1905. " y Edward M. Grout, then Controller of the city of New York. The plans now under considera- tion for the improvement of Jamaica Bay follow the general recommendations con- tained in Mr. Grout's communication to rather a remarkable degree. Mr. Grout's communication closes with the following recommendation : "I. therefore, request your considera- tion of the appointment of a commission to recommend plans for the development of the water front of the city outside of Manhattan Island, and especially of the development of Jamaica Bay." Following the recommendation of Mr. Grout, the Board of Estimate and Appor- tionment of the city of New York, on March 2. 1906. passed a resolution au- thorizing the appointment by the Mayor of a' commission of engineers for the pur- pose of reporting upon the general im- provement and development of Jamaica Bay in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, and also upon the condition of the water front of the city of New York other than that of Manhattan Island. Pursuant to this resolution, on April 26. 1906. the Mayor appointed Philip P. Far- ley.. William G. Ford and John J Mc- Laughlin to compose the Jamaica Bay Improvement Commission. Oh May 31. 1907, the said commirsion submitted to the Board of Estimate and Apportion- ment of the city of New York a majority report, signed by Mr. Farley and Mr. McLaughlin, and a minority report signed by Mr. Ford. These reports were made prior to any conference with the Secre- tary of War. as provided in the said pro- vision of the rivers and harbors act of March 2.. 1907. The majority report rec- ommended a plan estimated to cost ap- proximately $14,000,000; the minority re- port recommended a more elaborate plan, estimated to cost approximately $47,000.- 000. These reports were based largely upon the assumption that the city of New York would make the improvement without federal aid, and have since been superseded by the reports of the same commission submitted December 27. 1909. The life of the Jamaica Bay Improvement Commission expired by limitation on June 1, 1907. Imnediately thereafter and under date of June 5, 1907, I addressed the following communication to the Mayor of the city of New York: "Hon. George B. McClellan, Mayor of the City of New York. Borough Hall, New York. "My Dear Mr. Mayor— You will prob- ably remember that la the month of January 1 called upon you In company with William G. Ford, a member of the commission of engineers appointed by you on behalf of me city, to investigate the project for the improvement of Ja- maica Bay. and at that time suDmltled to you a proposed provision to be Inserted In the river and harbor bill, providing for a general survey of Jamaica Bay In co-operation with the city's commission o£ engineers, with a view to framing a plan to be carried out jointly by the city and the Federal Government. That provision was approved by you and was incorporated in the river and harbor bill. 1 enclose herewith a copy of said bill. Said provision will be found on page 47. "I am informed tliat the city's com- mlsion I of engineers has submitted its report to the Board of Estimate and Ap- portionment, making proper reference therein to said provision of the river and harbor bill. "1 am also informed that the life of the city's commission of engineers expired on June 1, and that no provision hag been made for the extension of the life of said commission, for the purpose of co- operation and conference with the gov- ernment engineers. If the life of the commission is extended or renewed, I be- lieve there is no doubt that a joint plan can be agreed upon, and that the Fed- eral Government will be prepared to bear a considerable portion of the ex- pense. If the city's commission is not con- tinued in existence and the government engineers are not afforded the oppor- tunity to confer with a commission rep- resenting the city, an adverse report on the proposed survey will probably follow, and 1 believe that will mean a very de- cided set-back to the proposed plans. "I am informed that the proposed re- port of the city's commission will come up for consideration before the Board of Estimate and Apportionment at its meeting on Friday of the present week, and I believe a statement of the situa- tion should be In your hands prior to that date. "Unfortunately it is impossible for me to call upon you personally before Fri- day, but 1 shall try to do so the early part of next week. I should have called this matter to your attention before, but I was led to believe that the life of the city's commission would be extended to July 1, by act of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. This appears not to have been done. Yours very truly, "CHARLES B. LAW." The Mayor submitted the above com- munication to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment at its regular meeting on June 7. 1907, and pursuant to a resolution then passed by the board, the said com- mission was reappointed and to its original duties was added that of con- ferring with the Secretary of War rela- tive to the survey or examination of Ja- maica Bay and to recommend plans for the improvement thereof. It fell to Colonel John G. D. Knight. Corps U. S. Army Engineers, who was then district engineer in charge at New York, to represent the Secretary of War in the conferences with the Jamaica Bay Lmprovement Commis- sion which began immediately after the reappointment of the commission in June, 1907. and continued up to the early part of the year 1909. In view of the results that have followed. I take a natural pride in teh fact that it was my privilege to present the commission to the district engineer, the representative of the Sec- retary of War. and to inform him that the City of New York had clothed the commission with power to represent it in the conferences that were to follow. The conferences were had mainly with a view to agreeing upon the location of a prin- cipal channel, but also relative to dis- tributing secondary channels through the collection of islands lying in the central portion of Jamaica Bay. When a general plan for the improve- ment and the location of channels had been tentatively agreed upon, the actual surveys were commenced by the army engineers In the spring of 1908, and were finally completed late In the fall of that year. Under date of January 30, 1909, the district engineer submitted his report based upon the general agreement be- tween him and the Jamaica Bay Improve- ment Commission as a result of the con- ferences to which I have alluded. The joint plan embraced an entrance channel at Rockaway Inlet with a first depth of eighteen feet and width of 500 feet and a main interior channel extending from the southeast corner of Barren Island northerly and easterly skirting the westerly and northerly shores of Ja- maica Bay to Cornell's Creek in Queens County, with a first depth and width to be the same as that of the entrance channel. As the needs of commerce may require both the entrance and interior main .channels are to be deepened to 30 feet. The entrance channel is to have an ultimate width of 1.500 feet and the interior channel 1,000 feet. The joint plan of Improvement con- templates the use of the material dredged from the main Interior channel to fill in behind the city's bulkhead, the purpose being to make valuable land for the City of New York, and to save the enormous expense that would be Involved In tak- ing the dredged material out to sea. In this connection arises one of the most striking and ingenious features or the re- port of Colonel Knight to the War De- partment, recommending that the dredg- ing of the main channel be required of the City of New York, and that the city be reimbursed therefore at the rate of 10 per cent, per cubic yard, which Is the cost of dredging the main channel as esti- mated by the majority of the Jamaica Bay Improvement Commission. The purpose of this recommendation was to avoid com- plications on the part of the City of New York with Government contractors, as such complications would be sure to arise if an attempt were made to co-ordinate areas of dredging with areas of All at varying distances, each class from the other, the areas of dredging to be In- dicated by the government, and the areas of fill to depend upon the construction of embankments or bulkheads by the city. The report of Colonel Knight submitted to the Chief of Engineers on January 30, 1909, was forthwith transmitted to the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Har- bors at Washington. It contemplated an expenditure of $8,610,050 by the govern- ment. It was considered at length and in detail at two sessions of the said Board. On February 16. or thereabout, I learned that the Board contemplated reducing the allowance to the City of New York for the dredging of the main interior chan- nel to 5 cents per cubic yard. This would have meant a loss to the City of New York of approximately $3,000,000. I also learned that in accordance with the cub- tom of the Board not to make substantial changes in a report of a District Engineer without giving parties interested an op- portunity to be heard, the Secretary of the Board had been instructed to com- municate with the Mayor of the City of New York, notifying him that a hearing would be given on March 2, 1909. This would have made it impossible to secure any legislation at that session of Con- gress, which would adjourn on March 4. or only two days later. Fortunately the letter had not been mailed, and I suc- ceeded in having the date of the hearing changed to February 23. Having se- cured this change of date. I immediately went to New York and conferred with city officials. The result was that at the hearing on February 23, the Mayor was officially represented by Nelson P. Lewis, Chief Engineer of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, and the Ja- maica Bay Improvement Commission was represented by William G. Ford. The result of the very effective arguments of- fered by Mr. Lewis and Mr. Ford, was that a compromise at 8 cents per cubic yard was reached, and a saving to the City of Nf -.v York of 51.77' 1 !»00 was effect** A » 'JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. 9 modified by the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, the report of the War Department recommends that the Federal Government shall ultimately ex- pend upon the project, $7,430,050. The Rivers and Harbors Bill of that session of Congress (1907) had already passed the House and the last meeting of the Committee on Commerce of the Senate for the consideration of the bill was held February 24. The report of the Board of Engineers for rivers and harbors was not available for inspection until the morning of that day. However, after in- spection of the report, I was fortunate enough to secure a hearing before the Senate Committee, and succeeded in per- suading them to adopt the following amendment, which was inserted in the Rivers and Harbors Bill of that year: "The Secretary of War is hereby di- rected to report as soon as he is satisfied that the City of New York is prepared to undertake the work to be done by it pre- liminary to or contemporaneous with any dredging to be done by the United States government as recommended in the re- port and plan of the Secretary of War transmitted under date of February twen- ty-fifth, nineteen hundred and nine, for the improvement of Jamaica Bay, New York, and its entrance at Rockaway In- let and Dead Horse Inlet." The present appropriation of $250,500 is based upon the following recommenda- tion contained in the report of the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbor3: "The Board further recommends that the 18-foot entrance channel should not be dredged until the Secretary of War is satisfied that the City of New York is prepared to undertake its part of the general plan of improvement outlined aboTe. The estimated cost of this chan- nel for first development of 18 feet is $350,500, and this is the amount of the first appropriation necessary under the conditions cited." Immediately after the passage of the River and Harbor Act of March 3, 1909, the field of activity shifted to the state capital at Albany. From time immemor- ial, there had existed a sharp dispute, be- tween the state and the City of New York as to the ownership of lands under water in Jamaica Bay. Obviously the City of New York could not safely proceed with the dredging of the main interior chan- nel and with the expenditure of millions of dollars In the improvement until it had absolute and undisputed title to the lands under water in Jamaica Bay. The settlement of this title had been under consideration for a dozen years by the corporation counsel and litigation in one form or another had been in progress for at least five years. It was conceded that the question of the title could not or would not be settled through litigation in the courts for many years yet to come. This meant the indefinite postponement of the improvement. Accordingly, William G. Ford of the Jamaica Bay Improvement Commission drafted a measure to be introduced in the state legislature by which all the right, title and interest of the state in and to lands under water in Jamaica Bay would be ceded to the City of New York. I went to Albany with Mr. Ford and to- gether we succeeded in putting the meas- ure In such shape as to satisfy the State Land Office and the Attorney General. In its final shape it ceded the said lands under water to the City of New York for the purpose of creating a harbor, but, further provided, that the grant should become operative upon the government making its first appropriation for the creation of the new harbor, or upon the City of New York appropriating and set- ting aside a sum, not less than $1,000,000, for the same purpose. The bill was in- troduced in the Assembly by Assembly- man Isaac Sargent, whose name it bears, and in the Senate by Senator Charles Alt. The bill was passed with compara- tive ease in the Assembly, but in the Senate great difficulty was experienced because of the constant interference of private interests owning upland about Jamaica Bay and who wanted to get grants of land under water in front of their upland property. Amendments were twice injected into the bill in this manner. These amendments were not of themselves serious in their character, as they constituted only slight exceptions to the operation of the bill, but they were serious in obstructing the passage of the bill. The last amendment was thus in- jected into the bill on Tuesday of the last week of the session. As the Legislature adjourned on Friday and the reprinted bill had to lie on the desks three legis- lative days before passage unless the Governor interfered with an emergency message, it seemed at that time unlikely that the bill would succeed. However, on the following day, we appealed to Governor Hughes for his assistance. An emergency message from Governor Hughes certifying to the public import- ance of the bill and to the necessity of its immediate consideration by the Legis- lature resulted in its passage that day by the Senate and the adoption of the Senate amendments by the Assembly. The bill was thereafter returned to Governor Hughes by Mayor McClellan with his ap- proval. It was, for a time, contended that the bill had not been returned by the Mayor within the constitutional limit of time. This view, was, however, over- ruled by the Attorney General and on May 28, 1909, the Governor summoned all par- ties interested in the bill to a public hearing on the afternoon of that day. A considerable number of private concerns owning upland about Jamaica Bay ap- peared by attorneys and otherwise in op- position to the bill on the ground that they had not made application to the Land Office for grants of land under water in front of their upland property and that the bill would prevent their se- curing such grants. Those of us who had been responsible for the introduction and passage of the bill, conceded that the effect of it would be to prevent such grants to private interests and that one of the main purposes of the bill was to prevent exactly that sort of thing and to save to the City of New York the enor- mous expense that would be involved in regaining title to such lands for general commercial purposes. We contended that the rights of the upland owners to ac- cess by water was subject and subordi- nate to the general purposes of com- merce. This view prevailed and on the following day, May 29, 1909, Governor Hughes approved the bill with the follow- ing memorandum: "State of New York, "Executive Chamber, Albany. "May 29th, 1909. "Memorandum filed with Assembly bill number 2354 (Senate reprint, number 1633), entitled 'An Act to grant to the City of New York certain lands under water in Jamaica Bay and vicinity.' "APPROVED. "This bill bears the indorsement of the Clerk of the Assembly that it was trans- mitted to the Mayor of the City of New York on May 1, 1909. It was received by me, on its return, on May 17. 1909. I am informed by the Mayor that the bill was actually delivered to him on May 3, 1909. Under the opinion of the Attorney General that the time for its return is to be computed from the date of auch delivery, I have acted upon the bill. The certificate attached to the bill does not show the assent of two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of the Legislature. But I am advised that such assent was in fact given and ie shown by the record of both Houses. "This bill Is designed to enable the City of New York to co-operate with the Federal Government in the creation of a new harbor in and about Jamaica Bay, including the making of channels, basins, slips and other necessary adjuncts and, as the bill recites, to secure 'the ad- vancement of the commercial interests of the state and nation.' For this pur- pose the grant is made to the City of New York of such right, title and inter- est as the State of New York may have in and to the land under water in Ja- maica Bay and Rockaway Inlet, and the tributaries thereto, as stated. The bill provides that the grant 'shall become operative upon the United States Gov- ernment making its first appropriation for the creation of the new harfeor mentioned in this act. or upon the City of New York appropriating and setting aside a sum not less than one million dollars for the same purpose.' "It 1b of manifest importance that pro- vision be made for the proper protection of the public interest in and about the waters of New York, and that the neces- sary and important developments of the future should not be retarded or made more expensive to the community by failure at this time to take suitable steps to safeguard the public right. It may be regretted that the bill contains any ex- ception to its operation. But this is not a reason for its disapproval, for further delay will permit still more numerous ex- ceptions and detract from the public op- portunity which should be provided. "(Signed) "CHARLES E. HUGHES." Mr. Ford and I had spent about three weeks at Albany In securing passage of this measure, and its final approval by the governor of the state removed one of the most serious obstacles in the way of prosecuting the project. I believe few have realized the importance of this measure and the strenuous character of the fight that was waged for its enact- ment. The report of the War Department, heretofore referred to in detail, was sub- mitted to Congress on February 26, 1909. This report was based upon a general agreement or understanding between Colonel Knight, the district engineer, and the Jamaica Bay Improvement Commis- sion, as a result of the long-continued conferences to which I have heretofore alluded. The substance of this under- standing was that the Federal Govern- ment should dredge the entrance chan- nel and should reimburse the city to the extent of 8 cents per cubic yard for the dredging of the main interior channel. It will thus be seen that the general government exercises no jurisdiction In connection with this improvement inside the bulkhead line as determined tenta- tively by the United States district en- gineer and thu Jamaica Bay Improvement Commission. What should be done in- side and from this bulkhead line in the way of the construction of docks and piers and auxiliary basins, or the recla- mation of land, was left to the City of New York subject only to the recom- mendation that the eighteen-foot entrance channel should not bo dredged until the secretary of war was satisfied that the City of New York was prepared to un- dertake its part of the joint plan of im- provement. It will thus be seen that the report of the government's district en- gineer, approved by the secretary of war and submitted to Congress on February 26, 1909, subject to the changes I have indicated as to the amount to be al- lowed for the dredging of the main In- terior channel, was a report concerning the part of the joint plan of the improve- ment to be undertaken by the general government outside the bulkhead line, leaving the Jamaica Bay Improvement Commission to report to the City of New York what it should do inside and from the bulkhead line in the way of carry- ing out the joint plan of the Improve- ment. The report of the district engineer and the secretary of war as to the part of the Improvement to be undertaken by the general government having been made as a result of the aforesaid conferences, It was then plainly in order in pursuance of said general arrangement, for the Jamai- ca Bay Improvement Commission to re- port to the City of New York recommend- ing plans for improvement Inside and from the bulkhead line and the cost thereof. 