The Wilmington daily Republican., 1895-09-12
LESSONS FROM GLASGOW.
How IL Has Made I,seIf n Great CONNER.
ciai City

ciai City
In our efforts TO Inn prove WilninRtons
hnrbor and river approach. with view to
securing larger share OF the commerce
OF the country than we now possess. We
may we'll tako a losa0n from Glasgow.
which has successfully surmounted far
greater difficulties than now confront us.
The story OF how this plucky Scotch com.
munlty. located on stream which was
little more than creek, only is Inches
deep at low water. has converted itself
Into one OF the most i'm portent seaports
and man nnfacturlng cities In the world, is
we'll told In the Union CommiLtee's book
on Commercial Success"
This is the record Of this great achieve.
ment. which Is especially commented at
the present lime;
For several centuries Glasgow has been
one of tie weaithiest and most I'm portant
cities OF Scotland; but up to a period welt
within the present century Its Inn pUrtaDoe
ana wealth were due to its manufacturing
Industries. II was one OF the earliest
places TO enter on largo scale into the
business OF sugar refining and the manu-
facture OF cotton fabrice; and with an
enterprise which hos never since deserted
them, Its merchants, after the coloniza.
.tion Of this country, sought to obtain q
large share OF the trade which the mother
country had with America.
But Ia these efforts at commercial ex.
tension the Glasgow merchants labored
"
is true, was ON the banks Of the Clyde. but
the Clyde at that time was an InsignIfi-
cant waterway. In this 1t was noted that,
besides others lower down the river. there
were twelve different shoals within six
miles OF the so.called harbor OF Glasgow.
COMMERCE AT SECOND HAND.
IL hardly needs to be pointed out that
under such conditions commercial enter
prises, as these were ordinarily carried on,
were quite im possible.
Merchandise shipped from or intended
Tor Glasgow was taken for years either
by lighters or land carriage to and from
Irvine In Ayrshire. and afterwards to and
from point about twenty miles below
the city. on the south side Of the Clyde.
where tract OF land bordering on deep
water was purchased by tho Magistrate
OF glasgow. who gave to 1t the name OF
Port Glnsgow. and made OF 1t the point
Tor the shipment and discharge OF car.
goes.
But in the absence OF railway accommo-
datlons II 10 easy to see that this method
could not fall to prove unsatisfactory, be.
sidos being exceedingly expensive.
IL is possible that at that time the com.
petition which now vigorously asserts It.
self. and forces into decline those cities
which cannot afford equal advantag as In
the way OF trade. was not forseen, and
yet from the action taken by the munich.
pal government OF Glasgow during the
oloeiDR years Of the last and the fir st half
va bu6 DEb5bHU CcutuTys IL 10 llHoly gDab
the merchants Of the oity realized that
they could not hold their own, much less
m AXE progress In commercial importance
unless they materially improved their
methods Of business.
The question that presented itself to
them was this: In what way can little,
narrow. ehoai-encumbered stream be
changed Into deep and safe waterway
for o0mmerce2 In solving this problem
the frat systAmatic work was carried out
I'm 17Th Tbtu In h.ttld ioff
ranged that by contracting the river bed
the current Of the river deepened tho
channel. The effect OF this was that in
1905 IL was possible for a vessel OF one
eight and one. half feet of water, to come
up the river to Glasgow at an ordinary
spring tide.
How THE RIVER WAS IMPROVED.
From that time onward a new system
OF treatment was devised and carried out
The river was hroadened and dredging
upon large scale was resorted TO. until
now tho AVERAGE depth In the river at high
water is from "a to 30 feet. and In the
hnrbor OF Glasgow from IS to 20 feet, thus
giving both depth OF water and space for
suoh immense craft as the New York or
The CampaDia.
The entire charge Of the river and the
Docks at Glasgow has been placed by Par
liamentary enactment under the control
OF body known as the Clyde Trustees,
these collecting a revenue OF about
S4,500.OOO by port and dock charges of
various kinds. and using this to pay for
current expenses, improvements and in-
terest upon money borrowed. The total
cost OF the improvement has been in tho
nelghborAood OF $50, 000 600.
The effect OF this great improyement
upoE the City OF Glasgow has teen elm
ply wonderful. In the year 1900 Its pop.
ulation was 77000-a large city for the
times, but small when compared with
fNnr lafl NH luh
diate suburbs. In over 800. 900. There is
a local say Ing to the effect that .Glasgow
made the Clyde. AMI the Clyde has made
GlasRow'-R statement which the fac ts
tuliy bear out. The city is tbs third larg.
est EMP owning portin Great Britain. near.
ly equaling London, and falling not q
great way behind Liverpool.
THE GAIN TO GLASGOW.
In the last century, when In q small way
the CLYDE Improvement was begun Glas.
COW, as has been said above. wac the con .
tre oil great sugar and cotton manurau.
turing business. besides controlling a very
considerable part OF the tobacco trade
with America. These various Industries
have gradually passed out of the handa
OF her citizens. 1t has been found more
where-at Bristol. Oldham or London.
Deprived as she would inevitably have
been, of her old Industries what would
have become of GLASGOW II the adyan.
thkeb UilbE6u ny u hhNlRHDl6 Ilyu0r had
not been secured? There is not the least
doubt that under ouch circumstances, in
stead OF now being the lBrgest oil tho
leading hall dozen cities OF Great Britain
ranking In population ahead of Manches.
ter, Liverpool Sheffield and Birmingham.
che would have sunk before this to the
level OF third rate cities, such aa Carlisle,
Chester, Paisley and a multitude Of
| others.
II was not foreseen when the Clyda
In IL.
| was entered On that wood was to give
place to Iron and steel In the conetruc-
tlon of ships hulls. and that marine
steam engines were to generally dlsplace
grss5Iye citizens OF Glasgow wished
merely to put their rlvor into a condi.
| tion TO admit Of ocean oom M er ce; and
their town In eltuation. so far as dock
| die this commerce when It came. But In
| providing these they gained, as ls often
the case with those who rightly utilize
their opportunities. more than they could
possibly have expected.
The chance of directly engaging in the
ship business led the Glasgow ship mer-
| chants TO give orders for new vessels.
These orders were naturally placed as
near home az they could be in view Of
convenience and economy, and thus gave
business to number Of shlpbulidiuR
firms who brought their timber ftom
Norway and America and used the banas
even OF the narrow Clyde for their chip.
yatds. But In the last years OF the frat
half Of the century 1t was discovered that
iron might be advantageously substituted
for wood in shipDuildlng particularly in
the construction OF steamers. The coun.
try lying around Glasgow possessed both
coal ana Iron. SO that for shlpbuilding Of
thls class no place could be more adYan.
tageouely located. In consequence of
those oppcri unitles. tho shipbuildinR
business has taken the place Of the de-
parted cotton and tobacco trades.
The banks of the Clyde, fIum Glasgow
to Its mouth, are the sites OF more than