The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1909-04-17
The Port of New Orleans.

/ The Chief feels much interest in tht
port of New Orleans and in the city
| The development of the port is of yery
great moment to every body in the stats
Of Louisiana. The Chief feels that the
/ plans Of the various boards are laiC
| out on too narrow lines and that muef
money that ought now to be spent il
/ laying found ations both broad anC
/ deep will be lost because the work vii
have to be done over again. This ap
! prehension is not as to the details o.
| the engineering work. but rather as tc
the scope and general plans on which
it is done. 1t is not proposed to in
dulge IN carping criticism; on the con
| trary, what The Chief has to say vii
be said with the desire to be helpful
and especially to aid people outside
the city to appreciate the difficulties
of the situation and what is being done
ard ought to be done to remedy these
difficulties and make adequate provi.
sion for the more distant as well as
the Immediate future.
The Orleans levee board seems to
have an entirely adequate apprecia-
ton of its necessities and to be meet
ing them about as we'll as the situa-
ton and surrounding circumstances
make possible.
The dock board does not seem to be
SO well in hand. Not only is there no
adequate provision for b al lin g
heavy freight, but as far as the dock
board is concerned such freight is not
considered at all, bus is left to the ten
der mercies of the railroads already
established on the river front. while
those not so established will be shut
out.
AS far as can be seen, the scope and
plans of the belt railroad do not make
either sufficient or proper provision
Tor the development of such plans.
For the present, attention is called
to the inadequate trackage arrange
Inepts. In the first place, every wharf
ought to have railroad track next to
the water SO that heavy freight can be
taken ir0m HE snip az placed e aifott i5
% the cars without rehandling.
In the second place, the trackage is
inadequate 30 handle incoming and
outgoing cargoes with economy and
expedition. A little reflection on the
facts ought to be conclusive as to this.
Millions are being and must yet be
spent in improving the wharves. I'm
less there is adequate trackage to
handle freight to and from a ship
very large proportion of this wharf
age, representing millions of invested
m8ney. must be used for storage as is
now done, and SO be practically IN
productive for large part of the time.
This prevents the reduction of wharf
charges and hampers the dock board
in its operations By holding down its
income. It is one form Of waste.
Let us consider a few figures. -Four
thousand tons is not in ordinary times
a large cargo. It will usually require
300 cars to receive it. A return cargo
of the same size will call for 800 more
cars, making 600 cars. A car length
will average forty feet, SO that here is
required a ii aeka age of "a 900 feet, or
tour and half miles, for cars alone,
not counting engines to draw them nor
clearance room at the switches. A
large proportion OF this trackage must
of necessity be conveniently located to
the ships berth. The ship will not be
much if anything over 500 feet in
length.
The Stuyvesant Docks furnish an
illustration. With wharfage OF 1890
feet there are fifteen or eighteen miles
of trackage in the yard Immediately
adjaeen6. The wharf will accommo
date eleven ships. Sometimes the
yard is congested when the wharf is
not.
Gen. Behan Appointed Postmaster.
The expected happened when Presi-
dent Taft on the 9th instant sent |
TO the senate the nomina alton of Gen. |
w. j. Behan of New Orleans TO be |
postmaster of that city, vice Capt. !
Thos. j. Woodward, who declined to |
become candidate for reappointment
because OF his desire to retire to pri
vate life.
Il is not anticipated that any oppo
sition will be made to the con firm alton
Of this nomin alton, and the chances |
are, therefore, thai the new appointee
gIH be indicted into Office by the 1st
If May.
The Chief has already given express
sion to it's estimate of the high char
aeter of Gen. Behan and his fitness
or the position to which the president
If the United States has since nomi-
hated him, and it is gratifying to have
rom such a source as the New Orleans
Times Democrat t h e following un
lualitied Endorsement of our views in I
ms particular:
President Taft yesterday nomi-
rated Gen. W. j. Behan to be post
master at New Orleans. The ap
continent vas forecast by the pressl
lis patches some days ago. It's an
will therefore cause little