10 JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. Accordingly, during the early part of the summer of 1909. the Jamaica Bay Improvement Commission recommended thRt tho City of New York should ap- propriate $75,000 to be used for expenses of the Commission, including the pros- ecution of field work in Jamaica Bay necessary to determine with precision the location of the harbor lines agreed upon tentatively between the City of New York and the United States Gov- ernment theretofore shown graphically only, the determination of quantities in- volved In the excavation, the filling in of the lands, building of bulkheads and in acquiring the other necessary data upon which to base a more definite re- port.' The appropriation was promptly made, by the Board of Estimate and Ap- portionment and confirmed by the Board of Aldermen. The work went steadily on during the summer and fall of 1909. and on December 27, 1909, the Commisison again submitted a majority report signed by Mr. Farley and Mr. McLaughlin, and a minority report, signed by Mr. Ford. Both reports are favorable to the plan of co-operation with the United States gov- ernment but differ materially as to scope and detail. I think the main points of difference in the reports can be best stated in the parallel form as follows: Recommendations as to procedure for the near future: FARLEY . Mc- FORD REPORT. I LAUGHLIN REPORT (1.) Creating pre-| (J.) Creating pre- stop it would amount to about $150,000, and would give Queens Borough ad out- let. While it may be regarded as my duty to continue my official activity mainly to the Federal end of this enterprise, neverthe- less, as a citizen of Brooklyn I certainly am entitled to take an interest in the city's plans in meeting the Federal gov- ernment the same as I took an active part and interest as a citizen in the Sar- gent bill at Albany, and I do not hesi- tate to say that, while both reports are commendable in character, I believe it would be a serious error to select in ad- vance any one locality in the Bay for high class development until the city has acquired the lowlands about the Bay which will be required for the purposes of the improvement. I think that the selection of such locality or localities for special development before the city has Acquired such lands would result in un- necessary expense to the city. I am also of the opinion that Queens County should not be left out of account and that the 18 foot main interior channel should be carried around to Cornell's Creek in Queens County. The city is dealing with a big project, and, while proceeding with caution and due regard for reason- able economy, it should remember that the money devoted to this project is an investment for the city rather than an expenditure. I am very much gratified to learn that th e Board of Estimate and | Apportionment of the City of New York i is now unanimous in favor of appropri- John R. Corbin, John B. Creighton, Ter- ence F. Curley, John O'Connor, Elwin S. Piper, and a number of others whose names I do not now recall. The com- mittee had limited us in advance to one- half hour's time. So earnest, however, were the pleas of the men who came down from Brooklyn and so impressive were their arguments that nearly two hours time was readily conceded and consumed. Although there was no regular river and harbor bill at that session, the result of these hearings was the passage of a special bill providing for a survey with a view to estimating the cost of dredging the Coney Island channel to a depth of 20 feet and a width of 600 feet and with a view to estimating the cost of an en- trance channel into Jamaica Bay with the same depth and width. This was only one of two bills reported out of the river and harbor committee that year. The re- sult of the survey thus authorized was the subsequent appropriation of $188,300 for the Coney Island channel. The re- port on the survey for the entrance channel to Jamaica Bay was adverse In its character mainly on the ground that the cost was found to be excessive when disconnected with any plan for the im- provement of the interior of the bay. Th« subsequent survpy for both entrance and interior channels provided for in the river and harbor act of 1907, overcame the set-back that was experienced with reference to the 1906 survey for the en- trance channel. There is no doubt what- ever now that success was dependent upon uniting the plan for the improve - B ating a large sum of money to start this | ment of the entrance channel with th- umiuary IS ft. main liminary 18 ft. main | splendid work of public improvement. plan for the improvement of the interior channel throughout| c hannel only part of j Thus it appears that after five years f the bay eaitire length, giv-|the way. to the ex ing the Borough of| elusion of the Bor- Queens access to|tvugh of Queens, the sea as well asl the Borough of| Brooklyn. (2.) Disapproves! (2.) Select at this the selection in ad-|time for future of persistent effort the success of the plan to create a harbor in Jamaica Bay is assured by the certainty of large ap- Federal Government i propriations by the Fed and the City of New Y ork, respectively, that It may also here be remarked that tfte one important result of the hearings be- fore the rivers and harbors committee during the winter of 1905 to 1906. was •hairman of the committee. to carry out a co-operative plan. As I look back upon the history of the unusual events that have culminated it vance, and conse-ldevelopment at the | the practical success that is quent advertisement! expense of th of. one spot in thejon e particular spot Bay to the exclu-j in the Bay to the sion of all others, (exclusion of all oth- for high class de-|ers, no part of which velopment at thejis owned by the expense of the city.| city, prior to the pur-| chase of the ad-! jacent lands at a| fair but not exorbi-l tant price. | (3.) The connec-l (3.) Silent as tion of the 18 ft. | this, main channel with| the entire adjacent] shorefront, after| having developed.! for commercial en-l terprises, some spot! or spots, to be se-| lected hereafter. | sured, I am disposed to think that while obstacles have been encountered at almost every step of the way, the greatest diffi- ies of all were encountered in getting j inspection of Jamaica The difference in cost to the ci dredging the four miles of the prel : nary 18 foot channel beyond Messrs. Farley and McLaughlin Theodore E. Burton, now United States Senator from the State of Ohio, became sufficiently interested in the claims made so that in the summer of 1906, upon my invitation and the invitation of the men T have above referred to, he came to Brooklyn pnd made a thorough personal I believe that Mr. Burton's personal inspection of the bay was a matter of the greatest impor- tance In subsequent events. It may perhaps, in conclusion, be perti- nent to say that next to the matter of making the start, the greatest diflBculry that, has been encountered has been the spirit of pessimism, or at least the lack of optimism, that was for so long a time so widely prevalent. The optimists are now in the vast majority, but during most of the past five years they have been in a strange minority. In this connection. I desire to emphasize the fact if we peo- ple of Brooklyn desire to see the ulti- mate achievement of this project that means so much to her future and to the nd Brooklyn [ coming greatness of our borough as well tanner I shall never for- as of our city, we must have an abiding for i get. To the men who took part iu these | faith and confidence in the possibilities efforts at Washington the greatest j that are plainly in sight and an abiding i-ere such faith and confidence in our ability to the thing started. When I first took seat in Congress in December, 1905, I found that few, if any, of the members of the committee on rivers and harbors of the House had ever heard the name of Jamaica Bay. At the very start I had numerous talks with the distinguished I chairman of that committee and tried by to j all conceivable means to get him inter- ested in the matter. I finally decided that tho only way in which I could im- press the rivers and harbors committee was to secure a heariner for a delegation of public spirited, citizens from Brooklyn I who were blessed with enough of the j spirit of optimism to believe the thing to i be a possibility. The hearing was ar- ranged during the j responded where | credit is due. Among ti uld 1 men as Henry A. Meyer, Adolph Kiendl, ' achieve succesi. Why Jamaica Bay Should Be Improved By Henry A. Meyer, President of the Jamaica Bay Improvement Association. Henry A. Meyer has been an indefatigable worker for the improvement of Jamaica Bay. As president of the Jamaica Bay Improvement Association he has given a great deal of time to the effecting of proper legislation for the improvement. Mr. Meyer made an exhaustive study of foreign harbors and shipping during a month's visit of Europe in 1909. To my mind the proposed improving of Jamaica Bay as a commercial port in connection with New York's dock sys- tem, is just as necessary to the state and city of New York, as it is necessary that man eat to live. The proof of ne- cessity lies in evidence, and where more positive evidence of the necessity of the improving of Jamaica Bay "than the clamoring of New York's commerce for increased docking facilities." We are informed on reliable authority, by those who are well versed on port of New York statistics, that much commerce now enemiraged to other seaboard cities was only lost on account of New York's inability to provide adequate docking ac- ' commodations, this to our shame and dis- grace 'when we consider how unusually nature has favored us with so ideal an opportunity as offered by Jamaica Bay, which, with but little developing, and at less cost than authorized for the Erie barge canal, has in it the making of a most magnificent land-locked harbor, cap- able of assuring to New York forever pre-eminence as the commercial port of entry of our country. The minority report of the Commission appointed by Mayor McClellan to report on the feasibility of improving Jamaica Bay as a port-of-entry, proposes a re- clamation of 13,000 acres of marsh land into good tenantable land, this divided up into 20x100 foot lots means that the city would have 220,000 city lots to dis- pose of. or hold, just as it saw fit. The making of this land alone would be more than sufficient to pay for the en- tire proposed improvement. Secondly, the Commission provides for 133 miles of wharfage, while it would not be necessary to build that amount of wharfage at once, I am sure commerce would so expand with an improved Ja- maica Bay as a commercial port that dockage could not be rapidly enough provided. It would thus be paying for it- self at the very inception. In order to make good my assertion a6 to the great demand for dockage at Jamaica Bay, permit me to give a few positive facts: Take for instance the building operations of the sections bordering on Jamaica Bay, the Twenty-fourth, Twenty-sixth, Twen- ty-ninth and Thirty-second wards in the Borough of Brooklyn; the Building De- partment records show that 4.786 build- ings, at a cost of 126,000,000, were erected in these four wards in the year 1907. When we consider that every stick of timber, yes, I dare say, every bit of building material used in this vast build- ing operation, was either trucked from the Wallabout, Gowanus or Newtown creeks, one can easily grasp the urgent need of dockage nearer at home. I have often seen building operation in the Tv*enty-ninth and Thirty-second wards cease entirely for the reason that aterial firms refused to deliver on ac- count of distance. The same conditions exist in Queens Borough of our city where it borders Jamaica Bay, as at Jamaica, Woodhavcn, Morris Park, Springfield, Rosedale, Far Rockaway, Arverne and Rockaway Beach, all depending on long hauls of delivery by railroad. Is it then not strange that we have not been more alive to the possibilities of a Jamaica Bay harbor ere this? In the Twenty-ninth, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-sixth and Thirty-second wards of this city in 1907, 1908 and 1909 the number of buildings built were 10,348, at a valua- tion of $67,500,000. ""■'king these figures and approximating freight on the build- ing material used, there would be about $500,000 saved if freight were discharged direct on docks in the neighborhood in- stead of lightering, transferring and ex- changing freight in order to reach their destination in these wards. On e of the great drawbacks of the city of New York has been excessive terminal charges. The situation will be relieved fifty per cent, where outgoing ocean steamers can re- ceive and deliver freight directly from the cars, especially as regards grain and I live stock. The saving in expense on | these two items alone would in a few I yean; more than cover the cost of the initial improvement. No greater improvement that the Stata I of New York could foster or participate in would guarantee to it the benefit and profit assured by an improved Jamaica Bay. It is absolutely necessary that some provision be made for a seaboard ter- minal that will care for the increased | canal-barge traffic that will be developed by the Erie barge-canal now under con- struction; and where a more ideal loca- tion than Jamaica Bay harbor? The best proof that Jamaica Bay stands out as the most central seaboard terminal is the fact that the Pennsylvania Rail- road, and such roads as E. H. Harriman was interested in, have all planned for great terminals at Jamaica Bay, where it is made practicable to bring rail and shipping interests in direct con- nection, thus doing away with the now costly and burdensome intertransporta- tion charges. It is only such connecting features that will forever assure ihe future expansion of commerce. I have had opportunity of visiting such great harbors as those of Hamburg, Bre- men, Rotterdam and Liverpool. All these ports, as you are aware, are located from fifty or sixty miles from the ocean, every foot of which must be continually dredged to permit vessels to reach their land- ings. Compare such conditions as against the possibilities of magnificent Jamaica Bay connecting directly with deep oceat waters. The creation of Jamaica Bay a£ a commercial port would effect a savins of five hours time under the most favor- able conditions, and from one to two days in heavy fogs or snow storms over the present route in the time taken for tb» trip between European ports and New York. Ask the captain of any Atlantic liner, and he will surely say that th« most dangerous part of the whole voyag* across "is the trip from Sandy Hook to JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. tbe N«w York dock"— all to be done *way with an Improved Jamaica Bay. There are nine reasons why Jamaica Bay should be improved: First. Jamaica Bay is the ideal location for an ooean terminal, offering, as it does, a safe harbor with a good inlet and out- let to the ooean. Second. Jamaica Bay will amply pro- vide railroad facilities for railroads to all parts of our oountry. Third. Jamaica Bay will enable ship- pers and manufacturers to obtain trans- portation at the lowest possible cost. Fourth. Jamaica Bay would enable the State of New York to regain the com- merce which rightly belongs to it. Ocean liners and canal barges would be brought in direct contact, thus saving great cost of loading and unloading. Fifth. Jamaica Bay will furnish 163 miles of additional dockage to New York City's dock system, which 5s more than all the combined shore, line of all the toroughs of the City of New York. Sixth. Jamaica Bay offers exceptional opportunities for warehouses and fac- tories. Seventh. Jamaica Bay can be connected at comparatively small cost with the Harlem River by a waterway to Flushing Bay, and with the Hudson River by the proposed Coney Island canal. Eighth. Jamaica Bay stands out as a central location for a seaboard terminal for railroads. This is evident from the terminal planned by the Pennsylvania Railroad and Harrlman railroads. Ninth. Jamaica Bay will bring together water and railroad transportation at a central location that will accommodate them all. Without question, the Improved Jamaica Bay forever spells the destiny of the City of New York as being the greatest metropolis on earth. Because, of natural location, the Jamaica Bay will be a new door to the nation, which will have such an effect on the growth of the surround- ing country as to increase its population a hundred fold. Let us hope for an early realization of an improved Jamaica Bay as the best and greatest harbor in the world. tM *M Oft t,H>y putting into effect the above suggested improve- ments, retain and encourage for Manhat- tan the commercial and manufacturing industries already located there, it is in no position, by reason of its physical lay- out, the lack of available unimproved waterfront giving sufficient pier lengths and the excessive cost of land in direct connection with the water, to offer tempt- ing inducements to newcomers, who, for 18 . . A 4 ... * JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. other obvious reasons, are only too anx- ious to settle in this vicinity. Why should it not then avail itself of the extensive shore line of its other boroughs au.l make use of the natural advantages which they have to offer? At a comparatively small outlay it could make much of this frontage fit for oc- cupancy, thereby increasing its revenue and at th^ same time relieving Manhat- tan of much of that class of traffic which tends to congest not only its streets but i:s adjacent waterways. In conclusion, gentlemen. I would say that In selecting a New York terminal for the 2.000-ton barge canal now in course of construction, due consideration should be given to the locations most favorable to the shipping and manufac- turing interests, for the prime object in providing inland waterways is to lessen the cost of transporting cargoes. The great shipments of farm and forest products from the northwest to the At- lantic seaboard should be balanced by heavy freights, consisting largely of man ufactured articles that are in demand in the rural districts and cities of the West. To fuftf accomplish the object for which tb" Erie rscy, which, as I have frequently stated, would be almost criminal, be- cause the people of the State of New York having paid for this canal should not, under any circumstances, confer up- on any other state the tremendous ad- vantages which the terminal of the barge canal will offer to the locality in which it will be located. That there are influences at work to bring about the placing of this terminal in New Jersey is evidenced by the fact that Elbrldge G. Snow, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and president of the Home Insurance Company, has strong- ly advocated the locating of the terminal of the barge canal in the Hudson River, on the New Jersey shore, near Wee- hawken, and it will take some concerted effort to counteract the powerful influ- I ences which are at work for the purpose of locating this important terminal on the Jersey shore, and the very strongest aid we can give our opponents is to ne- glect to put Jamaica Bay in shape so as to afford the proper facilities for the barge canal, fo r in which event there would be no other alternative but to locate it in New Jersey. But we hope thai our authorities will join the civic bodies in their efforts and aid with all the means at their command to hasten the development of Jamaica Bay, so as io have it in proper condition to have the terminal located therein when the barge canal is completed, in 1914. Those j who have made a close study of the situ- ation have viewed with more or less I alarm the inroads which the smaller ports have been making upon the commerce of I New York, threatening, as it were, the i commercial supremacy of our great city. I because of deficient docking facilities and I our lack of open piers. But with the development of Jamaica Bay as a harbor | in progress, these inroads will cease, and | thus assure to our city a commercial \ supremacy which we hope will not be endangered for centuries to come. Dock Commissioner Calvin Tomkins, at a hearing held before him on February j 10, stated that there was great and ur- ! gent necessity for better dockage facili- | ties along the water front, both in Brook- i lyn and Manhattan, and Mr. Tomkins also ! called attention to the fact that there was ! a great lack of open piers, all of which ' points to the conclusion that unless this ! deplorable situation is met by the speedy I development Of Jamaica Bay as a harbor, I the inroads upon the commerce of New I York spoken of previously will continue jand its commercial supremacy will be ' placed in the balance. In view of the vast importance of this 1 project our congressmen must be urged to keep up their good work in Congress I continually in order that there be no nu- necessary delay in the granting of the appropriations for the carrying on of this ! project. Our authorities are alive to its great I significance and will, we hope, do their | share and it is up to Congress to do its part, and Congressmen Law and his con- freres from Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Richmond can no doubt be counted ! upon to keep the pot boiling. I When the barge canal is completed, which, as stated before, will be in about four years hence, it is presumed that 20,000 to 25.000 tons of freight will be j brought to New York and it is extremely ' important that ample provisions be made I to care tor this increased traffic, and this can be best accomplished by the speedy ! development of Jamaica Bay. I Nature, it seems, has been very gener- 'ous to us in placing within easy reach a , place which can readily be made one of | the most perfectly sheltered harbors in : the world, and if properly constructed it could be intersected in such a manner I with deep water channels that all points lot importance in its vicinity could read- ily be reached by the largest freight and passenger steamers afloat. I I feel that the possibilities which the J improvement of Jamaica Bay holds out i and its extremely far-reaching impor- . lance to the city and State of New York, inasmuch as it will bring about when completed a largely increased business and the development of miles of marsh i lands and worthless places, amply just- I ify the expenditure of the many mil- I lions of dollars necessary to complete this imost Important work. The Building of Jamaica Bay Harbor By Frederick Boyd Stevenson. With an appropriation of $1,000,000 by the City of New York for preliminary dredging, backed by $7,430,050 from the United States Government for the dredg- ing of Rockaway Inlet, the magnifi- cent inner harbor of Jamaica Bay— a harbor that will rival all other great harbors of the world — is at last assured. The dream has become a reality. 