Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-24
TO PUT HARBOR
ON PILOT MAPS
CITY CLUB TO ASK FOR
PHOTOGRAPHIC OFFICE
ACTS ON SUGGESTION OF GEORGE
3. HARRISON
Speaker Tells Of the Necessity for
Branch of National Service at
Los Angeles New
Seaport

Putting Los Angeles on the map
what will be accomplished by estab
fishing a branch of the national hydro
graphic service at san Pedro, accord
ing to George B. Harrison, of tn
Los Angeles Herald staff who ad
dressed the City club yesterday on thi
subject. Mr.. Harrison said that ol
the pilot charts that mariners receiv
each month Santa Barbara and Sal
Diego appear, but the place where Lo
Angeles should be is blank becaus
there is no photographic Office at tn
harbor
Acting on Mr.. Harrison's suggestion
the City club by unanimous vote in
structed the board of governors to TAX
steps to secure a branch Of the ser
vice at the new Los Angeles harbor.
In presenting his subject to the clul
Mr.. Harrison said:
I am privileged to speak on the
possible establishment of a branch
photographic Office at the harbor,
a subject which may seem unim-
portant, but which, in reality, is
the next great step toward the
building of a great harbor for Los
Angeles. It is like the little cleo
Key OF DulLullt sinai III AL0CALf
but which may be pressed to put
immense machinery in motion. A
branch photographic office at San
Pedro would bring probably two
men to do the work, one of them
an officer in the United States
navy, but place the office there and
you will have radiating out to the
navigators and many others inter-
ested in marine matters all over the
world information about the sea-
port of Los Angeles, its progress
and opportunities, and the marin
er's world will know that Los An
geles is on the charts and what
she is doing for the establishment
of one of the worlds great har-
bors,
You can see the Importance of
this feature alone-and it is only
one of a number Of important feat
ures-at this time when we are
making ready to build the harbor.
Not on Pilot Charts
We have not been on the pilot
charts, although San Diego and
Santa Barbara stand out there in
bold letters. San Pedro harbor has
not ranked as of much Importance.
Indeed, there are many persons,
even as near as San Diego county,
who insist that there cannot be
much of a harbor at this point,
and they look with amused toler-
ance at the plans advanced. You
must not only show them, but one
task equally important with the
voting of bonds and the letting of
dredger contracts is to inform ma
rine and shipping interests all over
the world what Los Angeles is do
ing. Preparedness is perhaps the
first law of ocean travelling COM
merce. It is a well-known law of
shipping that commerce goes only
to the harbors adequate to handle
it, and equally as well established
that shipping once diverted from
a port is found almost impossible
to win back. This has been proved
over and over again in the history
of harbors.
If the Panama canal is to be as
revolutionary as all authorities be-
lieVe, If it is to bring us a great
fnteroceanic commerce with attend
ant opportunities for trading direct
with both Europe and Asia and the
chance to found here a great manu-
featuring base, we must stand ready
in all respects with our own har-
Dor on the day the canal is thrown
open to the great ships Of the
world. Not only that, but we must
advertise this fact. We must tell
the mariners, the shipowners, ship
pers, marine insurance people, the
governments and all others likely
to have an interest what we are
doing and why they should know
about 1t. If we have here a branch
photographic Office the Navy de-
partment will do the greater part
of the work for US day after day
as the harbor is under construc-
tion, reaching out to all the world
with the latest information about
the seaport of Los Angeles.
The time to begin this Is now
when we have decided to get at the
harbor work and when the world
should begin posting itself on the
changes about to take place at
our harbor. The best thing about
the establishment of this branch
photographic office is that it will
cost practically nothing, for the
government bears the expense.
There are numerous other reasons
why the harbor should have such
an office. but before taking them
up In detail let me give you a
somewhat clearer idea of what the
photographic Office is and why it
is important.
Furnishes Harbor Charts
The photographic office has for
its object the furnishing to the
navy and the merchant marine ac-
curate charts, sailing directions
and other aids to navlgators for all
parts of the world. From that has
grown the general dissemination of
a vast amount of information.
This is of tremendous Importance,
and especially so to the navy, for
If without our own charts and
sailing directions in time of war our
fleets would be powerless indeed. Up
to 1885 this was the case, but since
then efforts have been continuous
to construct navigational charts of
the waters of the world as the
property of the United States.
The photographic office really
had it's start in $780, and now is a
highly important branch of the
bureau of equipment of the navy
department. In addition to the Of
fee at washington there are six
teen branch photographic offices
receiving and distributing naviga-
tional information and furnishing
much other data to the marine in
terests and to many others They
offer to ship captains practically all
the facilities of the main office
and make it possible for a vessel
of any nation to leave port with
correct charts, Instruments and
sailing directions. branch hy-
geographic office is therefore of
much added Importance to a port
in the eyes of a mariner visiting
that port.
Three on Coast