Morning Journal And Courier

Need Of a Landing
And Public Wharf for New Haven
Harbor Well Set Forth,
To the Editor of the Journal and Courier:
I have been informed that the town of
New Haven has appropriated $10,000 for
a sea wall to hold harbor mud in place
while the city is filling in the flats over
which the East street park has been located
provided a similar amount, $10,000, is appropriated by the city which has just
bought this most desirable site for a park.
It is of the greatest importance that the
work of filling in the flats and the construction of a sea wall be conducted in the
most intelligent manner so as to benefit
forever after those who are to pay for it
and their
successors.
This
payment
should be made in long bonds at low rates
of interest maturing fifty years hence:
principal and interest payable from taxes
collected as time goes on, by those
living
and having a benefit therefrom.
We are told the population of this city
in 1790 was about 5,000 inhabitants. and
that in 1890 there were in the same limits
upwards of 100,000 inhabitants. Now, at
this rate of increase. what will New Haven's population be fifty years hence.
It
will not require much thought to esti-
mate the probable population then.
We
leave this "big gun" for others to calculate.
and ask that the improvement of this East
street park may at once be called up by
our city fathers for immediate action and
disposition.
What is wanted before the filling in of
these flats proceeds further is a scheme
for
public. wharf and a slip pro-
protection from southeast gales and the swash
of passing steamer, with a landing stone
step inside and the slip capaciously enough
to meet the requirements of our harbor,
has a town and city water frontage to-day
of several miles without one public landing
place which is fit for a civilized people to
use at low tide.
The slip should be made capacious, the
mud dredged down to hard pan or bed
rock below the "glacial mud" and this
mud. the deposit of ages, be distributed
on the park in the same manner as Bar-
num covered the salt marshes at Bridge-
port and by so doing beautified a most un-
gainly tract of salt marsh and reclaimed it.
Hundreds of thousands of acres have
been so reclaimed, in the lowlands of
western Europe. After the mud is
dredged, the sea wall should be laid in ca-
ment (notwithstanding the expense which
the New Haven man will cry out at) and
so save from destruction by the "Teredo"
(or ship worm) piling which is sure to be
eaten above the mud under water, as the
Northampton railroad dock abundantly
testifies. Build a slip with a granite quay
similar to the barge office at the Battery,
New York, of Stony Creek granite, or the
boat landing at New London, opposite the
railroad station there, these landings be-
ing similar to the boat landings of com-
mercial ports and
harbors of
European
countries.
Anyone that witnessed the landing of
Admiral Walker and staff with in full
uniform the officers of his command last
Saturday night at New London en route
to assist with their presence at the magni-
ficent ball given in the armory of the
Third regiment by the city of New London
to the Squadron of Evolution would have
said here is a landing place in keeping
with the requirements of a commercial
port; and if a New Haven man, he would
have said, this is just what we want at
our town, a boat landing.
Now as we have a proper harbor site for
the location of a similar slip, let us take
time by the forelock and do as our neigh-
bors have done before us. Let us make
facilities for landing not only voyagers but
gentlemen who would gladly, as they tell
me, bring their superb specimens of naval
architecture into our harbor while visiting
sons at Yale university, from which many
of these princes of fortune have gradu-
ated and to which some have largely do-
nated and who are also enchanted with our
lovely parks and drives. They would so-
journ with us weeks at a time could they
have proper facilities for going and return-
ing to their floating palaces, the true
yachtsman's home.
And now I will not linger longer on this
long needed want, except to mention the
fact that the city of New Haven faces a
harbor which has advantages second to
none on the New England coast. All that
is required is a reasonable outlay and the
use of ordinary intelligence. Nature has
done well its part and all that is wanted
is a long pull—a strong pull and a pull al-
together by town—city boards of public
works and park commission, and with
those efforts consummated will be returned
the expense and outlay one hundred fold
and this and future generation, will for-
ever call you blessed.
Pro Bono Publico.