'As one calmly looks over the facts and the fig- ures the magnitude of this wonderful project takes possession of him. Here, briefly, is the extent of the gigantic en- terprise. An ample and a secure harbor for mighty ocean vessels crossing the Atlan- tic; terminals for the ships and the barges of the huge barge canal under con- struction by the State of New York at a proposed cost of $101,000,000, affording direct marine communication with the chain of Great Lakes; wharf ing capacity for the vessels that will be engaged in the coastwise trade upon the completion of the Panama Canal; a solution for all time to come to the dockage problem of the City of New York, which, under pres- ent conditions, is driving the commerce oi the merchant marine to other ports; a practical and natural terminal for all railway lines of the United States, afford- ing an immediate interchange of freight shipments by rail and by water; the re- clamation of useless land, valued at $12,- 000.000 to $15,000,000, the title to which will be vested In the city, and which will be available for Innumerable sites for warehouses, grain elevators, factories, industrial plants and homes for work- insmen. On the completion of the project, the ultimate cost of which will be from $70,- 000,000 to $100,000,000, the City of New York will be provided with a supplement- ary harbor of magnificent proportions, the entrance to which will be through a 1,500-foot channel to be dredged throjgh Rockaway Inlet, and which will be equipped with one hundred ana fifty miles of piers and wharves long enough to ac- commodate the biggest ocean steamers. Here, a few miles northeast of Sandy Hook, Is the natural gateway of the At- lantic. It is sheltered from the open ocean by the long protecting arm of Rockaway Beach. The bay has a water surface of 16.170 acres, twenty-five and a half square miles, surrounded by low marshes on three sides which aggregate 8,500 acres. In addition there are 4,200 acres of marsh lands apart from the main body, so that Jamaica Bay, with its ad- jacent marsh lands, covers a territory of "8,970 acres, equivalent to forty-five and a half square miles, which is double the area of the Borough of Manhattan. The shore line of the bay approximates twen- ty-live miles and, with the creeks and waterways filled in and the chief channels cut, there will be an available docking ca- pacity to provide for all time to come. Three islands whicb can be made avail- able, and the shores of the main- land will afford room for these wharves and piers. Barren Island, which is the northern shore of Rockaway Inlet, is backed by a score of islands, and Riches Point Meadows, capable of easy reclama- tion and consolidation. These could form what would be known as Yv'est Island. The central archipelago could be merged into two companion islands to be known as North and South Islands. Between them, from east to west, would run the ship canal, five miles long and lined on both sides with piers." This would be the main channel, 1,500 feet wide and thirty feet deep. Thus, if this harbor had been laid out by man, with the needs of the shipping interests of the United States and the metropolis in view, it could not have been planned with greater advantage to both than Nature has provided. The bav is bounded on the south by long,- low sand dunes, known as Rockaway Beach, on the easterly and central parts and on the westerly part as Rockaway Point; on the north by the meadows lying in the old town of Jamaica in Queens County, and by the Twenty-sixth and Thirty- second wards in Kings County; on the west by marsh land. To the north of the main entrance to the harbor is Barren Island. From ths City Hall, Manhattan, it is eight miles to Gerritson Creek, to Bergen Beach and to Canarsie Landing. From the same point it is ten miles to Barren Island and eleven miles from Rockaway Point at the Inlet. Rockaway Point is six and five-eight sea miles from Saudy Hook. These points form the pass through which all the ebb waters of the upper and lower bays of New York Har- bor, including Jamaica Bay, the Hudson River and much of the East River, are obliged to go on their way to sea. We have seen the import nc e of this improvement in its relation to the water- ways leading inland and to Europe, an-v?v . transfer and receive cargoes at the wa- ter's edge. The Connecting Railroad, now building, which runs from Bay Ridge on New York Bay, through Brooklyn and the Borough of Queens, crossing the East River to the Bronx, and forming a tie-line between all these railroads, taps Jamaica Bay where it crosses Fresh Creek, only a short distance from the bay itself. The Connecting Railroad is to be a great trunk line. It will permit the entrance of all railroads into the city and fur- nish them a means of entering this ex- tensive waterfront. In the proposed plan it is intended that merchandise may be unloaded, upon almost any one of the piers to be constructed, and from there placed directly into a car which will take it to its destination in any part of the United States. The Pennsylvania Rail- road is planning terminals along the waterfront so as to touch at every dock when completed. With all these shipping facilities in view, it is estimated that the improvement of Jamaica Bay will effect a reduction of $1 a ton in freight rates to that section, because wharfage accommodations with railroad connections will be secured, thus over- coming the serious objections to the present terminals. Aside from providing terminal facilities for the great railway systems of the country Jamaica Bay will, in all likeli- hood, be the tidewater terminal of the 2.000-ton Barge" Canal of New York State. Barges from the great canal could leave the Hudson River at Spuyten Duyvil, go- ing through the proposed Harlem Ship Canal, Harlem River, Bronx Kills, and East River to Flushing Bay. Thence, It has been suggested, that an eight-mile canal might be cut through to Jamaica Bay Harbor, following Flushing Creek for three miles, and entering Jamaica Bay at Cornell's basin. Thus a direct inside route would be afforded with the Barge Canal and the Great Lakes, and this com- munication will be extended to Europe both in freight and passenger service. All the important ocean passenger liners will dock in Jamaica Bay Harbor, and when the project has reached completion it will be possible to step from a trans- atlantic steamship directly into a trans- continental railway train, so that a tour- ist can go from San Francisco to Liver- pool entirely under cover. There are other features, however, that are being considered, among them the waterway of Coney Island ship canal, sometimes called Gilman's Channel, and Gravcsend Bay connecting with Jamaica Bay. This channel will provide another safe inside route from New York Bay through Coney Island Ship Canal to Sbeepshead Bay and on the Jamaica Bay, thus avoiding an outside ocean route. Great South Bay could also be connected by a canal with Jamaica Bay along the Eouth shore of Long Island by converging I the waterway into canals that would pro- I v.de a waterway for moderate;CiZ9d 20 JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. crafts from Jamaica Bay to Peconic Bay during all the stages of tide. One of the most important features of the proposed undertaking— from a local viewpoint, at leaet— is the dockage ques- tion. The growth of the City of New York has been so rapid that it has outgrown the facilities of its water fronts. Dock rentals have reached an almost prohib- itive figure. From 1898 to 1907 the in- crease in wharfage accommodations, both private and public, was only 22 per cent., and It was admitted by the Dock Depart- ment that this was due to the want of accommodations, steamships being driven to other ports. This was only the begin- ing of the trouble, for since those years the demands for dockage have greatly increased. In the meantime the increase of foreign commerce at the port of New York, from 1898 to 1907. was more than 75 per cent., despite the inadequate wharfage facilities. In round figures this meant that the in- crease was from $847,000,000 to $1,482,- 000,000. On the other hand, from 1880 to 1898 there was a decrease of more than $4,000,000. Therefore, it will be seen that the foreign commerce of the port is gain- ing in an astonishing ratio and will soon be far beyond the limits of the present wharfage facilities. There can be but one result to this situation: Unless a harbor with adequate dockage ie ready, these vast shipping interests will seek other ports. Already Canada is actively en- gaged in the race to obtain supremacy for Montreal as the chief Atlantic port and is spending millions in its better- ment, while private capital in that coun- try is planning a Georgian Bay canal, and the government is projecting a trans- continental railway, with the lowest gradient of any that crosses the Rocky Mountain range, which will provide the cheapest methods of transportation be- tween England and the Orient. Aside from possible Canadian competition, how- ever, there i6 the danger of the neigh- boring cities of New Jersey taking ad- vantage of the situation. There have been also ambitious plans on foot for great harbors at Boston and Montauk Point, but now that the Jamaica Bay project is safely on its way. these plans will be abandoned. The first work on this great under- taking will be started this summer by Dock Commissioner Tomkins, and will consist of the erection of a bulkhead on Fresh Creek on the north shore of the bay, and the dredging of a 400-foot en- trance to the creek connecting with the government's 500-foot channel from the inner corner of Barren Island seaward. The creek it6elf will then be dredged to a width of 400 feet, and when completed will be 7,000 feet long. On the made ground of the east shore a tract of land will be reserved for factory sites, back of which will run the Pennsylvania Rail- way. Shipping yards will occupy the space nearest the water. On the opposite shore will run the Canarsie branch of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Railway. Contin- uations of Denton, Skldmore, Seaview and other streets will terminate there. Now that this huge project is on the verge of accomplishment, the question naturally asked is: "Who started the movement?" A comparative small body of men possessed of a dynamic personal force have been the originators and the promoters of this proposition, which will revolutionize the shipping and com- mercial interests of the city, the state and the nation. The movement is the work of the Jamaica Bay Improvement Association, a civic body which is the creation of the Allied Boards of Trade, which decided that the subject was so big and so important that it ought to be pressed by an organization having the furtherance of this plan for its sole work. The president of this association is Henry A. Meyer of Flatbush, who may be considered the father of the entire plan. It was he who first put into prac- tical use the details of the project and whose force brought to a successful ter- mination the work done by his organi- zation in the last four years. The other members of the association, all of whom have been active in the work, and to whom the public is under deep obliga- tion, are: Elwin S. Piper, first vice presi- dent; John R. Corbin, second vice presi- dent; George W. Wilson, third vice presi- dent; N. B. Killmer, secretary; James Russell Curley, treasurer. The advisory committee consists of Abraham Abraham, John Adikes, William Berri, David A. Boody, George W. Brush, M.D.; Bird S. Coler, Julian D. Fairchild, Edward M. Grout, Lawrence Gresser, McDougall Hawkes, F. J. H. Kracke, William Mc- Carroll, Herman A. Metz, St. Clair Mc- Kelway, Andrew McLean, Charles R. Norman; Thomas P. Peters, L. H. Pounds, George H. Roberts, I. S. Remson, Samuel Rowland, Calvin Tompkins, Andrew F. Wilson, W. F. Wyckoff. Another man who should be especially mentioned is Congressman Charles B. Law, who repre- sents the Eastern District of Brooklyn and who worked for the project early and late in Washington. Then we must not forget the untiring efforts of the Ja- maica Bay Improvement Commission, composed of Philip P. Farley, president; William G. Ford, secretary, and John J. McLaughlin, who from first to last, have been loyal to the plan. In the early stages of the agitation of the movement, Henry A. Meyer and John R. Corbin induced a party, composed of city officials and congressmen, to visit Jamaica Bay and look over the situation. Now Mr. Meyer is a pretty good talker, and he was so well versed on his subject that he won over many of those who were present on that occasion. He interviewed Congressman (now Senator) Burton, who was then chairman of the Rivers and Harbors Committee and is now chairman of the National Waterways Commission, and convinced him that the project for Jamaica Bay was logical and feasible. Since that time Senator Burton has been the fast friend of the plan. Then a reve- nue cutter went there four years ago, and since then things have begun to move. The Jamaica Bay Improvement Association was formed, and, with Mr. Meyer at its head, remarkable work was done. Mr. Meyer's study into this question ex- tends back a number of years. He has traveled extensively in Europe and in- vestigated the great foreign harbors. "In the City of Hamburg." said he the other day in conversation with the writer, "eighty million dollars have been expend- ed by the city In improving the harbor. The city refuses the aid of the govern- ment in maintaining and improving this wonderful harbor. There are 600 electric derricks on the docks. In other parts of Europe the harbors are highly developed and the governments are keenly alive to the need of caring for the merchant mar- ine. The Barge Canal of New York State will be finished in 1914 to the Hudson River, which the United States, by an appropriation of $1,500,000, will deepen all the way. but no provision was made for terminals which are as necessary as the canal itself. The dockage of New York is so inadequate that it can hardly be taken Into account at all. New York City at one time was the center of large grain interests, but to-day the city has only one grain elevator. By the provis- ions of the legislative act the state cede« to the city from thirteen to sixteen thou- sand acres of land that now lie waste and profitless, but which can be easily reclaimed and converted into 223,000 lota which the city can sell for dwelling pur- poses, or factory sites or utilize for pub- lic parks. The money realized from the sale of this land would be more than suf- ficient to pay for the cost of construct- ing the waterway. The land ceded to the city constitutes about one-half of the reclaimable land in this section." In this connection it should be men- tioned that the charge has been made that this movement is a real estate scheme, by means of which speculators expect to make millions. Men whose mo- tives cannot be questioned deny this. There will be a certain amount of specu- lation attending the promotion of any great project. In the buildings of a rail- road, for instance, there are always men who will make money out of land deals. When the subway was constructed in Manhattan fortunes were made In options in Washington Heights, but nobody has suggested that on this account the sub- way ought not to have been built. Out- side o£ Jamaica, which has a population of nearly 50,000, the sections which will be most directly interested are the Twenty-sixth and Thirty-second wards in Brooklyn. The center of population in the Twenty-sixth Ward, which Is esti- mated at 100,000 and is constantly grow- ing at the rate of 9 per cent, yearly, Is only two miles from the north shore of Jamaica Bay and one mile from the head of Fresh Creek at the point where the Long Island Railway crosses the water- way. In the Thirty-second Ward, which is known as Flatlands. and forming part of the boundary of Jamaica Bay, Avenue N is only six city blocks from the head of Mill Creek along the main street, which is Flatbush avenue. Flatlands has a population of about 18,000, Increasing at the rate of 12 per cent, annually. Flatbush. nearby, has a population of more than 50,000. These sections will doubtless be benefited by the improve- ment. Next to them the Twenty-ninth and Twenty-fourth wards will gain. But these four wards have gained remarkably in the last three years without the build- ing of the Jamaica waterway, for during the years 1907. 1908 and 1D09, 10,348 build- ings were erected there at a cost of $67,500,000. Mr. Meyer's attention was called to this talk concerning the speculators. "It is true," said he. "that speculators are trying to make money out of the movement. That is all the more reason why the city should be prompt to con- demn the remainder of the land not ceded to it by the state. It may result In some of the holders making money, but It can be secured much cheaper now than after the improvement is under way. There Is much of this land now that the specula- tors have not secured, and hence the necessity of immediate action on the part of the city. This land wll become very valuable and the city should take advan- tage of the situation at once." One Thousand Ton Barge Terminal By Elbridge C. Snow, of the New York Chamber of Commerce. It seems to me that of the proposed terminals for the new State Barge Canal, that of all the locations which have been suggested, Jamaica Bay is the least practical and desirable. It is the farthest removed from the points where merchan- dise going by this route would be des- tined and would require the towing of the barges through the entire harbor, through the Narrows and the Lower Bay, and along the ocean front of Coney Island to Rockaway Inlet. The handling of large Hudson River tows in the Hud- son River below the upper railroad ter- minals has always been a matter of great inconvenience and considerable danger to harbor traffic. These slow-moving tows have in the past been broken up after passing Grant's Tomb, and boats destined for points along the river front, the various railroad terminals, the building material market and the lumber distri- bution points, are taken from these tows by tugboats as they come down the lower part of the Hudson River, and after that pass through the harbor. This operation necessarily calls for a slowing up of the tow, and this is often, I may say, customarily, done in such a manner as to obstruct the ferries leading from New York City to Jersey points, and in- terfere with the navigation of vessels bound up and down the North River and through the bay and up the East River. It is probable that this practice will very largely continue in the future and with the increased congestion of our harbor, due to enlargement of the local trade and a larger number of steam and towed vessels, will tend to greatly aggravate conditions which are at present as serious as ought to be permitted. The large tows bound north and south between New York City and Perth and South Amboy, are, even at the present time, much complained of as interfering with naTigatlon all the way from the Communipaw Docks to Robin's Reef. The traffic in and out of the East River is of large volume and the conditions of navi- gation are not by any means easy under present conditions. Tows bound up and down the bay between the mouth of the Kill von Kull and the East and North rivers frequently find weather conditions so hazardous as to compel them to tie up at some point before entering that part of the harbor indicated. Every year for many years past one or more serious disasters has befallen tows navigating that part of the Upper Bay, and the courts have been resorted to in endless litigation growing out of the handling of large tows in these localities. Incoming and outgoing transatlantic and coastwise steamers find their navigation seriously hampered by vessels engaged in the trade, and frequent mishaps have arisen there- from. If the barge terminal should be lo- cated in Jamaica Bay, this would add another, and, it is to be presumed, very large factor to the situation, with the steamship navigators already complaining of the difficulties which they encounter between large tows in the harbor and the dumping scow tows bound for the dumping grounds off Sandy Hook, it can- not be questioned that the addition of tows necessarily trading between a ter- minal in Jamaica Bay and points on the state canal would add another and very serious disadvantage to our harbor as a port. Besides this, it is a fact that even in the summer months a slow moving tow going out through the Narrows and after leaving Gravesend Bay, would find itself at times in serious difficulty before it could reach Rockaway Inlet. Even with the comparatively few vessels now mak- ing their routes between the Lower Bay and Rockaway Inlet, there have been numerous and disastrous accidents, growing out of sudden storms arising be- fore a safe refuge could be made. Rock- away Inlet itself has an ever-shifting channel, and the cost of making of such width and keeping it in such condition as to make it at -all available as a terminal for tows and barges would be enormous. Besides this, it is to be expected that barges coming from points in the interior and using the state canal will have car- goes bound to various points in Manhat- tan, Brooklyn and points on Long Island Sound and in New Jersey. It is anticipated that much of the merchandise that would come in these barges will bo for trans-shipment on ocean-going or coastwise vessels, and a terminal so re- moved as the Jamaica Bay suggestion would seem to be outside of all reason- able consideration. With the erection of the New York and New Jersey Bridge, the danger and Incon- venience of the situation would be greatly enhanced, and there are undoubtedly far more available situations above the point where the new bridge is projected than any that could be suggested south of such a point. It is to be hoped that in locating the new terminal very careful consideration shall be given to future developments of the port, and that no conclusion favoring any single interest may enter into its determination. The location of the ter- minal in Jamaica Bay would undoubt- edly be of enormous advantage to the one railroad operating in Long Island, but that does not argue that such a lo- cation would be for the best interests of the commerce of this port. Besides all the disadvantages and in- conveniences of transporting tows of barges through the river and harbor, it must not be forgotten that time is a