Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-10
TELLS FUTURE
OF SAN PEDRO
CAPTAIN HANSEN COMPARES
WORLDS GREAT PORTS
SAYS LOS ANGELES HARBoR WILL
BE THE GREATEST
Old Skipper Talks EIoquently to City
Club of Southern California
Marine Haven and Its
Possibilities

With an eloquence and humor that
few had guessed, Capt. Louis Hansen
of san Pedro told the City club yester-
day about the "Outer Harbor."
Captain Hansen first saw the harbor
at san Pedro when as commander of a
sailing vessel he put into the harbor in
1873. At that time he saw the possible
tiles in that broad expanse of quiet wa
ters, and Immediately fell in love with
the place. Although forced to leave it,
he returned again and again, and hnaI-
" retired to end his days in San PEDRO
During all the time since he first saw
the place he has planned and dreamed
that some day the commerce of the
world would be riding in this haven,
and not only has he dreamed but mas
worked with all his might when prof.
ects for the betterment of the harbor
were broached. He was largely instru-
mental in the consolidation of san Pc
dro and Los Angeles, and that, too, mas
been a part of his dream. Such was
the introduction given to him by vice
President Frank G.. Finlayson.
The speaker said that with the ex-
penditure of only $3,0O0,000 of national
money San Pedro harbor
had been made one of the best in the
world, and with q further expenditure
OF Sc. .OOO, 900 it.would surpass the great
est harbors of Europe. He declared
san Pedro had more natural advan-
tages than any other port anywhere,
and that it would easily accommodate
the deepest draft ships in the world
Tells of European Ports
A large portion of his address was
devoted to the harbors of Europe. He
fold how much money they had ex-
pended on each of these ports, running
into the many millions, and stlll they
did not have the natural advantages
of San Pedro harbor.
The greatest harbor in the world,
Liverpool, he said, was unsafe, ana
drew a graphic picture of the loss OF
the Royal Charter, loaded with gold
and carrying between 400 and 800 pas
sengers. in 1860, in the very mouth OF
the Liverpool harbor. Such a calam-
itv. he said, could not possibly occur at
san Pedro, as any ship could enter the
at any hour on any tide ana
in any kind of weather. He told or the
loss Of the Rio Janeiro at the entrance
of Golden Gate harbor at san fran
cisco, and repeated that such an accl-
dent could not happen at Angel Gate,
which is the title that has been given
the entrance to the breakwater.
His speech was full of word pictures,
and in one Of them he painted the scene
of a great vessel outside the breakWa
ter passing through Angel Gate and
tieing up to the municipal wharf in
thirty minutes, under a slow bell. The
cutter harbor, he said, would accommo--
cate such vessels as the Lusitania and
even the big ships now building at
Belfast with a draft of As feet. He
expects to see just such vessels on this
coast, making San Pedro a regular
stopping place, within a short time, he
said.
Referring to the objection that has
been raised against extensive improve
ment of the harbor because Los Ange-
les has yet few things to export. he
said that exports would come with
way open to export them. He declared
Los Angeles could draw on all the
country as far as the Rocky mountains,
and that back of it it had the greatest
country for exports in the world.