of the results of preliminary examination of Chelsea River, Massachusetts, from Grand Junction Railroad Bridge to Boston and Maine (Eastern Division) Railroad Bridge, made to comply with provisions of the river and harbor act approved July 13, 1892. It is the opinion of Lieut. Col. Mansfield, concurred in by this office, that the river is worthy of improvement by the General Government. It is estimated that $400 will be required to make a survey and report, including project, with estimate of cost of the improvement proposed. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, THOS. LINCOLN CASEY, Brig. Gen., Chief of Engineers. Hon. S. B. ELKINS. Secretary of War. REPORT OF LIEUT. COL. S. M. MANSFIELD, CORPS OF ENGINEERS. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Boston, Mass., October 26, 1892. GENERAL: Pursuant to the requirements of letter from your office of July 14, 1892, I have the honor to submit the following report upon the examination of Chelsea River, from Grand Junction Railroad Bridge to Boston and Maine (Eastern Division) Railroad Bridge, as provided in section 6 of the river and harbor act approved July 13, 1892. Chelsea River empties into Boston Harbor, near the mouth of the Mystic River, and carries 20 or more feet of water at low tide to Grand Junction Bridge, and for a short distance above, within the limits of this examination, when it shoals rapidly to the head of the stream, where it is crossed by the Boston and Maine (Eastern Division) Railroad Bridge. The distance between the bridges is, by the thread of the river, about 7,500 feet, and its width for about three-fourths of the length, 300 feet, when it narrows to 100 feet beyond. The Chelsea side of this stream is admirably adapted to manufacturing purposes, and harbor lines are laid down there in recognition of this fitness for manufacturing and commercial uses. No wharves are to be found there now save in the small inlet of Bass Creek, but the large manufacturing establishments of the Suffolk Cordage Company, the Revere Rubber Company, and Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company are located on this shore, and their facilities for transportation would be greatly advanced by a little improvement of the navigable capacity of the river. The town of Revere borders the river at its upper end, and a wharf has recently been constructed there for handling coal and building materials, affording the only water communication that Revere pos sesses. The eastern shore is limited by the Eastern Railroad, along which the harbor line is established, and presents no desirable water front. The projectors of the improvement desire a channel of greater capacity in width and depth, and I think the demand is a reasonable one. I submit copies of letters in relation thereto, embracing all the information attainable as to the present and prospective demands of commerce, and for the reasons stated will say that the river is worthy of improvement by the General Government. It will require $400 to enable me to make a survey and report, including a project, with estimate of the cost of the improvement proposed. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Brig. Gen. TпOMAS L. CASEY, S. M. MANSFIELD, Lieut. Col. of Engineers. LETTER OF REVERE RUBBER COMPANY. BOSTON, MASS., October 8, 1892. DEAR SIR: Yours of the 29th ultimo is received, and in reply would say that the use of that part of Chelsea Creek referred to as a means of transportation is at present wholly used by parties doing business in Revere. A small expenditure would doubtless be of considerable help to them. What business would be developed by a larger expenditure we are not prepared to answer, but we regard this waterway as of great importance, and any widening or deepening of the same, besides the business it may encourage, will be of great benefit to the whole of Boston Harbor. DEAR SIR: In the matter of the proposed improvement of Chelsea Creek or River (so called), as petitioned for by George F. Proctor and others, we desire to express our interest in the project, believing that if carried out the result would be a benefit to our town to no slight extent viewed in a commercial light. At the present time there is literally no landing place or wharf within the town limits, making it imperative that merchandise of all kinds be brought by "rail" or hauled by team from tide water at Chelsea. We believe that coal, lumber, lime, cement, and cord wood are goods that would be shipped here in no inconsiderable quantities if wharfage facilities are afforded. Yours, respectfully, ALBERT S. BURNHAM, Selectmen, Town of Revere. Lieut. Col. S. M. MANSFIELD. LETTER OF FORBES LITHOGRAPH MANUFACTURING COMPANY. BOSTON, October 14, 1892. DEAR SIR: I desire to add a word to the communications that are being sent to you by parties and corporations having their manufacturing establishments on the Chelsea River above Grand Junction Bridge. Our company employs nearly 500 hands and we are transporting more than 1,000 tons of material per year under the present embarrassed conditions, and I am also of the opinion that the proposed improvements would lead to a marked and continuous