cost important factor, and that ihis class of tows must necessarily move slowly and at such a distance from the center, the loss of time going to and from the terminal would be very considerable, be- sides the additional expense of that tow- age and the further fact that its location would be such that at frequent intervals the tows would have to await farorable weather conditions before being able to leave or proceed to such a terminal. The Influence of the Jamaica Bay Improvement on Real Estate. % ; ; By Elwin S. Piper. . . jj; The ultimate and relatively early trans- formation of Jamaica Bay from an enor- mous lagoons to one of the world's greatest harbors is no longer a dream, but a fore- gone conclusion. It is just as certain as death, and taxes. There is no other way to adequately accommodate the rapidly increasing commerce of this port, that has already outgrown and overflown the area of our present harbor and its facili- ties. But if there were a dozen other ways, still would Jamaica Bay present the ideal way. A natural basin right on the ocean front, with an area of twenty- five square miles perfectly landlocked and protected from ocean storms, except at its single half-mile entrance; that basin with a bottom of sand, gravel and clay- no rock whatever— and 16,000 acres of Bait meadow shores to be bulkheaded and converted into highlands, with the mate- rials dredged at the lowest possible cost, and with innumerable islands, large and small, to be consolidated and built up in the same advantageous manner. Such part of the shores and islands not required for its own purposes or control would largely reimburse the city through their sale for the initial cost of the develop- ment. Through the co-operation of the city, state and Federal Government, Ja- maica Bay will be made the depot and clearing house for all classes of coastwise and foreign commerce. When fully devel- oped, not only will it accommodate the greatest passenger steamers that plow the sea, but the tramp vessels will find ample berthing there as well. The great export and import terminal of the 2,000- ton Barge Canal will also be there estab- lished, entrance to Jamaica Bay being gained for this class of transportation by a canal extending across the Island from Flushing Bay. Business will beget business. Adequate freight and passen- ger terminals will be established by all the leading railway lines. Elevators and storage warehouses will be built in al- most endless numbers. Extensive manu- facturing establishments will seek these shores and islands, drawn thither by the greatest of all magnets — cheap transpor- tation of raw materials and manufactured products and superior accessibility to all the markets of the world. The multi- tude of activities that will center in and cluster about Jamaica Bay will give em- ployment to ever increasing thousands of men, who, together with their families, must be suitably housed within a conven- ient distance of their daily employment. The housing of these scores of thousands cannot fail to build up many hundreds of vacant acres in Brooklyn and Queens in the vicinity of the bay, which, under or- dinary conditions, the natural growth and trend of population would leave to the last to come under development. The deepening of the bay and the elimination of its marshy shores and islands should make the entire section exceptionally de- sirable for residential purposes. While Brooklyn and Queens will enjoy these great incidental benefits that will grow out of the creation of the immense har- bor, the larger and more important and permanent benefits will materially affect the commerce and prosperity of the en- tire city and the state as well. In fact, there will be no maritime interest throughout the entire country or world that has relations with this port that will not be more or less benefited or con- venienced by this greatest improvement New York City has ever bad. Chapter 568, Laws of New York. AN ACT to grant to the City of New York certain lands under water in Ja- maica Bay and vicinity. Became a law May 29, 1909, with the approval of the Governor. Passed by a two-thirds vote. Accepted by the city. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: Section 1. To the end that The City of New York may co-operate with the federal government in the creation of a new harbor in and about Jamaica Bay, including the making of channels, basins, slips and other necessary adjuncts, through, the excavation of the soil or lands under water, and otherwise, in- tended for the advancement of the com- mercial interests of the city, state and nation, there is hereby granted for the purpose specified in this act, to the City of New York such right, title and inter- est as the State of New York may have In and to the land under water in Ja- maica Bay and Rockaway inlet and the tributaries thereto which lie to the northward of latitude forty degrees thir- ty-three minutes north, and to the east- ward of longitude seventy-three degrees fifty-six minutes west, as now inter- preted, excluding,' however, all lands under water included within the bound- ary of Nassau County. This grant shall become operative upon the United States Government making its first appropria- tion for the creation of the new harbor mentioned in this act, or upon the City of New York appropriating and setting aside a sum not less than one million dollars for the same purpose. Sec. 2. The grant shall not affect such land as may hereafter be granted by ths commissioners of the land office under any application made prior to May twen- ninth, nineteen hundred and nine, but if any such application be denied, the land covered thereby shall pass to the City of New York under the conditions of this act. Extracts From Majority Report, Jamaica Bay Commission While It is a pleasing duty to record the governmenr engineers' recognition, of the necessity of the improvement of Ja- maica Bay, it is likewise a duty to dis- cuss, briefly at any rate, the methods to he employed by them in making and maintaining the most important part of the -whole improvement, namely, the en- trance through Rockaway Inlet; for it must not be forgotten that the city, with- out having any part in the preparation of the plans for the execution of this part of the work, is nevertheless to be a Tltally and financially interested party in the entire transaction. The city's money, in the event of the improvement's taking place, -would be spent in the ac- quisition of lands, in the building of bulk- heads and upon other improvements in the interior of the bay. all of which. It is true, offer in themselves few obstacles to complete success: but the interior im- provements and the making of the en- trance channel are so interdependent that it can justly be said that whatever money is spent b? the City of New York in Jamaica Bay -will be profitable or other- wise in precise ratio to the government's success in dredging and holding a chan- nel through the Inlet. It is recognized by all engineers that there is no problem to the solution of which more uncertainty attaches than to the building of harbors and in particular of harbor entrances. What. then, should the attitude of the city be toward the improvement? Two year's ago we said that until the final ad- justment or" this matter of the Entrance, the city should spend no money whatso- ever in the development of Jamaica Bay for industrial purposes. Strictly inter- preted, this would mean that nothing should be done by the city until the entrance channel had been made and until such time had elapsed as would demon- strate either its permanency or its main- tenance at reasonable cost. Viewing all the circumstances, however, and having in mind particularly the fact that this is possibly the first time the Federal en- gineers have consented to the expenditure of government moneys upon the improve- ment of a harbor where the commerce is largely prospective, and also the fact that the recommendations were made condition upon the city's bearing its share of the expense and assuming an equal part of the responsibility, it would seem better to make a broader and more liberal interpretation of the recommen- dation to which we have made reference. If the City of New York engages in this work, in conjunction with the United States Government, it is but natural that the latter should expect to have the former expend its money at the same time and not after the entrance is made and gives some assurance of moderate | stability. This position of the govern- 1 I ment is perhaps the only logical one that | it could take. It recognizes the project as one offering magniflcient promises for 'the future, but it is also cognizant of the j I risk and uncertainty involved. Realizing I this, it is willing to proceed, but upon ! the one condition that the city become a party to the enterprise. It is well known to all that a dredged i 1 channel in this location will not be per- | | manent. and that it will have to be con- j : stantly maintained. It appears to us fur- i ' thermore that such a channel does not \ offer sufficient security to the manufac-j I turer to induce him to locate upon the, . shores of Jamaia Bay. It will be noted j ; that the government's Initial channel is to be 600 feet wide and 18 feet deep. This i is to be maintained at a yearly esti- I mated cost of something less, than $35,600. j It cannot, of course, be stated for how I many years this appropriation for main- tenance will be continued; for certainly no one is in a position to absolutely fore-' | cast the progressive development of the I bay front. Another feature of the government's plan to which we would call attention is that which contemplates the widening of I | the channel to 1.500 feet and the deepen- | ing of the same to 30 feet before any pro- I tective works, such as jetties or groines are built. Naturally, this increase in the size of the channel will not be attempted until the industries clustered about the bay demand the increase, and yet we fail to see how such industries will in- | crease or will find encouragement until some assurance of stability be shown, and this will come apparently only when pro- tective works are built. We regret that the plan did not call for the construction of the jetty prior to or immediately after the dredging of the 500-foot channel. We desire also to express here our opinion that it would have been better had the direction of the channel been planned to take a more southerly direction than the one proposed in Colonel Knight's report. In our former report we took the liberty of expressing ourselves fully upon this matter, and gave our reasons for believ- ing that the proper direction for the construction of a jetty and for the loca- tion of an entrance channel should be in a southerly direction, and , we also ex- pressed the opinion that a' jetty placed in a southwesterly direction or practic- ally in the prolongation of Rockaway | Beach itself would be useless as an agent in creating a self-sustaining channel. We have no intention in stating these facts to appear too critical of tbe^federal engineers' recommendations, but desire merely to place your board in possession I of the facts as we see them in order that I you may be in a position to follow the reasoning or arguments contained in this report, and so be able to judge of the I value of the conclusions reached and the j recommendations made. Nor is it our desire or wish that the city reject the government's very generous and liberal offer, for we believe that the United States engineers see the possibilities of Jamaica Bay as we see them; that they ' desire to see this magnificent body of water made a useful adjunct of New York Harbor. We are tree 10 say that we agree wiib ihem that this improvement should take place, but that it should be done with extreme caution, and that whatever initial expenditures are made upon the part of the city should he only such as are sufficient to demonstrate the stability of the eoiraDce at Rockaway Inlet. »♦»•♦«« THE PORT OF NEW YHRK. It may be well to emphasize two facts of importance which are apt to he over- looked by many people in discussing problems connected with the develop- ment of the port of New York. The first is that, when we refer to the port we do not mean the Pity of New York, hut rather that entire district, the imports and exports of which are subject to the inspection and regulation of the New- York Custom House. This customs dis- trict embraces not only the OHy of New York, but likewise a!! the Hudson River shore of New Jersey, i he Bayonnp pen- insula, the shores of the Kill von Kull. and Arthur Kull. and takes in such im- portant industrial places as Jers v City. Bayonne and Hobokeu. The second point to be remembered is that foreign ton- nage as referred to in the statistics of any port refers to vessel or net regis- tered tonnage and not to cargo tonnage. These facts are extremely important in any consideration of New York harbor improvements, iince the first demon- strates clearly that, no matter how much we may be actuated by local pride, we could not, it we would, deal with this industrial district without regarding as one the various communities mentioned, while the second shows just as clearly that in providing a sufficient amount of wharfage to care for commerce, it is necessary to distinguish between net reg- istered tonnage and cargo or freight ton- nage. For the purpose of making com- parisons between New York and other ports, there is. of course, no harm in using net registered tonnage, since it is in this form that all the figures of gov- ernment statistics are given. If the reason given for New York City's location is a rood one, it follows that the minor cities, towns and villages, which are included within its industrial district, all play some part in maintaining the commercial supremacy of the port. New York is the central market for the pro- ducts of these communities. With this in mind ir is in eresting to note, in census bulletin No. 101, that the total popula- tion of the New York industrial district amounted in 1905 to 5.294.682. and the value of its total product to $2,144,- 448.000. While the figures given are, as we have said, interesting, they would not aid us in the preparation of plans for harbor improvement, or any other kind of pub- lic improvement, unless accompanied by- figures indicating the rate of growth. Below tollow tables 1. 2, 3 and 4, which are compiled from the United States Census Reports, from the State Census IMPROVEMENT. ^ WHICH ACCOMPANIED C/SPEPOPTWEM/TTEO fflNUARYXX 1909 /N COMPLIANCE WITH J21VE&/1ND Hm&OQ /9CT Of MARCH '£J90? 26 JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. *nd from the United States Statistical Ab«tract. and which show the growth in population, in manufacture, and in for- eign tonnage: Showing Growth of Population York City .Since 1S00. TABLE 4. Showing Tonnage of Vessels Bntered and Cleared at New York, 1SS5-190S. isto 1S20 1830 1840 1850 1S60 1870 1SS0 1S90 1900 UW5 1*10 Annual Popu- rate of lation. of inc. 79.216 119,734 40,518 s!3 152.056 32,322 242.278 90,222 6.93 391.114 14S.S36 8.14 696,115 305.001 7. SO 1,174.779 478.664 1,478.103 S03.324 2.58 1.911,698 433,595 2.93 2.507.414 595.716 3.12 3.437,202 929.788 3.71 4.013.7S1 576.579 3.35 4,600.000 (estimated) Year end June 30. Comparative .Statement — Statistics Manufactures. City. United States ..$14.! New York l.i Manhattan &. Bronx Brooklyn Queens Richmond Boston. Mass.... Chicago, 111. ... St. Louis. Mo- New Orleans, La. Philadelphia, Pa. Baltimore, Md.. Norfolk, Va. .. SanFran'co, Cal. Charleston, S.C. Savannah. Ga. .. Mobile. Ala Galveston, Tex.. •Decrease. .Value of products. 1.043.251.9:3 373,462.980 92.941.158 16.866.995 184.351,163 955.036.277 207.307,038 81604,008. 591.2S8.07S 162*648,580 5,900,129 137.7SS.233 6.007.094 6.340,004 4.942.331 1900. inc. $11,411,121,122 29.7 1,172,870,261 30.2 810,807,976 28.7 313.617.4S9 19.1 85.427,661 162.3 13,017.236 29.6 162,764.523 13.3 797,879.141 19.7 193.732.7S8 3S.0 57.446.116 47.3 519,981,812 13.7 135,107,626 12.2 4.691.779 25.8 107,023,567 2S.7 5,713.315 6.1 3.750,000 69.1 3.4S;,,669 41.S 3.673,323 *45.7 Total Increase Per cent. Incr Yearly rata ol Entered. Cleared. Total. . 5.059,723 5,440.724 11.100,457 6.558.938 6.388.333 10,947.273 6.087,110 6.779,691 11.866,801 6.6S3.371 6,547.442 11,230,813 5,596,821 6,454,415 11,051.236 6,258.222 6.025,518 12.2S3.740 6.452,877 6.04S.7S4 12.501.661 7.304,015 7.140.393 14,444. 40S 7.015,030 6,639.433 13,634,403 7,121.527 6,964,927 14,0S6.4.,4 66SS.595 6.499.490 13.1SS.0S5 6,911.782 6.552,614 13,464.396 7,267,480 6.943.835 14.211,315 7,771,412 7.676,630 15,348,042 7,707,477 7,496,279 15,203.756 8,176,761 7.S43.529 16.020,290 8.679,273 8,118,427 16.797.700 8,992,767 S. 415.291 17.39S.05S 9.053.096 8.847,072 17,900,103 9,255.524 8.700.590 17.936.114 9.630.S53 9.311.527 1S.942.3SO 10.470,993 9,913,960 20.390.953 11,383,345 10.472,601 21.S53.946 12,134,780 11,939.904 24.09J.744 In tonnage, 1SS3-190S....1: ,S6 In 23 years Inorease. 23 years Per cent, increase or dec. —1.38 +8.40 —1.60 +11.15 + 1.77 +15.54 —6.47 +3.16 —6.38 ' +2.10 +5.37 +4.85 +3.67 + 2.89 +0.20 +5.61 +7.64 +7.19 +10.22 994,237 117.1 the total population In New York City UoO will reach ten millions a de- inions • • • In our former report we ga tailed description of Jamaica Bay and pointed out its advantages as a harbor detnM L D ?L repeat such Ascription in detail in this report, but will merely point out such salient features as seem to require peculiar emphasis in view of m,!„M 6Ct ? DmendaUon9 that subse- quently be made. The bay, first of all h«, B ? P J y protected fr °ni storms, being Be^h ed >, 0n . the SOUth b * R°ckaway Beach, which acts as a natural break- water; it has „ w acfes ™ break miles) of water surface, and its twenty! ?»n a w ,les . ° f main -^nd waterfront are capable of providing room not only for a very large number of piers, but piers to m»i- P / aC T iCal 1 J. DBth " m *y be Welded to make. Immediately adjacent to Ja- maica Bay are 8.500 acres of salt marsh which, when reclaimed, will offer cheap for factories, but for the sites not onl) TABLE 3. Manufactures and Population of Xew York by Boroughs. 2 si Municipality. Industrial dls- 25,257 J2.144.4SS.093 5.294.682 Total 1300 23,262 1.614.207.347 4,539,390 Per cent, of In- crease 8.6 32.8 16.6 New York City.1905 20.S39 1,526.523,006 4.013.7S1 1900 Per cent, of in- 19.243 1,172.870,261 3.427.202 crease S3 30.2 16.8 Brooklyn Boi-h.igoo 4.182 373.462.930 1.358.636 1900 Per cent, of in- 4,301 313,017,489 1.1 66,552 crease •2.8 19.1 16.5 Manhattan and Bronx Bor hs.1905 16,975 1.043,251.923 2.3S4.010 1900 14,362 810.807.975 2,050,600 Per cent, of in- crease 11.2 28.7 16.3 Queens l - 513 92.941, 16S 19S.240 1900 Per cent, of In- 395 35,427.561 152,999 crease 29 9 162.3 29.6 Richmond B'h.l9o5 169 16.866.995 72.845 1900 185 13.017.236 67,021 Per cent, of In- crease •8.6 SM 8.7 The Increase in population from 1900 to 1905 iu the industrial district in New York City as a whole, in Manhattan and the Bronx, and in Brooklyn, seemed to be about 3 1-3 per cent.; Queens Borough shows close to 6 per cent., while in Rich- mond the gain was less than 2 per cent. In manufacture (value of products) the increase for the entire industrial dis- trict, and for Xew York City, as a whole, are quite the same, the former being at the rate of 6* a per cent, and the latter 6 per cent. Brooklyn has not kept pace with Manhattan, the increase amounting to 3.8 per cent, or about parallel with its growth in -population. Queens Borough shows a substantial increase, being at the great rate of 22\ 2 per cent. The value of its present production is remarkable, amounting to $92,941,158, or to about 25 per cent, of Brooklyn's tqtal, although its population amounts to but 14^ per cent. If we remember that most of the indus- trial manufacturing establishments in the Borough of Queens are located along the shores of Newtown Creek or in Long Island City, the population of which in 1905 was only 55,486. a clearer idea of its commercial enterprise can be s it is very probable that whil of the value of the manufactured pro ducts of this part of Queens Borough aloni same erection of homes for operatives, while ™t ,Ut . e , r ',° r ° f the ba> ' ttre 4 -- 00 a "es of marsh which can either be applied to the same purposes or can be converted into a great municipal park. Railroad con- nection can be secured throughout the entire district through the agency of he New York Connecting Railroad, which is the line proposed to Join the Pennsyl- vania and the New York. New Haven and " a "^ ord «>-stems. On the borders of n o a ^ ay at the P resen t time live over 2o0,000 people, and throughout the rsiin-s**! there is n ° secti ° n * n ° * £° advanced in population at so great a IfM u aS K hRt Which traces- the ward* which abut against the shores of this rr\° t ha x- R estimate d the population of un t IV Yo , rk 10 reach ^.ooo.ooo in i»5U. That a large proportion of the estimated increase will be in the south* east corner of Brooklyn and in the south- erly part of Queens may be seen from an inspection of Table 5, here presented in which the density of the various wards throughout Brooklyn and Queens is indi- cated. As a means of comparison we and 7 . c , onn ? ction w *th it Tables 6 and 7. which show the density of the population of Manhattan and the Bron" TABLE H, ShoTvin B Population. Acrraeo and Density „f the Various Wards of the BorouRh of Brooklyn for 1010. Estimated Acre- Den- population, age. slty. Word. ! econd . ured. for I Third .. the ratio | Fourth manufactured pro- 1 Fifth •• Sixth .. to that of Brooklyn remains the| Seven 'h or 25 per cent.; its population to Eighth . that of Brooklyn is but 4 per cent. The reason for all of this we shall not stopj Tenu to explain here, but will do so when Elevo th ... Tv lfth treating of Jamaica Bay as a manufactur- ing center. We have already called at- 1 Thirteenth tention to the great growth in foreign [ Fourteenth 35.218 tonnage and need not refer to it again. except to say that the gain for the years 1905 to 190S amounted to 27.2 per cent., or at the rate of 9 per cent, per year, a rate exceeded but twice in this port in twen- ty-five years, the last time being sixteen years ago. and the present rate of in- crease being the more remarkable be- | cause of the large figures with which we are now dealing. Euough then has been said, we believe, to demonstrate the fact that the Port of New York continues to grow at a very rapid rate. It I9 perhaps safe to predict that the foreign tonnage of the port will in 1950 amount to over 50.000.000, the value of the products of manufacture in Greater New York alone to $3,500,000,000, and of the indus- Eighteenth Nineteenth Twentieth Twenty-first .... Twenty-second . Twenty-third ... Twenty-fourth .. Twenty-fifth .... Twenty-sixth .. Twenty-seventh Twenty-eighth .. Twenty-ninth ... Thirtieth Thirty-first Thirty-second ... trial district to $5,000,000,000 and finally I Total 23.647 238. 