The San Francisco call., 1908-04-26

u OAIMUNITIES gain commercial i'm
portance by their geographical
- situation in part and also largely
by the facilities for transportation that
they possess. The road of least re-
sistance is best travelled by commerce.
The highway of the sea is maintained
without cost and It is always in repair
without expenditure. The inlets and
harbors that are sheltered and adjacent
10 q great ocean are more significant
than can be seen at first g ,ance, or
that can be exactly indicated In tables
Of carefully compiled statistics. Hence
it is that the harbor Of Oakland is Of
prime Importance.
Sheltered and entirely landlocked,
penetrating into the very heart of
one Of the great cities of the Pacific
coast il is a means OF immediate ac-
cess to that great route OF sea COM
merce that begins with the coast line
OF California and terminates only where
the tide waters Of any sea are not
known.
To Alameda county, that harbor OF
Oakland means the poss bility Of main
taining an army OF industrial plants.
and that the wheels of factories shall be
kept turning for long series Of years
in the future To the mechanic it
implies continuous work under ordl-
nary conditions. To the man who de-
sires to engage in commerce in ves-
sells owned by himself or by the COM
mercial house that he represents. II
gives a near at hand locality where he
can give his orders and have the craft
that he desires constructed in the mini
mum Of time and at a low cost.
Where ship and rail meet at the
wharves the conditions are most favor
able for the transaction of business
that depends on moving goods, wares
and commodities TO distances either by
land or by sea Alameda county in the
Oakland harbor possesses an asset of
first magnitude. II not only permits
the transaction OF local business on the
most economical basis. but it serves
also as means Of ingress and egress
for imports and exports. Additionally
it is an agent to give reasonable trans
pOrtation rates for the products of
fields and factories TO reach domestic
and near at home markets.
Where there is no danger of disaster
by storm, where no gale can molest in
the least the ship that swings at moor
.ings In the stream. where there are
already established factories, lumber
yards and coal bunkers, where there
is a great area that is capable Of giving
haven 70 all the ships out of commits
sion that need a place TO be laid UP for
q time in a great harbor like san Fran
cisco while they are waiting for or
cers. there commercial advantages are
provided that are OF the first rank
The harbor Of Oakland has been
made useful by ships representative of
ever nationality on the civilized globe.
Into its waters have been launched
ships and vessels Of other rigs that
were constructed on ways on the Ala
media shore, that have sailed to the
uttermost parts of the earth with profit
tc their builders and owners and to the
promotion Of the commercial interests
Of California in large degree The
abundant anchorage is a source of saw
ing for the owners Of the whaling
feet OF the Pacific coast, that makes
the Oakland harbor its winter rendez-
vOus and II IS. a guarantee of the con-
tinuous activity Of the industries thai
are located along its banks or adjacent
to It AS having ample room for tn,
extension Of ship building, the Oak
land harbor also takes on commercial
and industrial Importance.
The future will bring an army o
mssts and tunnels to wharves to b
extended into the harbor of Oakland