increase as well as an extensive development of the property on the river, which is so well located for manufacturing purposes. Yours, respectfully, Lieut. Col. S. M. MANSFIELD, Corps of Engineers, U. S. 4. W. W. FORBES, LETTER OF MR. GEORGE F. PROCTOR. REVERE, MASS., October 15, 1892. DEAR SIR: In reply to yours of September 28, concerning the wishes of the petitioners for improvement of Chelsea River, the present amount of commerce, etc., I will state that the petitioners desire the proposed improvement to enable them to receive their various kinds of merchandise by the cheapest means of transportation, and do believe that a depth of water, as petitioned for, will enable the manufactur ing establishments to obtain their fuel at the lowest figure by water shipments; the citizens of Revere their building materials, now received by rail at high rates, the town having doubled its population within ten years, showing the demand for building materials alone. The item of fuel is also to be considered, the town using from 8,000 to 10,000 tons of coal per annum. This is all brought to town either by rail from tide water at Mystic River at a rate which is the same as could be obtained recently by vessel from New York to Boston or by team from tide water at Chelsea. The article of cord wood is in great demand for manufacturing as well as for domestic purposes, and upwards of 2,000 cords are consumed annually, largely Nova Scotia wood, and, with the exception of a cargo just landed at our own wharf, has been hauled by team from Chelsea and East Boston wharves. An instance of high railroad freight rates is shown on the item of iron water pipe, the rate from Boston to Revere being double that by water from New Jersey ports to Boston. The article of baled hay, of which Revere probably uses 1,000 tons, could be landed by water at a saving of abont $1 per ton. We believe that 18 feet of water at mean high tide is necessary to ship our fuel, lumber, and all building materials, lighter draft vessels being obtainable only at higher rates of freight; in fact, at the present time, we find it hard to charter coal vessels of moderate tonnage on 12 feet draft. With the large frontage on the Chelsea side of the river awaiting development for wharf purposes, the plants of the Revere Rubber Company and the Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company, both of which you probably have heard from, the town of Revere with its rapid growth, all tend to show the need of good tide-water facilities, and we do believe that ten years from to-day, if the proposed improvement is made, a business on Chelsea River will have developed which will equal that of much larger places, and will prove conclusively to our Government that such an expenditure would not be thrown away. I inclose a letter from our board of selectmen and would be glad to give you any further information which you may desire. I remain, very respectfully, yours, Lieut. Col. S. M. MANSFIELD. GEORGE F. PROCTOR. B 26. PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF EAST BOSTON CHANNEL, MASSACHUSETTS, FROM THE SOUTHEASTERLY LINE OF THE LOCATION OF THE BOSTON, REVERE BEACH AND LYNN RAILROAD TO THE CHANNEL AT JEFFRIES POINT, SO CALLED. [Printed in House Ex. Doc. No. 55, Fifty-second Congress, second session.] OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES ARMY, Washington, D. C., December 5, 1892. SIR: I have the honor to submit the accompanying copy of report dated October 27, 1892, by Lieut. Col. S. M. Mansfield, Corps of Engineers, of the results of a preliminary examination of East Boston Channel, from the southeasterly line of the location of the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad to the channel at Jeffries Point, so called, made to comply with the provisions of the river and harbor act approved July 13, 1892. Lieut. Col. Mansfield is of opinion that the locality is worthy of improvement by the General Government, and he states that it will require $200 to make a survey and report, including project, with esti mate of cost of improvement proposed. I concur in his views. Very respectfully, your obbedient servant, Hon. S. B. ELKINS, THOS. LINCOLN CASEY, Brig. Gen., Chief of Engineers. Secretary of War. REPORT OF LIEUT. COL. S. M. MANSFIELD, CORPS OF ENGINEERS. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Boston, Mass., October 27, 1892. GENERAL: In accordance with the requirements of letter from your office of July 14, 1892, I have the honor to submit the following report upon the examination of East Boston Channel, from the southeasterly line of the location of the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad to the channel at Jeffries Point, so called, as provided in section 6 of the river and harbor act approved July 13, 1892. The immediate interests to be subserved are the owners and occupants of several wharves around and between Jeffries Point and the railroad. The principal business carried on about Jeffries Point is the curing of fish, and the locality is the only one in Boston Harbor fitted for this purpose. When vessels of lighter draft than at present were engaged in the trade, this interest was of