110 9,613 97.7 21.112 161 4 131 13.346 111.3 120 20.797 119.4 175 302. > 183 50.S24 458 5 111 77,941 1.S43.2 623 6 84 46.95S 318.7 147 27.907 252.6 111 32. 3S8 663.1 4* 23.119 230.3 100 35.218 282 « 32t 35.933 244.8 146 66.088 244.8 270 76.639 S23.3 93 31.031 873.0 33 46.208 413.S 112 29.276 461.5 63 72.052 483.2 149 84.015 1.361.6 61 74,728 736.0 102 60.550 1.19S.5 50 63,078 567.8 112 134.115 5.690.0 24 61.370 400.7 128 97,820 884.4 111 6S.399 3.800.0 13 65.911 6.404.1 10 34,241 6.312.3 C 21,237 8.300.0 2 ,595,444 43,898.1 'JAMAICA BAY, IMPROVEMENT. 27. Showing Population, Aereagr* »nd Density of the Various Wards of the Borough of Queena for 1010. Estimated Acre- Den- Ward, population, age. sity. Km 63.781 i.m 13 Sseocd 83.322 14. TOO 6 Third 33.648 22,000 1 Fourth 59,804 36.0OO 1 Fifth 13.697 4.933 2 Total 239,052 82.SS3 TAB LB 6. Showing Density per Acre by Assem- bly Districts. MANHATTAN. Population, People Acre- per Ass. Dist. First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth „ Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth Sixteenth Seventeenth Eighteenth Nineteenth .' Twentieth Twenty-first Twenty-second Twenty- third Twenty-fourth Twenty-fifth Twenty-sixth Twenty-seventh Twenty-eighth Twenty-ninth Thirtieth Thirty-first Thirty-second Thirty-third Thirty-fourth, part of. Total Showing Density per Acre by Assein- 1905. age. acre. 24,030 520 46 8S.44S 343 170 . 59.041 230 256 90.941 166 543 38.ei3 277 139 42.246 297 142 71,241 93 47,057 264 178 74.330 114 651 23,990 194 173 74,449 160 465 40.S79 1SS 218 65.392 161 tot 40.944 124 330 94.210 165 570 44.89S LS8 43.739 236 206 77,903 600 130 44.392 1S6 233 113.809 1.06S 106 61.762 218 107, 16S 3.306 32 60.161 343 173 39.721 460 86 '60.10S 224 26S 34.952 434 81 51.842 166 311 62,431 1.153 45 61,696 220 2S0 103.691 470 221 105,156 573 184 70.696 385 in 43.743 278 14.038 bly Districts. THE BRONX. Assembly Population districts. 1905. Thirty-fourth (part of) 63.8S8 Thirty-fifth 171,701 Annex 34.003 People per Acreage, acre. Total TABLE 7. Average Densities in tbe Boroughs of Greater New York In 1003. People per Borough. Population. Acreage, acre. Manhattan 2,102.643 14,038 150 Bronx 271.592 26,017 10 Brooklyn 1,358.656 43.S9S 31 Queens 198,240 82,883 8 Richmond 72,845 36.600 2 The foregoing tables are highly instruc- tive; they show in the first place the fallacy ot the statement made frequently in many quarters that Manhattan will reach its maximum population or density in 1910. The skyscraper has not only dem- onstrated its utility as a means of con- serving the limited area of the Island for business and factory purposes, but it has likewise demonstrated the fact that it is adapted to apartment houses and to the housing of a very large number of people on a small plot of ground. Had we not noted this fact, in connection with Manhattan's population, we would have been led to this conclusion by observing the great increase in the value of Man- hattan's manufacturing output referred to above, since, as a general rule, the in- crease in manufactures runs quite par- allel to the increase in population. An- other lesson to be learned from Tables 5 and 6 13 this, that the Borough of The Bronx still seems to draw many people and can still take care of three and one-half millions of people before Its average density will equal the average density of Manhattan. In any estimate of Brooklyn and Queens future population to be used as a basis of argu- ment for proposed public improvements, sight must not be lost of the fact that in the distribution of the greater city's future population, The Bronx will receive its full quota. The recent growth of manufacturing in Queens Borough (principally in Long Is- land City), amounting, as we have already pointed out, to a gain of 162 per cent, in five years (1900-1905), is a further con- firmation of the fact. The opening of the Queensboro Bridge alone accounted for the purchase of a dozen large factory- sites in Long Island City since the be- ginning of the year 1909. It has, more- over, been pointed out to us, and we have reason to believe, that one of the strong factors contributing to the success of the Bush factory buildings in South Brooklyn was the conversion of the Thirty-ninth Street Ferry into a municipal enterprise, thereby securing a more efficient opera- tion of that means of transportation. The foregoing is sufficient, we think, to demonstrate the fact that if any rule at all can be laid down for guidance in the preparation of plans for the improve- ment of lands near Jamaica Bav for the purposes of manufacture, it must be one founded on the principle that industrial establishments will keep pace with popu- lation and will, in all probability, follow instead of preceding growth in this di- rection. * s • • s • • HARBOR DESIGN. By a close examination of existing harbors, it will be observed that the area of water surface, the area of land em- ployed for handling and storing freight, the length of wharfage in use and the ton- nage of the port all bear a comparatively fixed relation to one another. When the tonnage is noticeably above the average per unit of any one of the other factors, it will be found that the harbor is usually in a congested condition. Investigation of such matters has not to any great ex- tent been taken up in this country, but several foreign engineers, notably the chief engineer of the port of Marseilles, M. Guerard, and J. Krauss of Delft, Hol- land, have carefully studied these mat- ters. We have carefully examined the data prepared by Mr. Krauss and have con- firmed some features of it by actual in- vestigation of certain portions of New York City's waterfront. This data re- duced to tons of two thousand pounds and English units of measurement are large- ly summed up in the table which follows and which, as can readily be seen, offers a quick and quite reliable rule of deter- mining the necessary capacity of each particular pare of a port. 1 Tonnage per acre. — 1 VTid per Land and Land water. ... 7.300 ...23.700 ...10.70i) ... 9.300 ... 9.300 Port. Amsterdam Antwerp .. Hamburg . Dunkirk ... Havre Barcelona 4.S50 Genoa 11.750 Marseilles .... S.70O Buenos Ayres.. 3.S00 Rouen 8.500 Ave. 10 cities.. 9,900 1 Equate 69 meters. 39.200 19,800 31.200 34.200 15.200 15.700 Water surface. 13.400 39.600 15.000 17.400 14.G0O 6,500 9.700 17.000 9.300 11.200 It will be seen that the following are fair average values: Tonnage per acre of land and water combined 10,000 Tonnage per acre of land alone, about 25,000 Tonnage per acre of water alone, about •• 15,000 Width of land strip per lineal foot of wharf 250 ft. In arriving at these averages the fig- ures for the port of Antwerp were not used, inasmuch as it was reported that at the time the figures were taken the port was quite congested. Rotterdam and Hamburg were reported to be in satis- factory condition and therefore the aver- ages should conform closely to the unit tonnage and distances as found for these ports. Compared with the average fig- ures fixed upon by Mr. Krauss, the ton- nages given above are light, but this re- sult, as can readily be seen in more liberal estimates of space, or in other words, acts in the direction of providing a greater water surface and a greater land area than are actually required by the estimated amount of freight to be handled. Another feature of a port is no less important than those which have pre- ceded and that is the length of the quay wall or the wharfage required to ade- quately provide for the expected number of vessels or for the estimated tonnage. We have in one way already determined this for, in the data given above with reference to land width per foot of wall, it will be noted that this width, being based upon the same data as the land area in use, does in reality depend for its value upon the tonnage. It is simpler, for purposes of application, however, to have a rule expressed in tons per run- ning foot. Investigations along *the?e lines taking tonnage handled and divid- ing this by the actual quay wall in use in other ports give quite uniform results. Special inquiries made among property owners and shippers along the shores of Newtown Creek, Gowanus Canal, Erie Basin and other portions of New York Harbor give confirmation of the busi- ness that can be done in waterways with- out undue congestion. The following table gives the results of these investi- gations, some of them personally col- lected and the data from which the others were deduced being reliable. Leaving out of consideration the tonnage unit found for Antwerp, for the reason above given, namely, the fact that with thi9 load the harbor was reported congested, it will be found that a very fair average value is 155 tons. The same authority quoted above (J. Krauss) after a very exhaustive inquiry, fixes upon 500 ton3 (1,000 kilos) per line meter of quay wall: this is equal to 168 tons (of 2,000 pounds) per linear foot. Mr. Krauss calls this a "rational and prudent average notwith- standing it might be increased if it were made to refer to some articles, coal, for instance." TABLE 11. Port T7r.lt or Docks. Tonnage. Antwerp 374 28.940 17.r0 Surface of land M Gerard states that Length Of qua;' I to 75 meters. Glasgow . Liverpool Hamburg Rotterdam Havre ... Dunkirk . 176 Barcelona 132 Marseille 194 Genoa J82 Gowanus Canal. Brooklyn 230 Newtown Creek. Brooklyn 170 -V. Y. Trans. Atlantic Piers 210 Certain Brooklyn Piers 60 Capacity of same 150 Erie Basin 70 13— 2.326 Average of all except Antwerp lo» One other consideration and we have done with the general subject of harbor 28 JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. design. This has to Jo with tho relation existing between population and foreign tonnage of ports. The accompanying table showing the per capita foreign ton- nage of the principal cities in the United States needs no explanation or remarks upon our part. TABLE 12. Per Capita Tonnage of Varloua Ports in 1000. Tons Tonnage per City. Population. (Foreign). Capita. New York . 3,437,202 16.020,290 4.7 Philadelphia .. . 1,293.697 3.736,615 2.9 . 6G0.892 3.145,187 6.6 . 603,937 3.452,654 1.8 San Francisco. . 342,732 2.691.36G 7.9 New Orleans.. . 2S7.104 3.395.442 11.8 65.307 147.652 2.7 54.244 611.123 11.3 60.145 717,001 14.3 46.634 592.887 12.6 33.469 1,054,471 27.3 37.789 1.541.500 40.8 6.713,222 37,106,188 6.6 We have now considered practically all the elements entering into the problem and have reduced them to a question of tonnage so that we may safely as- sume that when the tonnage of a port or harbor is given, the dimensions of the various features may be approximated very closely. Reviewing what has preceded we may set down the following average values for the various factors entering into the problem: 1st— Tonnage (of 2,000 lbs.) per acre of land and water combined 10,000 «d— Tonnage (of 2,000 lbs.) per acre of water sur- face 25,000 8d— Tonnage (of 2,000 lbs.) per aore of land sur- face 15,000 4th— Tonnage (of 2,000 lbs.) per linear foot of wharf 155 to 16S 6th — Tonnage (foreign and net registered) per capita 5.5 6th— Width of land adjacent waterfront per linear foot of wharf 250 In order that liberal allowances be made In consequence of fortunate condi- tions, we shall, in making application of these values in the determination of the extent of the initial improvements use for items 4 and 5, respectively, the fig- ures 150 and 6, since both of these wilt necessitate the provision of more wharf- age than would be required if we ad- hered strictly to results obtained in our investigations. It must not be forgotten, however, that the 4th item refers to cargo or freight tonnage while the 5th Item refers to net registered tonnage. Respecting item 6th, we may remark that It can, in a measure, be disregarded, since the territory adjacent to the waterways In Jamaica Bay is so ample and com- paratively cheap as not to necessitate re- strictions in this direction. EXTENT OP IMPROVEMENT. We- nave now tp consider what shall Mei the extent of the improvement of Ja- maica Bay; how much can be economical- ly spent, and. what the probable returns to the city will be. Noting this we wish first to repeat here the government's proposal; iftrst— Tq dredge a channel 18 feet deep and 500 ' feet wide through the .entrance to the begin- : . ! ning of the main chan- l nel at the southeast corner of Barren Isl- and $250,500.00 Second — Increase the dimen- sions of this channel to 30 ieet by 1,500 feet, estimated cost 1,010,500.00 Third— Construct east jetty, if it proves to be nec- essary, estimated cost 724,500.00 Fourth— Construct west jet- ty, if it should become necessary, estimated cost . 689,500.00 Fifth— Contingencies 129,550.00 Total $2,710,050.00 Main channel. 69,000,000 cu- bic yards at 8 cents. 4,720,000.00 Total $7,430,050.00 The Chief of Engineers, after concurr- ing in the opinion of the District Offi- cer and the Board of Engineers for Riv- ers and Harbors that Jamaica Bay is worthy of improvement in accordance with some progressive plan for joint prosecution by the United States and the local authorities, expresses the opin- ion that "The United States should not at this time be committed further than to a project for securing a depth of eighteen feet, as provided in the first step of thi progressive movement recom- mended in the reports herewith. Any fur- ther Improvement should be clearly shown to be in the interest of commerce." The estimate of cost to the United States until such time as the needs of commerce demand the ultimate improve- ment amounts therefore to this: (a) Dredging 18-foot en- trance channel $250,000.00 (b) 500-foot main channel, 18 feet deep, 16.000,000 cubic yards (estimated by the Jamaica Bay Improvement Commis- sion), at 8 cents 1,280,000.00 (c) Contingencies, 5 per cent 76,500.00 Total $1,606,000.00 Assuming that this estimate of cost proves correct, the capital investment necessary to produce this at 4 per cent, amounts to $1,390,000. The total invest- ment of the government amounts, then, to $2,996,000, or, say, $3,000,000. It is our opinion that the total expenditure upon the part of the city should not greatly exceed an amount approximating this un- til such time as the demands of com- merce require greater facilities. The actual initial expenditure should, how- ever, be sufficient to make the improve- ment complete in every particular over a territory large enough to take care of the expected tonnage of the district for the next ten years. Now, in order that the present popula' tion may not be unduly taxed, it is essen- tial in fixing the extent and character, not only of the more detailed plan of im- provement, but likewise of the general plan, to determine the date for which such improvement should be planned and the actual requirements in the way of wharf- age at the time specified. If the general plan provides waterfront facilities to take care of the estimated needs up to 1950, and if the more detailed plan pro- vides the same up to 1920, or for a period of ten years after the beginning of the construction, they will, we think, be amply sufficient. That the plans present- ed herewith make such provision can be readily demonstrated. We have estimated that the population of the entire Borough of Brooklyn will in 1950 be 4,500,000, or, including the Fourth Ward, Queens, 5,220,000. This is a liberal estimate, since in making it we have as- sumed that the present rate of increase will be maintained, and this, we are aware, is somewhat excessive since rates of this nature are known to slightly de- crease with growth in numbers. The area of Brooklyn is about 43,900 acres, so that the density or number of people per acre will in the year cited average about 102. With Brooklyn's Immense waterfront, much of It already highly developed, particularly In the territory near the large r pan of the consumers in all bor- oughs, and hence, as we have seen, likely to hold a heavy percentage of the entire trade, it is not to be supposed that the Jamaica Bay waterfront will do more than secure that portion of the port's busi- ness which is proportional to the popula- tion residing in a zone entirely tributary to the bay itself. To determine what this proportion amounts to it is necessary to make an estimate of what this tributary area consists. We have assumed, there- fore, for the purpose of what follows, that all of the Twenty-sixth and Thirty- second wards in Brooklyn, one-half the Twenty-ninth Ward in the same borough and two-thirds of the Fourth Ward (Ja- maica) in Queens Borough, are in this tributary zone. We have not included the Fifth Ward, Queens, since the pres- ent plan contemplates channels on the west and north sides of the bay only, and this would have but a slight effect upon the population in the Fifth Ward or the Rockaways. The estimated popu- lation in 1950 of this zone is as follows: Twenty-sixth Ward, Brooklyn 420,000 Half of Twenty-ninth Ward, Brooklyn.. 187,500 Thirty-second Ward. Eroolclyn 190,000 Two-thirds of Fourth Ward. Queens... 480,000 Total 1,277,600 The total population then of these wards will amount to 1,277,500 or about one-quarter of the entire population of Brooklyn, plus the population of Ja- maica. This large number or high ratio is due to the great acreage of these wards since the above-mentioned Brooklyn wards taken together form forty-two per cent, of the entire acreage of the Bor- ough of Brooklyn, while the Town of Ja- maica, now the Fourth Ward in Queens, constitutes thirty per cent, of the total area of the Borough of Queens. If we now suppose that the waterfront of Ja- maica Bay is in the future to take care of a foreign tonnage proportional to the population of these wards, then applying the unit 6 arrived at in a previous section and a population of 1,277,500, we will note that the foreign tonnage to be taken care of in 1930 will amount to approximately 7,665,000. That none of these figures are small will be admitted, we think, when it is remembered that a tonnage of this size is almost equal to the total tonnage of the entire harbor of the city of San Francisco at the present time, and is equal aleo to forty per cent, of the total foreign tonnage of the whole port of New York in 1905. We might here add also that the allowances for population ap- peared to be extremely liberal and that this so appears from the fact that the present density of the Twenty-sixth Ward is below 25 per acre, while the estimated density for 1950 is 74. The present den- sity of the Twenty-ninth Ward is 18 per acre, while the estimated density for 1950 is 99. The present density of the Thirty-second Ward is 2V£ per acre, while the estimated density for 1950 is 23. In like manner the present density of the Fourth Ward, Queens, is now 2V> per acre, while the estimated density for 1950 is 31. notwithstanding its great area of 23,000 acres. As a means of comparison so that a full appreciation of the signifi- cance of what this density means may be had, we may state that the present den- sity of the Twenty-second Ward, Brook- lyn, is about 55. and that of the Eighth Ward, Brooklyn, 35. The two assembly districts immediately adjoining Central Park on the west, while they may be re- garded as residential districts, are close- ly built up. as is well known, and yet have densities, respectively, of 108 and If the foreign tonnage of Manhattan alone is assumed to be one-half the total of the whole port, it would amount now to about 12,500,000 or but IY2 times that we have assumed for Jamaica Bay In 1950; certainly a liberal allowance. The next step is to apply to this estimated foreign tonnage (7,665,000) a proper unit amount of wharf length as heretofore de- termined, namely, one foot for each one 'JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. 29 hundred and fifty tons of foreign business. This unit figure of intensity of tonnage, it is to be remembered, has reference to tons of two thousand pounds, or in other words, to cargo or freight tonnage, while the foreign tonnage estimated for Jamaica Bay in 1950 is net registered ton- nage. It becomes necessary, therefore, before making application of the rule to apply a correction to the estimated for- eign business so as to express it in terms of freight tons. For 1908 the foreign or net registered tonnage for the port of New York is given in the United States Statistical Ab- stract as 24,094,744 tons, whereas in the report of the chief of engineers, 1909, ap- pendix P, page 1,094, the total imports and exports of the port for the same year (1908) are stated as 12,541,419 tons. The freight tonnage of the port of New York therefore constitutes but fifty-two pei cent, of the net registered tonnage. This is a low ratio as compared with most ports and is due perhaps to the presence in this harbor of so many large passenger vessels which have a very high registered tonnage, but which, owing to their size, are obliged to travel frequently with par- tial cargoes. For our purpose it is safer, therefore, to take a figure arrived at by J. Krauss after an exhaustive examina- tion of many of the harbors of the world, namely, 0.65. If now we apply this rat'o to the foreign trade estimated for Ja- maica Bay in 1950 or 7,665,000 tons, we will find that the weight of material to be taken care of on the wharves will be that figure multiplied by .65 or 4.982,000 tons. It is to this figure that we must apply the unit of wharf length. It will be found that 33,200 linear feet of wharf will be required. From the southeast corner of Barren Island to Cornell's Creek, the actual frontage avaMable, using only' the main tu'khead and no basins, amounts to 45,000 linear feet. It is, however, unlike- ly that the fc*^-- will develop along these lines, and that after a time demands will be made for greater wharfage length in a more concen- trated section necessitating the use of piers. Since the general plan as at pres- ent offered is able to provide for piers at least 1,000 feet long depending upon whether or not they are placed at right angles to the shore or bulkhead, the shore front between the points mentioned is ca- pable of providing at the very lowest cal- culation four times as much wharf room as the actual distance between the ex- treme points would indicate. In other words, it is able to produce four times 45,000 or 180,000 linear feet of wharfage, and this length, as can readily be seen, is equal to nearly five times that which would seem to be required. The same method of computation applied between the southeast corner of Barren Island and Spring Creek gives the following: Linear Feet. Distance required 33,200 Wharfage available along main bulkhead •••• 28.000 Wharfage available, using piers.. 