The Portland daily press., 1863-03-02
For the Press.
For the Press.
Dry Dock In POrtland-Will II be Profit
able?

| For the Press.
Dry Dock I'm Portland-Will II be Profit
able.
answer, unhesitating, yes. This may seem
| to be a bold answer, and not at all in accord
ance with the prevailing opinion. / do not
expect to convince any who disagree with me,
by what may now be stated, for l don't pro-
pose to discuss the question in detail Indeed,
the chief benefit have hoped to obtain from
these articles, is to arrest the attention of those
specially interested and to induce investigation
into the subject. If this were done,-if patient
and intelligent examination were given to it,
the question would be readily settled, and
there would be eager competition to secure
the stock.
will name two or three reasons which in
1uence my affirmative decision.
LIST. The amount Of business the Docks aoiU
do.
If, as has, l think, been demonstrated in my
previous communication, large amount Of
navigation will seek this place for repairs, all
that is needed is to have a q fair tariff Of
rates to be paid for the use of the Dock. And
Dc bilC OOot Vi tut DoNhc anu tfit VI VI
ficers and other expenses Of working will be
less than those of the Dock west of us, lower
rate than their could be adopted, which would
leave margin sufficient for profit, while such
a reduction would of itself induce owners of
vessels to direct them here, especially when
the unusual dispatch of business and the cheap
ness of labor and material, as well as their ex-
cellence are taken into account
II a suitable Dock were here, the owners of
the smaller class of vessels which now are put
upon the flats for painting, &C., would find it
for their interest, to dock them, as the labor
would be better and more permanently done,
and with less injury to the vessel.
I'd. Other companies have been profitable.
Take again, for illustration, the Portland
Marine Railway. During the q years of its
existence as a working institution, the man
ayers paid to the stockholders 5000 per share,
in cash dividends, and on its winding up, paid
1866 share and all this making an aggregate
ofs665) on cost of sl65 per share to the orig
inal stockholders. This, as a scrap of history,
may be interesting to those who embarked in
that movement.
The result was a remarkable one, and should
encourage similar undertaking now. l am
not aware that there was anything in the cir
cumstances under which that enterprise was
started, that would have rendered it more
promising than is the proposed Dry Dock.
Then they needed railway accommodations
Tor small vessels. Now we need the Dry Dock
Tor La hos baI
of obtaining the vessels--we have a better one.
They had no experience to judge from-we
have Of theirs aud that OF other contemporaries
GUS companies.
1t may be,or may not be, true that the pros
pect then of an advance with value ofthe real
estate was greater than noic but there are many
that believe that good purchase of realestate
for the purpose OF Dry Dock will yield as
much profit at the end of thirty years as did
that of the p. NJ. X.
There is, unquestionably, more now to en-
courage the belief that real estate will ad-
vance over present prices, than there was thirty
years ago, that it would advance over the cur
rent prices. Be this however as 1t may, there
can be little doubt that If the Dock is well To-
Gated, site reasonably purchased, and the man
agement in the hands ofjudicious, economical
and practical men, it would pay lar &c an-
nual cash dividends.
might refer also TO the Boston Dry Docks
which pay large per centage upon their capt.
tai, one corporation paying dividend Of Is.
per cent. upon capital nearly double the
cost of the Docks. And others too
oouIu naufv rr eUcsss.sy ,, eus 10 Is ncccssa-
ry and do not wish TO extend this communi-
cation.
have confined myself to the simple ques-
ton of profit accruing to stockholders, though
the ground which was taken by those solicit
ing subscriptions to the stock of the At d
st. L. II. K Company in that it would be good
investment to real estate holders, if they new
err received any decent returns in the shape of
dividends, might be well and truly presented
in behalf Of the Dry Dock. But regard this
plea as entirely unnecessary, as an immediate
profit can be so clearly demonstrated to those
who will examine into the subject
E Bed.