Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1898-12-18
THE Liverpool Of Virginia.
The Old Dominion's Most Progress


THE Liverpool Of Virginia.
The Old Dominion Most Progress
siye City
The Golden Gate OF the Atlantic"
5 To Newport News these three terms.
together with many others not so well
known, are applied almost daily-three
terms that tell chapters of an interest
iEg story.
II is an old, old story-the progress
CT Newport News from settlement to
great seaport-and is so familiar To
the public that repetition of the events
leading from one to the other is unaec-
eSsary
1t is the Newport News Of today on
which it's citizens pride themselves and
it is the Newport News OF today that
causes the public eye to regard it as the
city Of the future, the coming seaport
OF the South
Time was when Newport News was
be said of Baltimore, Norfolk. Rich
ntond and other cities. but as late as
ten years back Newport News was
hardly known outside Of the Old Dos
ninon. except to Mr.. Coils p. Hunt
trgton and his associates who ha1 in
vested here with the determination OF
developing natures generous gifts.
How we'll Mr. Huntington guessed
when he made the assertion that this
would one day be one OF the greatest
seaports and industrial centers on he
cnt and now comes information from
his own lips to the effect that he is con-
Eidering steps which will advance the
city several rounds on the ladder OF
commercial and industrial progress
Considering It's size. and population.
there is not In the United States today
Il city that is being talked Of as much
IS Newport News. TO many this may
seem an idle boast, but the statement
1s borne out by facts and may be easily
and quickly proven.
For the past two years the gigantic
seaports of New York. Boston and
Philadelphia to say nothing of Nor
folk nd several other Southern sea
ports, have been complaining of de-
cline in export business. 1t took these
/, same ports some little time to find out
Just where the cause lay. but they
finally discovered that While they We're
Losing there were certain seaports in the
South that were gaining trade With
foreign countries. In Newport News
the Northern cities by the seq found L
Formidable rival and the remarkable
progress made by the enterpr;sillg little
Virginia city soon attracted the atten-
ton oe the newspapers and the entire
commercial and Industrial world.
One of the officials of the New York
5 Chamber Of Commerce, in one of his
reports. made the declaration that what
New York needs is Newport News
III its harbor. 1t is.a fact that the har-
Eor at this port is the deepest and by
Tar the best on the entire Atlantic
coast and such an harbor at New York.
Philadelphia or Boston would work
marvels in their shipping interests. Di-
rectly off the city. from the Chesapeake
Y e Ohio piers to the shipyard the har-
Eor is sufficiently deep TO receive the
largest vessel afloat, ranging in depth
from eight to- eleven fathon,s. or from
.'orty-eight feet to sixty six feet. The
channel is very broad from the shipyard
tn Hampton Roads and any number OF
ships of any class can at any time find
cafe anchorage in the historic James
River.
This advantage, with the naturally
superior location Of the port. its prox-
imity to the ocean and it's direct COM
nsnnication with the great producing
center Of the west, together with the
excellent facilities Of the Chesapeake &
Chic Railroad for handling articles OF
shipment on its fine read. as we'll as on
its eight large piers, caused q squirt in
export trade that opened the eyes OF
the North as we'll as the South, and
Newport News was widely talked about
IN highly complimentary terms
OF. course, the world at large knew
some years ago that Mr. Huntington
had established here large shipyard,
following his extension Of the Chesa-
peake & Ohio Railroad. but few had
any idea Of the magnitude of his plant
hnill Il lew years dSos "liGIl lilC NEW :
port News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock
Company submitted bids for naval con-
q struction and demonstrated to Uncle
Sam that ,warships could be built much
cheaper than they had been by the
shipbuilding firms that had enjoyed a
monopoly uninterrupted until Mr..
Huntington appeared on the scene.
The speedy little gunboats Nashville,
Helena and Wilmington. the best Of
their class afloat. We're built here at a
cost much less than similar craft Of
smaller proportions We're built else
where.
The bid Of this shipyard for the con
struction of the big battleships Kear-
sarge and Kentucky was so much lower
than the bids Of the Cramps and the
Union Iron Works that the Navy De-
& partment awarded both contracts to
Newport News without parley. When
the: bids for the next battleships. those
Of the Illinois class We're called for. the
Sther big shipyards realized that they
%tt5ad a formidable opponent in the New
p%rt News company and they profted
hy che former lesson, cutting their bids
dowi:Z to the lowest possible margin.
The Newport News company was s''':
the loves. bidder, but the contracts