112,000 This 112,000 linear feet is equivalent to more than three times that which appears to be actually necessary to do the work required. This is true as to actual distance re- quired for all the purposes of commerce up to the year 1950. It would seem more desirable, however, not to make the de- velopment begin at Barren Island and extend continuously around the bay, thereby keeping Queens Borough, and particularly Jamaica, waiting, but rather to select some point — say at Fresh' Creek Basin— and make the improvement grow both ways from this point as a center. In this way immediate demands would be at once satisfied, the improvement would at all times grow not only with the pop- ulation, but likewise in the direction in which the latter grows, and would be, therefore, a logical growth. While not essential, it is interesting to know just what frontage will be taken up in this manner. With 33,200 linear feet required, and assuming the erection of piers as fast as needed, the actual frontage in use would be 33,200 divided by four, which is equal to 8,300 linear feet, or, using Fresh Creek Basin as a center, the improve- ment would, in 1950, range from a point about 3,000 feet west of Fresh Creek Basin to a point near Spring Creek Basin. As time goes on, local causes may de- mand that, instead of being entirely con- centrated, the development of the bay be scattered so that it seems reasonable to suppose that there will be some improve- ment on the line joining Barren Island to Bergen Beach; some at the mouth of each basin emptying into the bay, and the great mass of the business concen- trated near the point we have designated. In all the foregoing we have purposely kept out of consideration the immense frontage available in the basins. There are six of these planned, and the aggre- gate wharfage provided amounts to 75,000 linear feet. We have excluded this for the reason that in our calculations to de- termine the wharfage required, we used only foreign tonnage, and as the coast- wise and domestic commerce will be con- siderable we have left the basins avail- able so as to provide for this, not that we anticipate the entire foreign tonnage will of necessity be concentrated on the exterior wharves while the domestic commerce will use the basins, but merely for the purpose of assuring ourselves that taking basins and main bulkhead to- gether we would have sufficient room in the present plan to provide berths for all the shipping that any man can at this time assume will be done in Jamaica Bay- in 1950. If provision can be made for the estimated foreign tonnage for 1950 along the main waterfront between a point 3,000 feet west of Fresh Creek- Basin and a point just east of Spring Creek Basin, as has already been demonstrated, we be- lieve that these two basins with the aid of Paerdegat with their combined wharf- age length of 46,000 feet and a capacity of over 7,000,000 tons, can readily provide all the accommodation necessary for do- mestic commerce for the next forty years. We have indicated above how unnec- essary it is for the city to immediately enrry out the total improvement shown on the map accompanying the report of Colonel Knight, namely, from the south- east corner of Barren Island to Cornell's Creek. We shall now attempt to esti- mate what this improvement would cost The City of New York. The plan, it must be remembered, calls for a 500-foot chan- nel 18 feet deep, this to lie outside of a pierhead line, which is 1,000 feet away from the line of solid filling. Later the channel is to be widened to 1.000 feet and deepened to thirty feet. The increase in width will naturally be on the side farthest removed from the shore It follows, therefore, that the city must, in order to utilize its bulkhead and water- front, excavate the intermediate portion lying between the inside of the channel and the bulkhead line, and this should approximate a depth equal to the prelim- inary 500-foot wide channel. When the commerce of the harbor has so grown as to necessitate increasing the size of the main channel, then it is quite likely that piers will be demanded and that it will only be necessary to deepen to thirty feet that portion inside the pier line which is between piers. It was with this assump- tion that the estimate was prepared. It follows, therefore, that the city's expense for this enterprise would be as follows: Main channel. 59,000,000 cubic yards (Colonel Knight's report), at 2 cents $1,180,000 Excavation between bulkhead and pierhead lines, estimated 28,000,000 cubic yards, at 10 cents 2,S00,000 Deepening between piers, 12,200,000 cubic yards, at 10 cents 1,220,000 Excavating basins, 13,700,000 cubic yards, at 10 cents 1,370,00..' Land necessary to be purchased to retain all filling, 3,000 acres at $1,000 per ocre 3,000,000 Bulkhead, 120,000 linear feet, at $50.... 6,000,000 On© hundred piers, 1,000 feet by 130 feet, 15,000,000 square feet, at $1.25.. 18,750,000 Sheds for same, 15,000,000 square feet, at W 15.000,000 Curbi, sidewalks, pavements, local sewers, water mains. 4,500 acres, at $2,400 per acre 10,800,000 Contingencies 3,000,000 Total $63,120,000 We have not included in the above esti- mate the loss due to receipts from taxes due to the city taking over the lands to be filled since this item, while considera- ble, is difficult to ascertain and bears but a small ratio to the estimate of cost for improvement and development given above. When it is remebered that this sum of money, $63,120,000 is equal to the entire amount spent for like purposes by the Department of Docks and Ferries throughout the entire city since its crea- tion in 1870, it is not hard to believe that no such sum of money will find its way into Jamaica Eay in any like period of time. We have introduced it merely for the purpose of calling attention to and emphasizing the great extent and capaci- ty of Jamaica Bay and to show that its development will necessarily be a work of time. Jamaica Bay will grow like other places of a like nature have grown in the past, slowly and steadily. It is sound municipal policy to help its prog- ress the same as it would be to help any other part of the water front in order that commerce, shipping and manufacturing may be encouraged within the city's limits. Before giving the details of the plan of improvement proposed in this report, we shall attempt to show that in the early development of the waterfront of Jamaica Bay it is more economical for the city to utilize the main bulkhead for wharf purposes rather than to make use of piers. In doing this we are to remember that if the pier method is adopted, the commerce naturally will be more concentrated and in consequence less actual waterfront will be necessary, less land developed and less main chan- nel required. For the purpose of making a compar- ative estimate of the cost of the devel- opment by each method, and the returns therefrom, we have selected as the most promising site for the improvement that portion of the waterfront lying on both, sides of Fresh Creek Basin. Assuming that 8,000 linear feet of wharf will be required, it will readily be seen that two piers on either side of the basin, each being 150 feet wide with a slip 350 feet wide intervening will be necessary. This plan will utilize about 900 feet of main frontage on both the east and west sides of the basin and will cause in conjunc- tion with the excavation to be made in the basin itself a development of about 600 acres of land. By the second method that without piers 8,000 running feet of bulkhead will be necessary, one-quarter of which will be to the west of Fresh Creek and the balance to the eastward. The acreage reclaimed under this plan including that due to the dredging from the basin will approximate 800 acres. i Below will be found a comparative «s- timate based upon the foregoing as- sumptions. We may add that in the preparation of the estimates very liber- al allowances were made in favor of the pier method, since if we had adhered to a very strict analysis of the problem a smaller area of fully developed territory would have resulted in this case. As it was somewhat difficult to assume any set of conditions which would have precisely satisfied both methods, it was thought safer to give the benefit of whatever doubts we had to what was thought to be the less profitable plan. The object of making the comparative statement presented was merely for the purpose of convincing ourselves which of the two was the proper plan to pursue in the early stages of development. It » ?: . from the fig.. res submitted that 30 JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. Be no doubt as to which course it will pay the city to follow. With the use of piers, the net return is the dif- ference between 6.85 per cent., the gross income, and 4 per cent., the usual in- terest paid by the city on its bonds, or 2. So per cent., while without piers and using only the bulkhead, the net return is 4.2 per cent. These figures indicate that by building piers the yearly loss would be about 1.35 per cent, upon a total investment of approximately $5,000,000, or $67,500 yearly. Expressed in still an- other way the bulkhead plan is one and one-half times more profitable than the one employing piers. It is true, as we have already said, that future conditions may ariso which will demand the con- struction of piers, but until such neces- sity is demonstrated, or until deeper water is demanded, we unhesitatingly recommend that bulkheads only be util- ized, thereby bringing into requisition a greater length of waterfront and a larger area of development. COM PA RATI A E ESTIMATE OP COST OF IMPROVING PART OF THE SHOrtE FRO\T OF JAMAICA BAY IN THE VICINITY OF FRESH CREEK BASIN. (a) Cains Bulkhead and Piers on the Main Front and Bulkhead only in the Basin. 500 foot channel approach between a point 2,000 feet west of Fresh Creek, and a point 900 feet west of Fresh Creek, 406,300 cubic yards, at 2c $8,100 Excavating 000 foot channel in front of development, 7S6.000 cubic yards, at 2c 15,700 Excavation between bulkhead and pier- head in front of development, 1,400,- 000 yards, at 10c 140,000 Excavation. Fresh Creek Basin, 3,- 577,000 cubic yards, at 10c 357,700 Bulkhead, 19.800 linear feet, at $50 990,000 Land to be purchased, 575 acres, at $1,000 575,000 Land to be developed, 605 acres, at $2,400 1,452.000 Four piers. 600.000 square feet, at J1.25 . 750,000 Sheds for same, 600,000 square feet, at SI 600.000 Total J4.SSS.50O Of the 605 acres developed flbove. all but 400 acres will lie in a system of streets. Of these 400 acres, we have set aside a 6trip 100 feet wide, running entirely around the waterfront of the bay and basin, for the purpose of securing the greatest possible return upon the water- front. Thi6 strip comprises 40 acres. Be- low follows an estimate of the probable return upon this developed land, assum- ing that it is not sold but leased: Strip consisting of 40 acres, leaving out streets, which intersect same. 3,790,000 square feet, at 10c. per sq. ft. per year $179,000 Balance of tract coosistlng of 360 acres, or 6,300 lots, at 525 per lot per year.... 157,500 Total return upon an investment of $4,888,000 $336,500 Or a gross return of 6.8S per cent. (b) Bulkheads Only Tbroushont. 600 loot channel, in front of develop- ment. 3,000.000 cu. yds. at 2c $60,000 Excavation between bulkhead and pier- head. 6.000.000 cu. yds. at 10c J ... 600.000 Excavation. Fresh Creek Basin. 3,577,- 000 cu. yds., at 10c 357,700 Bulkhead, 26,000 feet, at $50 1,300,000 Sheds, 8,000 ft. by 75 ft., or 600,000 sq. ft., at $1 600,000 Land to be purchaEC'1. 671 acres, at $1,000 671,000 Land to be developed, S03 acres, at $2,400 1.927.210 Total IMuiSw An Bstimate of the Return I'pon the Investment Follows. 2,336,000 sq. ft. comprised In a strip 100 feet wide along the entire water- front, at 10c. per sq. ft., per year.... $233,800 500 acres, exclusive of street system and excluding also strip referred to above; equivalent to 8,750 lots, at $-'5 per lot 218,750 Dredging, Fresh Creek Basin. It <*at deep, 3,500.000 cubic yards at 10c Timber and concrete bulkhead around Fresh Creek Basin: 4.200 linear feet at $65 $273, 000 18,600 linear feet at $35 651.000 924,0 Total income $452,350 Or a grosB return of 8.2 per cent. MAPS VXD PLANS. It is proposed to develop fully a tract of land approximately 625 acres in extent lying in the vicinity of Fresh Creek Basin. To do this it will be necessary to dredge out the entire basin as well that portion of the bay itself which lies immediately in front of the proposed iin provement, the width of the strip to be bo dredged including the 500 feet wide channel proposed in the tentative agree- ment betweeu the War Department and this commission being 1,500 feet. From Barren Island to the site of the proposed development the 500 foot channel will have to be excavated to provide a proper approach. All dredging is to be carried to a depth of 18 feet at mean low water, and all material dredged is to be de- posited upon the land side of the bulk- head line and is to be used in reclaiming the adjacent marsh land and land under water. To properly retain this filling it Is suggested that a substantia) bulkhead be built entirely around Fresh Creek Basin and along the Jamaica Bay front for a distance of 2,910 feet west of Fresh Creek Basin and for about 1,400 feet east thereof. The grade to which the filling will be brought is to conform to the re- quirements of the Highway, Sewer and Dock departments of the city. That portion of the waterfront which lies between Barren Island and the west- erly end of the proposed developed por- tion of the bay will not, in our opinion, require anything in the shape of per- manent bulkhead, since it is extremely doubtful, for reasons already stated, if much use will be made of this section for many years. It is merely for the purpose of reducing the cost of the dredging and of carrying out the provisions of the tentative agreement referred to above that it appears necessary at this time to provide a strip of land and land under water to receive the dredged material to be excavated from the 500 foot channel in this neighborhood. It is probable that the material removed by suction dredge could be heaped up along the bulkhead line in such a way as to serve as a re tcining structure for the balance of the fill, but w e have thought it wiser in pre paring the estimate of cost to include a sufficient amount to cover the expense of constructing a rip-rap wall from Bar- ren Island to Canarsie Park, and so placed as to serve as an essential part of a more permanent structure to be built when necessary. This wall can be placed in a dredged trench so as to be secure against being pushed out of line and so as not to require any change whatsoever when the permanent bulk- head is built. ESTIMATE OF COST OF 1XITIAL IMPROVEMENT. Dredging 500-feet wide channel approach 18 feet deep, allowing one foot for over-depth and side elopes of one on three, and including portion in front of proposed improvement, 8.000 000 cubic yards at 2c. (city's share of 17,000 linear feet of rip-rap wall from Barren Island to west side of pro- posed improvement, but excluding certain portions already improved by individuals, 10 cubic yards per running foot, or 170,000 cubic yards at 75c. per cubic yards 127,500 Purchasing 570 acres of marsh land at $1,000 per acre 570,000 Developing with pavements, curbs, sidewalks, sewers and water mains, 6:5 acres at $.'.400 1,500,000 Total Engineering, contingencies. .$4,107,0% Premising between bulkhead and pier- head lines IS feet deep, with allowance for one foot over-depth and including portion in front of Fresh Creek Basin, 2.« IV \' V C9 cubic yards at 10c If we deduct from the cost of the land, which would in all probability prove profitable to the city whether the chan- nel was dredged or not, the cost of actu- • improving the site which we have „.„jussed would be $3,341,500 plus the en- gineering and contingency expense, bring- ing the cost up to about $3,500,000. Tbi» figure closely agrees with thai which we assumed at the outset would be a iair and prudent Investment by the cLy until such time as the commercial practicabn- itv of the enterprise was proven, and until it can be scown that the entrance to Rockawav Inlet can be maintained at reasonable cost. It will be remarked also that by appropriating this amount of monev, the City of New York indi- cates its intention to become a partner vith the Federal Government in carrying on the improvement of Jamaica Bay. We are convinced that the city will bt> able to obtain a fair return upon an in- vestment of this kind. In order to dem- onstrate this we have prepared the fol- lowing estimate of the probable returns from the investment. In the preparation of this we have assumed that a strip o. land 100 feet in width lying imme- diately- adjacent to the bulkhead is t» far the most attractive to lessees, and that a low rent?! for such property would be at the rate of ten cents per square foot annually. In all other parts ol one cent per square foot, or, in other that a fair rental would be a t the rate of one cent per square ioot, or, in other words, that a man leasing a single lot 25 feet bv 100 would pay The City of New York $25°pcr year. We have also estimated that of the entire acreage one-third will be required for streets so that we have only figured on 12 lots per acre for the entire acreage in calculating the return received from all sources. Based upon these assumptions the following seems to ba a fair and impartial estimate of what the city may expect from the complete development of this particular site: 100 feet wide strip along the entire waterfront of 22,000 feet, but deducting an amount equal to the aggregate widths of all streets intersecting the same, or L9S8.O00 square feet, at 10c. per square foot, per year $193,900 Balance of tract consisting of 360 acres. ,- includmg streets, but allowing 12 lots per acre, gives 6,900, which at $25 per lot returns 172,500 Total revenue $370,500 Since the total cost of the improve- ment, including the land, is $4,107,000. we can readily see that the gross return up- ca the investment to the city will be 9 per cent., Or a net profit when the land is in complete use of about 5 per cent. The direct return to the city, however, is the least part of the financial advan- tage' resulting from the improvements outlined. The real benefit accrues to the merchant, manufacturer, dealer, or, in other words, to the consumer. We have taken the trouble to compare the freight rat»s upon a ton of cement from th? LehUh Valley Cement district 'JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. 31 to Canaxsie landing by water and by the present means of transportation. The re- sult of this Inquiry appears from the fol- lowing Cost of one barrel of cement from the Lehigh Valley section to Canarsie Land- ing is 11-45 Cost of same, f. o. b. cars of the Long Island It. R. to the nearest point in East .Vew York is 1.53 Bavins by water $0.08 If we assume five barrels to the ton, the total saving would be forty cents. It is of course true that the savings upon other commodities may not be so large as this, but we believe that it is not unfair to suppose that a saving of twenty-five cents per ton could be ef- fected by the improvement. As we have estimated the total tonnage of the dis- trict tributary to Jamaica Bay at the present time to be about 2.000.000 tons, it is not difficult to believe that the sav- ing to the consumer would be con- siderable. SUMMARY. The conclusions whieli the commission have reached in regard to the improve- ment and development of Jamaica Bay may te briefly summed up as follows: First — That the growth of the port of New York warrants and justifies a sub- I wi stant tal improvement of Jamaica Bay. . | ^'Ckstot the cast side of Fresh Second— Thar, any such improvement of j the bay should, however, be carried Sixth— That manufacturing will increase in proportion to the growth in popula- tion and may possibly assist advances in this direction. I n view of the above, it is recom- mended: , 1. That the City of New York proceed with the improvement of Jamaica Bay- along the lines suggested herewith a s soon as appropriations for the said im- provement are made by the City of New York and by tie Federal Government. 2 That physical improvements be com- menced which shall cost, when complete, $3,500,000. 3 That such lands as are necessary to satisfv the requirements of the initial improvement, as more particularly out- lined in the nest paragraph and as given in dPtr.il in the body of the report be acauired bv condemnation or purchase oefore beginning physical improvement, , and that such other lands as are . re- quired to retain dredgings Tan ous channel extensions should be ac- cuired in the same manner or before such necessity arises able terms can be secured. 4 That the $3,300,000 recommended >P »P * finished bulkhead when cent to the bay, and in this manner not : Portion Of ^ n merely assisting in but actually promot- j flatter '"Fu n-That ' growth in population thus (e) To dredge space between bulk- stimulated will continue to increase at head and pierhead »« depth of a rate much greater than the average IS feet at low water wherever a r y ;? r ihe city or o£ tbe Borou6h of i ^s&s^s^ ms* curbs, (d) To build, if found necessary to re- tain filling from 500 foot wide approach cha pavements, local sewers, water mains, etc., about 625 acres of land lying ad- jacent to Fresh Crook Basin as indicated upon the plan herewith submitted. 