The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1884-01-15
Harbor work.

A cablegram to the New York Herald 81 ;he
Sd instant states that the last stone of We iFw
harbor of Trieste, Austria, has been lac Win
great ceremony This is the completion OF TIE
work which has taken fifteen years OF h.rd labor
and has cost IA, SOC, 600 forms. The want Of a
commodious harbor in the place OF the small
inner harbor and the eAp;,sc, r,ad>ra'! was long
felt, and as early 1862 the Southern Railway,
the terminus of which is in Trieste, LAID sri "t
of plans before the government. Years passed,
and finally the plans were examined ana with
various amendments received the royal s'nciion
BY running out three piers 700 feet long and
from $50 to 275 feet broad the old ionds'rAd on
the northeast was transformed int" thiec large
enclosures of IS acres of water surface and nearly
two miles of length o quays. A. "A protection
against the northeast southeast and southwest
winds, pier 5000 feet long. running parallel
with the shore, has been constructed. tIS ooe
feet from the shore, 200 feet broad AT The base,
80 tee, ON the surface and 81 feet ligh. At 100
feet from It's northeast end pier 210 irr long
was built al rgh, angles, which %ivr> protected
entrance "f 315 feet in width. All the three en-
closed basins have from 26 Ia 4} feet drpi! Il"
water. Some idea may be formed of the difficult
ties to he overcome, occasoned by the unstable
nature of the soil, from the fact that the quay
walls, four metres thick, after sinking for ycal
began to slide forward, while the vacan, space
was at once filled up The walls Were recon
structcd, and they withstood in 1873 The two
most fearful southwest storms on record in This
century"
Now here is one OF the old world nationalitcs
which some Of US vain-g loriOus Americans arc
wont to term effete. again setting an example Ia
the Great Republic-which has plenty of good
money and fewer good harhors than are needed; ;
which has a hundred and forty million surplus
lying quite idle and ports that lie almost idle inr
lack OF the expenditure of some Of the money.
The interests of whole sections of country, as
we'll as the coast communities, are injured 10y the
diversion to longer and more expensive channels
OF commerce that would be fosteled and enlarged
by the improvement of mere port, conveniently
located, into commodous harbor. Facility OF
shipment would stimulate production, and the
narbor become vital centre OF constantly On
larging industry and traffic.
There is more OF broad public spirit III hal1or
and coast improvement than in any other work.
The benefit is not for one city, one section, or
one nation, but for all of the world that has ships
upon the seas bearing lives and property under
many national flags. II is national work ioI in
ternational benefit, for the Austrian work on the
harbor Of Trieste assists the commerce OF Amer
lea. Shiploads OF Florida pine, and Other prod
uc,s from many States, go to the harh"l 81
Trieste. The ships ol many nations are !">l on
our inhospitable coasts, or subjected 10 oucI"u~
expense and delay al ports which should he
made harbors y in the full meaning OF the wort
Let our coasts and harbols have the lions share
OF the treasury srrplus-i"r the benefit "i the
world, ourselves included. 4 splendid r,cogni-
tion of the international spirit i'll which harhoI
work should be considered is cmh,df,d in Tho
French presentation OF Barth"ldis colossal Statue
tn alorn the harbor OF NV York. The coast i
but the boundary OF The sea, which is the domain
OF all nations.