The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-05-15
TRUCK|NGCENTRE
is NEWPORT. NEWS
Big Scheme to Drain Swamp
Lands and Make Them
Vastly Profitable.
BUSINESS MEN AT WORK
Biggest Town Of It's Age in All
of Notwithstanding
Out.

BY FRANK $. wooDsoN.


Newport News. Va. May IA little
more than month ago. that is to say.
on the I'd OF April, Newport News had
a birthday. the city being twenty
seven years of age that day, that is,
it. On the I'd of April, 1883. the Brit
ish steamship Paxe sailed from here
with cargo of goods that had been
brought In by the Chesapeake; and
Ohio Railway, and thus the town be-
came a port. Its growth in twenty
seven years has been marvellous. From
the modest beginning the port has
grown until it is now known all over
the world. The duties collected here
amount to about s1.25o.ooo per year,
and this gives an idea of its import
ance as a port. Unfortunately. the
town has some croakers. who are al
ways looking for disasters of one kind
and another. but I am quite sure that
1t has less of them than most towns
of its size, and they are in the main
OF the harmless kind.
Great Terminal Facilities.
OF course. the Chesapeake and Ohio
Railway made Newport News the city
1t is. / was talking to-day with a
member of the Chamber OF Commerce.
and he told me some things about the
road that are worth recording. He
said it Is the largest single railway
terminal In the world. z 1t has seventy
miles OF track In Its yard limits, with
a storage capacity of 5000 cars. It
has water front terminal Of more
than a mile with eleven large. up-to-
date piers. with water OF sufficient
depth for the largest ship that floats
side without the least danger of get
ting on the ground. The average depth
OF the water In the harbor is about
forty feet.
There are two large grain elevators.
with capacity of two and a half mil
lion bushels of grain.
The railway company owns fleet
OF two steamers. half dozen up-to-
date tug boats, two car floats and ten
coal barges, representing investment
Of probably sS.00o,000.
dumping more coal than at any port
OH the continent Tho capacity of IL
piers is 10000 tons peraday. and the
/ coal business is increasing year by
year, which Is shipped to New England
ports and to all foreign countries
| Most of the coal that Was used for
| fuel. purposes In the sixteen battle
ships that went around the wori1 was
shipped from Newport News. Ihers
4 Is an average VI oUv,VpVt 49, = - -
kinds handled annually In the Yards OF
| tho Chesapeake and Ohio Railway,
Enormous Figures,
t,o-operatlng with the railroad are
a number of shipping companies which
operatc regular lines from Newpor'
! News to European parts, and in addi-
| lion a number of coastwise and rtvel
| lines oeratins from this port TO al
points north and east. u
Nearly 45o,O0o,0OO tons Of ~cael arc
shipped annually, Tho railway nnt
steamship companies pay out for labol
! ST. 900, 900 annually
4 This Is perhaps, with Norfolk, thu
! best coallng station on the continent
and its business In this .respect ha,
a grown to enormous proportions
amounting to 100000 tons annually
requiring G5,s24 cars, whtch,Sif strun.
I together would reach a distance o
,l457 miles The record of tllis por
for its coal business Is probably no
4, iequaled anywhere IN the United states
4. and 1t Is rapidly increasing inyolum
u and inlportance, "a .egs N A Il
reference 10 the coal business wnul
a be decidedly sincomplate without par
(, ticular mention thoss increase In y
q ~ Continued on Last PaEe.l II