5. That when the commerce of the bar shall require it, the 500 foot wide chan- nel is to be extended easterly beyond the easterly point mentioned in 4(a), but that no such extension shall be inaugurated until the above outlined improvements shown on the map referred to in 4(f) have been completed. 6. That inasmuch as the legislative act (passed May 29, 1909), whereby the State of New York grants to the City of New >ork such right, title and interest as it may have in and to the land under water in Jamaica Bay, does not become opera- tive until the United Ctates Government makes its first appropriation for the im- provement of the bay. or until the City of New York sets aside not less than $1,000,000 for the same purpose, y 0ur board, to take advantage of the terms of this act, should at its earliest con- venience set aside $1,000,000 for the im- provement. 7. That as soon thereafter as possible, the balance of the $3,500,000 should be appropriated in order that the Secretary of War, if he so desires, may report that the City of New York is ready to per- form its part of the initiatory work called for in his report of February 26, 1909. as well as to give the committee of Con- gress an opportunity to incorporate an adequate appropriation in the river and harbor bill of this session. S. That the harbor lines, as indicated and as located by rectangular co-ordin- ates on the plan shown on Plates III and IV, should be adopted, but that a slight change in the bulkhead line at the north- erly part of the bay and also in the location of Spring Creek Basin, seem* desirable, as explained in the body of the report. This change, however, can- not he made until more precise data as to the street system is obtained. 9. That, if the Barge Canal Terminal Commission, upon completing its investi- gations and studies, decides that the prospective business of the canal war- rants the selection of Jamaica Bay as a terminal, the city should afford the aforesaid commission every opportunity for the establishment of sneb a terminal. Respectfully submitted. PHILIP P. FARMJT, « JOHN J. McL-ATJGHLW, Commissioners. Extracts From Minority Report, Jamaica Bay Commission DREDGING .VXD FILLING. | The character of the bottom of Jamaica j Bay generally and the ease with which 1 the sand may be transferred compara- tively long distances to lowlands, make | the dual achievement of creating chan- nels and reclaiming land there a most economical one. It has been found necessary to build I around parts of Manhattan massive and costly sea walls, which would not be the 1 caso in this bay, a very much lighter and j less costly structure answering almost every requirement. It is interesting to note the relative cost of some of these sea walls and of dredging channels per unit of frontage: Average cost per running foot, includ- ing general charges, of sea walls in Man- (11 Rock bottom type $307.00 (2) Firm or hard bottom type 396.00 (3) Relieving platform type 49^.3" U) Average of the three types 364.77 Let us compare this with cost of dredg- ing in Jamaica Bay: (5) The cost per running foot for dredg- ing a channel 2.000 feet wide and 30 feet deep (allowing for no pre- viously existing channel whatever), at 12 cents per yard $266.67 The length of sea wall about Manhattan exceeds 31,000 feet. Were the total cost of this sea wall applied to the proposed im- provement in Jamaica Bay, it would prob- ablv pay for putting in an adequate bulk- head and dredging a zone 2,000 feet wide outside of it to a depth of thirty feet all the way from Barren Island around the ■•mainland" to the trestle of the Long Island Railroad, aa approximately equal distance, besides the reclamation of sev- eral thousand acres of adjoining meadow land. It is particularly fortunate that not only can an immense amount of dredging be gotten rid of on the lowlands close at hand at perhaps one-third of what tin cost would be were the lowlands not there, but that tbe lowlands positively need these dredgings to bring them into a sta'c of productiveness, and the cost of 32 'JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. reclaiming them by dredglngs from the proposed channels is less than one-third of what it would be were the channel not to be made., Under such circumstances, fill being absolutely necessary and dredging being the cheapest way of providing it, Irre- spective of any connection with naviga- tion, the depth to which the channels may be made for navigation is only re- stricted to that at which the centrifugal pumps can work effectively. Depth of channels means increased availibility. It not only gives access to freight carriers which can through the economies of their great capacity trans- port commodities at a minimum of cost, thereby lowering through competition the standard rates to and from the port, buc it gives a distinct trade advantage over rival ports which are unable through lack of water to harbor these low-rate producing vessels. The encouragement of the type of vessels of great carrying capacity, but relatively low speed, would trend toward the attainment of the low freight charges so necessary to the growth of a port. The cargo of a tramp ship not infre- quently includes the product of 15,000 acres of average wheat land, or the cot- ton yielded by twice that area, and it would take two such cargoes to fill the hold of one of the larger freight liners. A larger cargo means a greater amount of freight carried, or an increased oppor- tunity to lower rates in bidding for busi- ness — or it may be both of these advan- tages. A vessel carrying 250,000 bushels of grain earns $3,000 more than a vessel whose capacity is limited to 200,000 bush- els, assuming the rate to be six cents per bushel on each, or on a cargo of 20,000 bales of cotton, a ship receives $10,000 freight in excess of another ship which carries only 15,000 bales, assuming the rate to be $2 per bale. Within very recent years there has been a considerable change in the thought as to the desirable length of piers, and the tendency has been to lengthen them where the location of the pier line would permit. Notable examples of long piers are those in the Chelsea district (800 and 825 feet), Manhattan; the Bush docks (1,300 to 1,400 feet), in South Brooklyn already constructed, and the ones more recently planned by the Department of Docks and Ferries, also In South Brooklyn. In the writer's opinion, a desirable dis- tance between the actual (physical) bulk- head and the pier line would be 1,000 feet. This will allow for the berthing of single vessels of great size, or through use of the diagonal system, as recom- mended in the first report, the berthing of two or more moderately large vessels on one side of a pier 1,400 feet long. The economy of space is the same in the cases of the rectangular and diagonal pier systems, though the facility of en- trance to ships in favor of the latter, and as it Is impossible to foretell to what maximum lengths the vessels of the fu- ture may go, the writer recommends that the diagonal system be adopted through- out, particularly so since a change to It later on would be difficult. While the immediate demands of the bay will not require any such length of piers, the establishing of such a pier line does not prohibit or restrict the use of short piers at the present time, and it does provide a probable safeguard against the repetition of an occurrence like that in the Chelsea district. It will be Interesting to note the fol- lowing table given by Sidney Willett Hoag, jr., in his paper read before the Municipal Engineers Club, referred to elsewhere, as to percentage of wharfage devoted to different uses along parts of the North and East rivers. Mr. Hwg'o statement of these percentages may be taken as standard: o S3 « to _ I. Foreign steamship service 1.0 0.1 TT. Domestic steamship service 11.1 32 III. Gen. & miscellaneous commerce.38.4 i6-3 IV. Railroad business 31.0 5.0 V. Special kinds of commerce. ...... 5.0 2.8 VI. Ferries 6.4 6.6 VII. City Departments 1.1 C.6 VIII. Unimproved 0. 16 9 Taking the average total net increase of wharfage for New York City, given by the Newark commission (page 10 in their report), as 15,000 per annum, there would be required over 600,000 linear feet of new wharfage by 1950 for the use of all activities, while the rate of net new wharfage as shown by the records of our own Department of Docks and Fer- ries for the past seven years, during which accurate data has been collated, is 17,867 feet (approximating three and one- third miles) annually, or over 700,000 feet (over 130 miles) additional for 1950. This cannot possibly be cared for with- out a very material development of Ja- maica Bay. It should be borne in mind that the mammoth high efficiency piers now being built in the present port, resembling in a way the skyscraping office buildings of the downtown sections of Manhattan, did not come with the early development of the port. They came only after the frontage values had become enormous, and to accommodate a specific class of trade; just as the skyscrapers came when the land areas became extremely expen- sive and the demand for concentration of business offices about the financial center made them a necessity. The development of Jamaica Bay will not begin with the introduction of Chel- sea piers, nor Hudson Terminal build- ings. On the contrary, it will start in all probability with accommodations in keep- ing with an eighteen foot channel at mean low water. It will be a distributing point for all kinds of materials needed in the building up of the adjacent interior ter- ritory; it will furnish the sites for in- dustrial enterprises, including those for the manufacture of commodities where the raw material and finished product? may have an opportunity for 'transporta- tion by water and rail alike; it will sup- ply, in addition to wharfage, spaces where for the time being, at any rate, large areas will be required. As time goes on the development will be on a higher commercial plane, and it may be that some day some of the first enterprises will have to give way to strictly commercial projects. However this may be, however uncertain the de- tails of the future progress may be, or how impossible it may be to predict with any degree of certainty the wharfage re- quired by 1950, we may rest assured that it will be a wise thing to allow plenty of room now, and to plan with a wide enough margin to permit, if possible, the installation of the things most desirable in the practice of that time. BARGE CANAL TERMINAL The State of New York has undertaken the deepening of the Erie Canal so that barges of large size may navigate be- tween the Great Lakes and the seaboard. The advantage to be derived will be the reduction in cost of transportation due to the economies of administration. It is probable that barges of six times the carrying capacity of the present ones will be brought into use. As the labor and subsistence charges for these barges will not be materially increased, the total fixed charges, including fuel. re- pairs, insurance upon vessels and upon cargoes, interest on investment, sinking fund and miscellaneous items, will be a'cowi doubled, while the carrying capac- ity through Increased tonnage and greater number of round trips may be multiplied by eight. The estimated cost of the enlarged canal is one hundred and one million ($101,000,000) dollars. Its low freight rates will undoubtedly bring to New York many millions of tons of commodities for home consumption and domestic and foreign export that would be excluded from the market en- tirely, or would find an outlet through another channel. In his last report the writer referred to the increase in commerce of New York which would be due to the low rates that would maintain on the new barge canal, and also due to the reduc- tion in rail rates to meet them. There seems to be a tendency to bring about a reorganization of the methods of dis- tribution of different classes of freight between the rail and water carriers. Even should the enlarged barge canal prove a failure (and the writer does not believe it will) as to the quantity of freight carried, it will lower in any event the cost of transportation to and from New York, and will induce a vast amount of additional commerce through our port; bringing into existence also com- modities the manufacture of which has heretofore been unremunerative on ac- count of the excessive cost of shipment to market. It is a reasonable assumption in the case of New York that railroad rates from the Northwest will be lowered, that railroads will do a larger business, and that the barge canal will bring millions of tons to New York City annually, for local consumption and for trans-ship- ment. It is hardly probable that it will be desirable to have but one union termi- nal as a distributing center for this en- tire barge traffic, as this would necessi- tate in many cases a double handling when one should suffice, particularly so in the cases of commodities for local con- sumption destined for widely separated sections of the city. It seems probable that there will be more than one ter- minal. There is a class of freight that may be treated separately and handled in a separate section; this is shipments in mass of commodities between the Great Lakes and foreign or domestic Atlantic ports. In the opinion of the writer parts of the interior of Jamaica Bay where the islands now exist are well adapted for such a center. It would re- lieve the Manhattan and Brooklyn shore fronts above the Narrows of the addi- tional burden of supplying wharfage for tonnage which is merely in transit to other ports, and it would leave for the commerce requiring it the portions of Jamaica Bay better situated for highly developed railroad connections. Such location would permit the barge traffic to come down parallel to the axis of the Hudson River and Upper Bay, and the additional distance (about 15 miles), would be but a small percentage of the total distance between the lakes and the ocean. The passage from the Upper Bay to Ja- maica Bay could be effected by the pres- ent Coney Island Channel, and need in no way interfere with those to the south- ward. While the passage to the entrance to Jamaica Bay will be at times rough, it should be borne in mind that the refuse from the garbage cans of New York is brought to Barren Island in Jamaica Bay on relatively small deck scows (with deck loads averaging 350 tons), and during the past fourteen years the disposal company has not lost as many days on account of storms. They use the westerly pas- sage at Rockaway Inlet, an* while the entrance to the proposed new passage will be somewhat more exposed, a large num- ber of the canal barges of the future for reasons of economy will exceed 1,000 •JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. 33 tons capacity. In any event, and espe- cially should the smaller sized barges be retained to any extent, the building of a breakwater from Norton Point, Coney Island, to the northwestward across the mouth of Gravesend Bay would not only give them ample protection during heavy storms, but would furnish a much-needed harbor of refuge or port of call at the southern entrance to New York, and fur- nish anchorage ground for vessels gen- erally, as well as bring Into greater use- fulness the shores of Gravesend Bay, parts of which would then be available as a relief for the Upper Bay and for certain classes of barge canal traffic not desired in Jamaica Bay. Since his, appointment to the Jamaica Bay Improvement Commission the writer has made two trips to Europe, during which he has visited and inspected most of the important harbors on that side, some twenty-five or more. Among the notable things of professional interest was the wonderful development of the barge traffic throughout the lowland countries of northwestern Europe. Most of the ports in this section are at con- siderable distance from the sea and large parts of the cargoes are transferred di- rectly into barges of 1,000 tons and up- ward to be conveyed still farther up the rivers and well into the interior. R. M. Hurd states most concisely a well demonstrated law: "Trade routes, the lines of least resist- ance between the source of products and their final markets, have in all ages lo- cated cities at the points where the break in transportation occurs." Should the interior islands of Jamaica Bay become th° situs of the break in transportation of the water trade route connecting our great lake regions and Europe, a gradual but extensive develop- ment of the section will be sure to fol- low, and the city will not only profit by the increment in land values, but will he able to provide accommodations for ship- ping at rates low enough to make the port attractive to commerce generally. SUMMARY. The following ie a short outline of some of the conditions before us: 1. In a comparatively few years the natural increase in commerce will have brought into demand all the available water front of the present Port of New York. 2. Before this occurs the small supply for largely increased demand will send the prices of wharfage up beyond a rea- sonable rate. 3. Ths will drive some commerce away to ports which will answer the purpose, but where the charges are less. 4. In the meantime some new com- merce will still come and pay the ad- vanced rates, until finally all the room is not only used up, but some of it doing double duty. 5. After that new commerce must go elsewhere. 6. Competing ports will take advan- tage of the situation and under the stim- ulus of great relative advance in com- mercial prosperity will be spurred on to making their localities so attractive that they will draw still further from New York commerce. 7. New York, having come to a stand- still while the rest of the country is ad- vancing, will lose preetige and in the course of time suffer very seriously in many ways. 8. If, however, through the forethought of the Federal and City Governments, a place can be r~;cured which will answer as a place for overflow commerce, the situation will be greatly relieved. If at the eame time such a place should be capable of large ultimate development upon hroad and progressive plans, the so- lution of the problem will be well in sight, and New York need have no fear of losing her supremacy for many years to come. / 9. Jamaica Bay is capable of adding to the harbor of New York over one hun- dred and fifty (150) miles of wharfage for vessels, as well as providing large areas for manufacturing, warehousing, storage, railroad trackage, etc. 10. It will be several hours nearer Europe than the present port. 11. It can have less dangerous channels. 12. It can be made to a large degree the terminus of the new 1,000 ton Barge Canal when completed. 13. It can become a center for certain kinds of trade and manufacture without disturbing the interests of the existing built-up sections of the Greater New York. 14. It ie already within 40 minutes of downtown Manhattan, under ordinary every day schedules. 15. The cost of construction will be less than usual about New York. 16. Its development will reclaim thou- sands of acres of low land, making them productive where they are now of little value. 17. The existence of a harbor in this vicinity will reduce the cost of many commodities within its immediate neigh- borhood. 18. It will, through the decreased freight rates and hence reduced ulti- mate cost of building materials, result in a more rapid development of the ad- Joining interior. 19. It should reduce the cost of living. 20. It should also give active employ- ment to many people. 21. It can, by proper arrangement of railroad systems, in advance, be placed in direct touch with the interior of the United States, and there would be ample room for terminals. •22. The through-freight rates between the interior states and Jamaica Bay can most probably be as low as to any other part of New York City. 23. In some cases the shipments be- tween it and the West can be even cheap- er than where several haulings of goods are required, as now in particular sec- tions of New York City. 24. The development of Jamaica Bay section will provide a place for homes of very many thousands of people within a short radius from the central parts of New York City. 25. The development of the bay can be made for many millions of dollars less for the advantages to be gained than would be required in any other available section of equal size. 26. Unless New York takes up this development of Jamaica Bay actively. New Jersey will forestall her in the de- velopment of the Newark Meadows, where several of the great railroads al- ready have their termini. 27. The City of Newark proposes a vast development of the meadows adjacent to her. 28. She has already prepared a plan for a start, and has appropriated $1,000,000 to get it under way. 29. Commerce once gained, if accom- panied with inducements equal to those of other ports, generally stays through force of habit. 30. Commerce once lost is difficult to regain. 