The Portland Daily Press

The County Commissioners' Side of the Story.
How the New Regulation Came About-
Rights of Teams and Pedestrians-
Probable Protest by the Maine Central
The Rolling Mills and the Kerosene Oil
Company.

When the United States law was passed giving the Secretary of War control of all draw bridges over tide waters, one section says that the Secretary shall make rules and regulations governing the opening and shutting of such draw bridges.

The Portland draw bridge is built according to plans approved by the Secretary of War, and is under the control of the War Department.

The Secretary did not order this draw to be lighted at night for the passage of vessels, as some draw bridges are. There has never been any regulation in regard to the opening of the Portland draw bridge.

The draw tender has been subject to the possibility of being called up at any hour of the night, regardless of weather and has always felt obliged to respond, no matter if it was so dark that the passage of a vessel endangered the bridge.

About two months ago a vessel came to the draw in so dark and stormy a night that when she was within speaking distance of the bridge, the captain of the tow-boat could not see whether the draw was open or not, and asked the draw tender about it.

On such nights the passage of vessels through the draw is attended with great danger to the bridge.

The county commissioners, soon after this, addressed a letter to the Secretary of War, through Col. Peter C. Hains, asking him to make rules and regulations governing the opening and closing of that draw.

The answer to this letter has just been made public in the Portland papers, and is to the effect that the draw need not be opened between sunset and sunrise. As a result of this answer, the commissioners, ordered the draw tender, Mr. Jordan, to close the draw at sunset and keep it closed till sunrise. They advertised in the papers that the draw must be closed at sunset.

There was no option left with Mr. Jordan.

In regard to the locking up of the two tow boats Tuesday night, as mentioned in the PRESS, the boats passed up through the draw sometime before sunset and were waiting to take out a vessel that was unloading. Five minutes before sunset the draw tender gave the two boats notice that the draw would be closed at sunset, so they had proper notice.

The county commissioners have no wish to make this matter a hardship for those using the draw, and are ready to give any and all parties a hearing on this matter at any time and if good reasons can be shown why the draw should be kept open longer at morning and night of these short winter days any changes that they can suitably make will be made.

There is another element in this question besides the use of the draw. The travelling public have rights on this bridge, and those who use it at morning and night, especially the workmen, who go home often, must have evinced a lively interest as to whether the regulations would be enforced or not.

If a vessel is passing through the bridge at just after sunset, a large number of people and teams are detained, sometimes for twenty minutes. There is no hour when so many people pass over the bridge, as just before sunrise and just after sunset in the winter. There are a great many people who live in Knightville and work in Portland.

It is rumored that a protest from the Maine Central railroad, the Rolling Mills and Kerosene Oil company will be sent to the county commissioners very soon.

These companies are much interested because they have a large quantity of freight, especially coal, come through the draw.