a very considerable importance and apparently is now, though conducted with great difficulty, owing solely to the lack of deep-water transportation. Coal in considerable quantities was formerly delivered in vessels to meet the manufacturing demands of the Boston Forge Company, at their wharf adjoining the railroad, and to the Bardwell, Anderson & Company, furniture manufacturers, which has now, for lack of a channel of deep water, to be teamed across the peninsula at a burdensome expense. It is impossible to give any exact statement of the business of this locality. The Boston Forge Company is the largest concern, and state that they have done a business of $10,000,000 during the past twentyseven years, and now employ about one hundred men, with $150,000 invested in their plant. Their water front is at present useless to them. I inclose copies of letters of the Boston Forge Company and of the Bay State Packing Company and others interested in the development iof this district, and respectfully refer to them for information respectng the present and prospective commerce. Undoubtedly this region would increase in value and commercial importance were a channel of deep water dredged along its front sufficient to afford access to vessels of moderate draft. The range of the tide is about 10 feet. At low water the area, which is a portion of what is called Noddle Island Flats, is almost entirely bare and lies within the established harbor lines of the port of Boston. I am of opinion the district is worthy of improvement by the General Government. It will require $200 to enable me to make a survey and report, including a project, with estimate of the cost of the proposed improve [Bay State Packing Company, Geo. C. Fitzpatrick & Co., proprietors.] EAST BOSTON, October 21, 1892. DEAR SIR: The subject of a channel around Jeffries Point, East Boston, is a vital one, in that it affects the commerce of Boston to a great extent, and has also, in a large measure, a bearing on the proper development of the fishing, lumber and coal interests of Boston, more particularly the former. The advantages to be gained by such an improvement are many and varied. We take the liberty of naming a few of them, showing, as they most surely do, the great improvements and development it would make in the industries and commerce of Boston and East Boston, which, for some years past, has been on the decrease. As the business carried on around Jeffries Point is, more than anything else, the fish business, it seems to us that it might appropriately rank first on the list of industries. With the present condition of things it is impossible for an ordinary fishing vessel to come to any wharf on the point. A shallow vessel might perhaps come up all right, but the general run of vessels are now being built after the Burgess type, of deep draft of water. This state of affairs in numberless cases sends fish that might be used in Boston to Gloucester, owing to lack of a proper channel to bring the vessel to the wharves of the East Boston curers. The lumber interests, which are now concentrated on the westerly and northwesterly side of the island, could be extended to the point, there being large tracts of land now vacant which could be used for the building of sheds and warehouses. Also, in the case of the coal industry: Two large concerns on Jeffries Point, the Boston Forge Company and Bardwell & Anderson, use hundreds of tons of coal annually, which all has to be hauled to their sheds on teams, where if a channel were dredged, barges might come to their wharves and discharge. We have spoken with different men in the trade associations of Boston, notably the president of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, men directly interested in the improvement of the commerce and resources of the city of Boston, and they have, one and all, agreed that a channel such as we mention would be of almost incalculable benefit to Boston. The very high price of wharf property in the city proper would prevent the fish-curing industry as an investment being a profitable one, whereas the wharf property on Jeffries Point being cheap enables an industry to get a start, and if proper improvements were made, the firms now engaged in it could more than double their business, owing to the fine railroad facilities which are afforded by the near vicinity to the grand junction of the Boston and Albany and Boston and Maine railroads. We think the points we have enumerated cover ground enough, so that you may understand the manner in which such a project is thought of by those men who have the improvement of Boston at heart, and trust you will give this matter your serious consideration. We remain, yours, very respectfully, Col. MANSFIELD, Lieutenant-Colonel, Engineers. GEO. C. FITZPATRICK & CO. LETTER OF GEORGE C. FITZPATRICK & CO. [Bay State Packing Company, Geo. C. Fitzpatrick & Co., proprietors.] EAST BOSTON, October 15, 1892. DEAR SIR: We are engaged in the salt-fish business in East Boston and own a wharf property on Maverick street, containing 66,000 feet of land. We handle about $300,000 worth of goods a year and are obliged to pay teaming on all of this, |