31. If New Jersey goes ahead of us, she will get for her citizens the wealth and prosperity attendant upon increased com- merce—which the citizens of New York might have had. RECOMMENDATIONS. The writer would recommend an expen- diture within the next ten years of ap- proximately $12,000,000 for the develop- ment and control of the waterfront in Jamaica Bay, and that the appropriations be progressive. That at least $1,000,000 be appropriated and set aside at once, to comply with the provision of Chapter 568 of the Laws of 1909. That a total of $3,000,000 be appropri- ated within the near future in ample time for the secretary of war, if he so desireB, to report that the City of New York Is ready to perform her part of the initia- tory work called for in his report of Feb- ruary 26, 1909; as well as to give the committees of Congress an opportunity to incorporate an adequate appropriation in the river ai-d harbor bill this session. That the city acquire as speedily as practicable all of the desirable meadow upland needed to receive the material from the bay to be dredged to a depth of 18 feet between the proposed city bulkhead line and the outer edge of the proposed 500-foot channel, and from the proposed basins, as can be secured at a fair price, that is, the entire 18-foot project. It is recommended that the 18-foot channel bj begun as soon as appropria- tions are available from the Federal gov- ernment and the City of New York, and be continued progressively until comple- tion. That after the city shall have acquired the necessary upland, one or more of the proposed basins with its immediate vicin- ity be connected with the main channel, and developed through dredging, bulk- heading, grading, constructing streets, etc., so as to be able to receive and handle freight to the best advantage. That thereafter the zone between the main channel and the city bulkhead be dredged to a depth of 18 feet. The dredgings from the channels should be placed behind either temporary rip- rap retaining walls, or inexpensive con- crete and masonry bulkheads; the former where the probable use of the upland would be more remote, and the latter within the zones of more immediate utility. Assuming 2,500 acres of land as neces- sary to receive the dredgings to a depth of 18 feet between bulkhead line and outer edge of 500-foot channel, as well os from the basins, at the high figure of $1,000 per acre, and 10 cents per cubic yard, the cost assumed by the majority members of the commission; the cost of land, dredging and bulkheading along the mala channel would be as follows: 2,600 acres of land at $1,000 per acre. ,$2,600,000 Dredging 600 foot channel 18 feet deep, 16,500,000 yards, at 10 cents $1,650,000 Less rebate 1,240,000 310,000 Bulkheading 43.000 linear feet at $60.. 8,680,000 Contingencies and administration.... 423.000 (1) Cost of land for entire 18-foot project, bulkheading entire front and dredging entire 600-foot pre- liminary channel $5,819,400 Suggested allotment to go to dredg- ing and high development of one basin, or parts of two or more basins 2,800,000 (2) Cost of land for entire 18-foot project, dredging entire 600-foot preliminary channel, and partial high development of one or more basins $8,619,000 Dredging to 18 feet beween 500-foot channel and bulk- head line, 27,800,000 yards, at 10 cents $2,780,000 Contingenclea and adminis- tration 139,000 2.019*000 (3) Cost of land for entire 18-foot project, dredging between bulkhead and outer edge of 500-foot channel, and partial high development of one or more basins $11,633>08Q Approximate allowance for buildlne» and unforeseen contingencies 462,D00 Total cost $12,000,-001 (4) Proposition No. 2, by using a rip- rap sea wall, costing about $7.50 per running foot, could be executed for. in round numbers $64*»^» Respectfully. WILLIAM G. FORD, Consulting Engineer, Commissioner. New York City, December 27, _j 34 JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. FIRE ESCAPES RAILINGS FRONT ENTRANCE DOORS 822-832 LEXINGTON AVE. Near Broadway Telephone 1700 Bushwlck BROOKLYN, N. Y. THE DAILY ISSUES OF THE EAGLE THE NEWS The six week-day issues of the Brooklyn Eagle rep- resent the most complete afternoon newspaper pub- lished in this city. You can find more news — of more kinds — in the Daily Eagle than anywhere else. The NEWS is what you want FIRST. You get that in the Eagle; you also get a great deal more. EACH DAY in addition to the above, the Eag'.e has a wide range of features. Here is a schedule of some of them: MONDAY Two pages of sermons. Home dressmaking depart- ment. "Arabella and 1" stories. Notes of the Chil- dren's Department Clubs. TUESDAY Review of all the new attractions in Brooklyn play- houses—Table and Kitchen Notes — Suggestions for Club Workers. WEDNESDAY Kate Upson Clark's Talk to Women— Junior Eagle puz- zle solvers' names— New puzzle club members. EVERY DAY the Eagle contains special features of interest to men, women and children. For instance, here are some de- partments you will find EVERY DAY: PICTURE SECTION I WALKS AND TALKS WOMEN'S DEPT. CHILDREN'S DEPT. QUESTIONS ANSWERED I FICTION SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES THURSDAY Reports of work done by Fresh Air Club workers — Hints for amateur milliners, with special illustration. FRIDAY The Jewish Review— An article on Beauty and Hygiene — Humane Club news, ktters from members, new members, etc. SATURDAY News of Churches, both Catholic and Protestant— The Industrial Age — The weekly real estate page — Reviews of the new books — A special page of Long Island news — Paper doll for children— A special story for children— News of women's clubs — .Missionary socie- ties and W. C. T. U.— Table and kitchen notes. 'JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. 35 The Piano Industry As Exemplified by THE HOUSE OF WISSNER The Wissner Piano Factory — one of the largest in the country — -is located in Brooklyn. From the time of its inception the Wissner Piano has been a piano of the highest class. It has been on the market over thirty-one years. Brooklyn being the center of many prominent musical institutions, and the home of countless artists of note, the Wissner Piano had natural advantages which brought it to the front in less than half the time taken by other pianos. Before being on the market ten years, its exclusive features were rec- ognized by artists and musicians of repute. Upon the completion of the WISSXER ARTIST UPRIGHT GRAND PIANO, it was placed be- fore a congress of world famous musicians. They were astounded. They came to criticise — they left converts all. The* Brooklyn Daily Eagle, under date of September 25th, 1909, states: * * * "Some years ago Mr. Wissner made himself famous throughout the world and caused the wonderment of musicians by introducing a grand piano in upright form, upon which he had been working many years. A grand piano in principle of construction and tone, but an upright in form and size. * * * So great has been the demand for these instruments in recent years that it has be- come necessary to remove to larger quarters several times. * * * To-day it is one of the largest and most important piano houses in the United States." * * * Some of the world's greatest musicians have made their initial tour and incident- ally their reputation with a WISSNER PIANO as an accessory. WISSNER WAREROOMS 538-540 FULTON STREET, BROOKLYN 36 'JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. Electro Brick=Enameling Machine Company INCORPORATED Offices: 120 Liberty Street, New York. To Builders and Contractors: We have just received an offer for 50 machines which cost about $3,000 each to build, and rent for about $10,000 per year each. This is almost in- credible, but we can prove it. The offer for 50 machines is accompanied by a bond of $25,000 as a guarantee that these machines will be placed as fast as we can build them. For the purpose of building machines to fill our first orders we offer a limited amount of the stock of this company at fifty per cent., price to advance without notice. This machine does in ONE DAY that which takes ALL OTHERS from FOUR to SIX WEEKS to do, and we do it much better at about ONE-FOURTH the cost. This machine is completed and now running and on exhibition at our showroom, 1 20 Liberty street. Samples of enameling done by our machine may be seen at our offices. For further particulars, address G. H. Laporte, Pres. JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. 37 Incidentally We Might Mention the Fact that the Private Garage saves both in quantity and price of Gasoline, also Cost of Repairs, and they are ready to erect if built by us. That saves litter around the yard. Then when the Car is housed, No Joy Rides. Our Cottages are Comfy. Made to meet all the requirements, and a Catalog will tell you just how we build them, and the styles are fully illustrated. Springfield Portable House Company 784 Allen St. Springfield, Mass. Room 810 World Building, New York 38 JAMAICA' BAY IMPROVEMENT. ONE PINT OF MILK MERGED INTO ONE POUND OF BUTTER, 4 Cts. Pound Saves Money for Every Family PRICE $5.00 Paid anyone who fails to merge ONE PINT of MILK into one Pound of Butter in two minutes with this machine. Producing a pure food product that gets just as hard — looks the same and is used for the same purposes as Creamery Butter. No chemicals or drugs used. 4 cents a pound; think what this saves every family in one year. GENTLEMEN— When I told my friends that I had sent for a machine which would merge one pint of milk into one pound of butter, producing a product healthy and pure as any butter fresh from the churn, they laughed at me. In a few days the Butter Merger came, when it. required only a few minutes to produce just tvhat I had told them, the machine u-ould do, all agreeing with me that it was a great invention and wonderful machine. We urge those who would save money to purchase one of these Butter Mergers. REV. L. C. HAYES, 24 Lucust St., Norwich, N. T. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 30th day of Oct., 1909. NELSON P. BONNET, Notary Public. AGENTS WANTED. Anyone can sell this machine. Every family will buy one. PRICE, $5. Sold on payments, $1.00 month- lv. 'Write for illustrated circulars. AGENTS' TERMS AND SWORN TESTIMONIALS. Family Butter Merger Co., 38 Henry St., Brooklyn, N.Y. WM. E. HOU.IXiSWORTH, Manager, WM. LOCKITT, Treasurer. Estate of B. C. HOLLIAGSWORTH. Office: lOO Seventh Av. Telephone, Prospect So. 1. 98, 100, 102, 104 Seventh Av. 70S. 800, 802, 804, 806 & SOS Union St. HOLLINGS WORTH'S Boarding and Livery Stables ESTABLISHED 18" Seventh Avenue, Corner of Union Street, Borough of Brooklyn, New York ESTABLISHED 1889 TELEPHONE CONNECTION The Picture Frame Shop The only exclusive Frame Shop in Brooklyn. Largest line of samples and ready-made Frames to select from. Estimates on Regilding and Restoring. Prices lowest in the city. THE PICTURE FRAME SHOP 260 LIVINGSTON STREET JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. 39 I.F. AMERICAN & FOREIGN HIGH CLASS OIL PAINTINGS SIX-ONE-TWO BEDFORD AVE,, BROOKLYN, X. V. Paintings by Carlton T. Chapman, N. A. Arthur F. Tait, N. A. Philip Boileau, New York Wm. Edgar Marshall And Others. Oeo. H. Story, N. A. E. Munier, Paris L. Darey, Paris Gustav Brion, Paris Max Retore, Paris C. H. Miller, N. A. Gilbert Stuart Ralph A. Blake lock '4 H. W. FARADAY CO. Invites the public to visit their Art Galleries and Picture Framing Departments Here you will find the finest and largest Framing Department in Brooklyn. wholesale H. W. FARADAY CO., 170 FLATBUSH AVE. retail Trautman's 4 in I Anti-Skid Covers (1) PREVENTS SKIDDING (2) PUNCTURES (3) BLOWOUTS and (4) WEAR and TEAR ON TIRE Patent applied for IRA F. TRAUTMAN, 131 Sixth Avenue HEADQUARTERS FOR STEAM VULCANIZING ALL MAKES OF FISK AND REPUBLIC TIRES. Automobile Tires Vulcanized and Recovered Try Trautman's Insid* tj-«» Protector. Telephone 4529 Prospect 40 JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. Cte Powell musical Institute and GRAND OPERA SCHOOL 915 PRESIDENT STREET Between Eighth Ave. and Prospect Park West ALMA WEBSTER-POWELL 1 ^^^^ r , r Directors BROOKL YN A. JUDSON POWELL J TELEPHONE— 616 PROSPECT 1 HARRY, the Coup on King j Highest Prices Paid for Your Coupons and Trading Stamps i 45 WILLOUGHBY STREET | BROOKLYN, N. Y. | The Merchants' Go-operative Mortgage Go. CAPITAL, $500,000 Office, 391 Fult on Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. Investments in Building Loans, Second Mortgages and Real Estate. The Company solicits investments in its 6% Mortgage and Real Estate Gold Certificates in amounts of $500.00 and $1,000.00. Certificates payable in 10 years or before, in the discretion of the Company. Interest paid by coupon through the Broadway Bank in February and July of every year. Every Certificate is issued against existing mortgages and real estate owned by the Company. None But Improved Property in the City of New York Is Accepted. JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. Telephone Connection Jobbing Promptly Attended To SUNLIGHT ELECTRIC CO. GENERAL Electrical Contractors LIGHTING AND POWER DEALERS IN New and Second-Hand Bells and Motors ALL KINDS OF WIRING DONE 377 Jay Street 9 Willoughby St., Brooklyn, N.Y. TUNGSTEN FIXTURES A SPECIALTY. Give Us a Trial and Be Convinced = 1 1 ~ — r • 355955 THE ORDER OF THE GOLDEN SEAL HOME OFFICE, ROXBURY, N. Y.. closed its books on December 31, 1909, with assets of two million dollars. This order lias the largest amount of assets per member in its history. Its plans combine adequate rates with fraternal methods of operation. Rates based on the American Experience Table with three and one-half per cent interest, collecting sufficient money to pay all losses and daims, and accounting to its members and refunding to them, at the end of fixed periods of time, all excess payments. 1910 will be even better than 1909. BROOKLYN OFFICE: H. B. CONLIN, 215 Montague Street District Supreme Organizer "AT YOUR SERVICE" THE BROOKLYN VALET 16c. a Garment Per Yearly Contract Your Clothes Cleaned, Pressed and Repaired Called for and Delivered A . J «g g*g££ iJSSl „ , , TC ^ 1 U1 C& • 1 108 Montague Street Telephone 2500 Prospect I 1339 Bedford Avenue 42 JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. Main Office Telephone Call 4172 Main THOMAS G. KNIGHT COMPANY Factory, Mill, Plumbers', Steam and Gas Fitters' Supplies at Wholesale WAREHOUSES: OFFICE: 364 Jay Street 359 p ear l gtreet 50 and 52 Myrtle Avenue t, , , \^GT & 359 Pearl Street Brooklyn, ».¥. HAVE YOUR SUIT STERILIZED We have installed the PARK SLOPE CLOTHES PRESS, Pants which is the only sanitary method of pressing known. A garment Suit Sponged that passes through the Park Slope Tailoring Clothes Press is dis- Sponged and infected, as no germs or microbes can exist under a temperature as and Pressed, high as the dry steam. It raises the nap, revives the color — in fact, Pressed, 10c. it makes old suits look like new ones. Tel. Can, 30c, To get the above effect, send your work to 1726 South. THE PARK SLOPE TAILORING CO., 167 Seventh Av. MANUFACTURER OF THE Celebrated Diamond S.M.M. Metal AND SUPERIOR LINOTYPE, MONOTYPE, COMPOSITYPE, STEREOTYPE, ELECTROTYPE AND BABBITT METALS Phone 4277 Main 363 Hudson Avenue, Brooklyn Jamaica: bay improvement, 43 TELEPHONE 1085 BATH BEACH NOTARY PUBLIC JOHN P. KIVLEN Real Estate and Insurance 15th Ave., Cor. 70th Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. Estates Managed Loans Negotiated Renting Collecting Special Bargains Large Plots in Jamaica. A RE your limbs weak and painful, the veins swollen and con- gested to bursting— is walking a torture? Those are the symptoms of varicose veins. If neglected they will develop into varicose ulcers. Thousands have suffered as you are suffering. Thousands have found instant relief and a permanent checking of the disease in DR, MARSHALL'S ELASTIC STOCKINGS. PRICE $2.00. Dr. Marshall's stockings are guaranteed to give satisfaction or your money will be cheerfully refunded. We fill orders by mail with the utmost accuracy. Our measuring blanks enable you to get as perfect a fit as a personal interview with Dr. Marshall would give. Send to-day for blanks and an interesting catalogue of our trusses, elastic bandages and sick room necessities. Specialist's advice free. All correspondence in plain sealed envelope. REMOVAL NOTICE. We beg to announce the removal of our truss business on or about May 1, 1910, from 506 Fulton st„ to ROOM 416 44 COURT ST., Brooklyn, N. Y. And we trust you will continue to favor us with your valued patron- age. MARSHALL TRUSS CO., 44 COURT ST. Room 416 — Temple Bar Building Brooklyn, N. Y. C. BEST ELEVATOR SERVICE IN GREATER NEW YORK. Phone Connection. WE RENT CAMP CHAIRS AND CARD TABLES And Have Something NEW to Offer VOUJn^^^\g£& tt Wfl^ BANQUET ^^^f^^^ TABLES^-^a . . o»\& ^ UNDERTAKER EMBALMER PROMPT AND COURTEOUS SERVICE AT CONSERVATIVE PRICES OVER 30^YEARS Behind Our Name in Brooklyn MEANS SOMETHING. 44 JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. Established 1843. Tel. 136 Prospect. FREDERIC RIKER., FurvereJ Director. Holds Licenses to Practice in New York and Adjoining States. Particular Attention Given to Details of Modern Usages and Requirements. Undertakers forwarding bodies to Brooklyn for burial, cremation or to pass through to other points can rely on their patrons receiving prompt attention, if sent to our care. Wc have in our building a chapel where funeral services can be held or bodies kept when desired. 130 SEVENTH AVE., COR. CARROLL ST., Brooklyn, N. Y. G. P. BRUSH JR.&.BRO. YOUNG MEN AND YOUNG WOMEN SHOULD LEARN TELEGRAPHY Our Practical Practice Key, together with a Copy of the Morse Code, Technical Instructions, etc., etc., will be sent prepaid to any address on receipt of 25c. THE THOMAS EDISON- JENNINGS CO. Instrument Manufacturers 151, 153 and 155 West 22d St., New YorK JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. 45 R. A. BACHIA y CA. MANUFACTURERS OF HAVANA CIGARS 83 Walker SI. NEW YORK Our Brand, Renowned for Quality and Uniformity, is Stocked by the Best Clubs and Hotels, BUSHWICK STORAGE WAREHOUSES Telephone 615 Wmsbg. 237-245 MESEROLE STREET. 238-252 SCHOLES STREET. Fireproof FRESE & URFF, Props. Office: 239 MESEROLE ST. BROOKLYN, N. Y. Storage Separate Rooms — Clean, Light, Well Ventilated — for the Storage of Furniture, etc. Moving, Boxing, Packing and Shipping a Specialty. FIRST-CLASS SERVICE. REASONABLE RATES Mothers! Mothers!! Mothers!!! Are you disturbed at night and broken of your rest by l sick child suffering and crying with the excruciating pain of Cutting Teeth? If so, go at once and get a bottle of MRS. WINSLOW'S SOOTHING SYRUP It will relieve the poor little sufferer immediately— de- pend upon it: there is no mistake about It There Is not t mother on earth who has ever used it, who will not tell you at once that it will regulate the bowels and give rest to the mother, and relief and health to the child, operating like magic Pleasant to the taste, and is the prescription of one of the oldest and best female physicians and nurses In ths United States. Sold everywhere. 46 JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT, CHAS. STREBEL & SONS | Telephones 4247 BushwicK | Architectural AND Structural IRON WORKS Shutters, Railings, Vault Lights, Window Guards, Etc. Steel Beams, Columns, Girders, Doors, Fire Escapes. ALL SIZES ANCHORS AND BRIDLE IRONS CONSTANTLY ON HAND and f wSIks: 1732=1734=1736 MYRTLE AVE., J* BROOKLYN, N. Y. BEST YET STAR SAFETY RAZOR, with Forged Blade, in Set, $1,50 X Extra Blades, 75c. Each Star-Cru-Steel Safety Razor, T2S2£\?t%5: Set $1.50 & $3.50 ★ Extra Blades, 50c. per Set of 7 Blades Star Convex Flexible Blade Safety Razor, Sets $2.50 and $3.50. Extra Blades, 7 for 50c. SOLD BY DEALERS, OR KAMPFE BROS., 8 reade st., new york GEO. J. McFADDEN Kodaks and Athletic Goods Largest Stock of PHOTO MATERIALS IN BROOKLYN 202 FLATBUSH AVENUE tel. 28 i6 prospect JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. 47 Palms, Vines and Fresh Flowers Supplied and Artistically Arranged for Weddings at Reasonable Rates FLORAL DECORATIONS FOR ALL OCCASIONS PLANTS AND FLOWERS DELIVERED ANYWHERE Thirty-five Greenhouses J. CONDON, HORTICULTURIST 734 Fifth Avenue Branches: Fort Hamilton Parkway, Gravesend Av.,and 291-313 24th St. TELEPHONES 27 South— 727 South. PLOTS IN GREENWOOD CEMETERY IMPROVED AND CARED FOR. Hair Dressing Manicuring MRS. TYLER MILLER Importer and Manufacturer of FINE HAIR GOODS New Method Shampooing Scalp Treatment 80 Fleet Street Second Door from Fulton Opposite Loeser's Telephone Call 1319 Main DR. CHAS. H. SHEPARD'S TURKISH BATHS Open from 9 A. M. to W P.M. gj AND g 3 COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 7 Sc. 10 Tickets, $6.00 Send 10c for "Care of the Body by Right Living" I JAMAICA BAY IMPROVEMENT. EAGLE SAVINGS AND LOAN CO. Capital and Surplus Over $2,000,000.00 Private First Mortgage Loans on Residential Property Long Term Monthly Payment PASS BOOKS .... 4 PER CENT. CERTIFICATES . . S PER CENT. 186 Remsen Street, Brooklyn SEND FOR BOOKLET SOMERVILLE PROPERTIES I are BOUGHT and SOLD *RIGHT -y^ C^fVnP'V Fvlrtn/J ^ est a< ^ vert ' sec ^ seaside resort in the world. Visited by millions of people M? V^C/fltJJr Mo I Ufl C*« annually. All advantages of the city. All city improvements, with subway «A assured. Lots on plot bounded by West 31st street and West 32d street, Atlantic Ocean, Gravesend 2J Bay, for sale, also on West 33d street. Lots $600.00 and upward, according to location. A Yt)f>Yt\(> Fifth Ward, Borough of Queens, on the Rockaway Coast, the best located sub- £Q I/CIIIC* urban seaside development in the United States, on the ocean and bay. Every city improvement and convenience and absolutely no assessments. Lots $600.00 and upward. IB 1 1 Just over the line in Nassau County. Ten minutes' walk from Far Rcckaway Station, jtt MliU/%JUU» a dj i n i n g grounds of Inwood Country Club. The garden spot of the Rockaways. Well €3 graded streets; cement sidewalks and curbs, sewer drains, light and water. Prices of adjoining lots range jl from $1000.00 to $3000.00. Our price, $450.00. Pi 1\/trt^nt>th ^ n Second Ward, Borough of Queens. 62 lots belonging to the Somerville IWMUofJCUl. E state> on tne N ortn Hempstead Turnpike, one block from Grand street. Streets J« laid out according to the new topographical map of Queens. In the midst of thriving section, increased values assured. Half of the property already sold to residents of the vicinity. Lots $400.00. Some H higher. LOTS SOLD ON EASY PAYMENTS. Installment contracts. 40 per cent, cash, 60 per cent. £3 mortgage for 3 years at 6 per cent. We will send you large bird's-eye view and fine map showing location of our properties upon request. €3 For further particulars, inquire of your own broker, or address the Company. J& NOTE— THE SOMERVILLE REALTY COMPANY require the services of efficient sales agents. § SOMERVILLE REALTY COMPANY, 192 Montague Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. eS ARVERNE OFFICE, Remington Avenue and Amstel Boulevard. H FAR ROCKAWAY OFFICE, 258 Central Avenue. ft INWOOD OFFICE, Bayswater Boulevard and Solomon Avenue. f & FI3HINO IN JAMAICA BAT. ABSOLUTELY FIREPROOF Long Island Storage Warehouses NOSTRAND AND GATES AVENUES Fireproof Rooms for Household Effects Safe Deposit Vaults Vaults for Valuables House to House Removals Vaults for Wedding Presents until Bride returns BRANCH WAREHOUSES: Park Ave. and Broadway Kent, near Flushing Ave. CORRESPONDING WAREHOUSES: Washington, D. C; Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, St. Louis, London, Paris, Berlia Furniture Boxed and Shipped to any part of the world by Van, Railroad or Steamship