Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-09-28
ADVERSE CONTROL
Pointed Out by the Com
missioner Of Corporations.
How Railroads Prevent Terminal
Use Of Protected Water Front,
Private Interests HuIIify Advan.
tages Of Cheap Water Carriage.

OF his report on transportation by wa
ter in the United States TO the Pres
ldent. Herbert Knox Smith, commits
sloner of corporations, sent the fol-
lowing letter.
The terminal is the weakest link in
the water system, widely multiplying
the advantages of cheap water car
|riage. Our waterways are important,
not as a set of static conditions but
as dynamic transportation system.
Channels alone do not give trans
portation; they should have adequate
terminals, properly controlled, in har-
bors effectively organized.
Our harbor organization, as d rule, is
faulty. A harbor has two prime fea-
lures, "commercial' and industrial"
THE CONNER sial function deals chiefly
with through" freight, with the trans
shipment between rail and water lines
Cor between water lineS) of freight not
destined 20 or originating at the har-
Dor itself The industrial function, on
the other hand, deals with local
freight. 1t affords IailWater connec-
ton and wharf storage for local in
ldustries and distributing houses. 1t
| affects local interests far more deeply
than the mere passage of through
traffic. The commercial use of our
water front often interfereS seriously
with its industrial use. Great rail-
road terminals. largely used for
| through freight, extend along our
most active frontage, crowding out it's
| use by the local industries. In gen
eral, good harDor organization would
place the through-freight terminals at
relatively outlying parts of the harbor,
leaving the central portion more free
for local business. Many harbors could
do this with much local benefit, espec-
tally the important Lake ports with
| their inner Tiver) harbOrS, and their
outer lake frontage protected by
breakWaterS-an almost ideal con-
formation.
In addition to harbor organization,
| there are four prime factors in
good water terminal: % Adequate
| Wharves; CD warehouse space; co
transshipping machinery; and ca belt
| line railway connection between gen.
eral water traffic, the adjacent rail-
| roads, and, if possible, the local in
dustries. CThe depth of water is
| matter of channels, not terminalS.)
| Furthermore, these vital factors should
mot be under adverse or exclusive pri-
vate control, especially the belt rail
way, which should be the public SER
want of the whole port.
The supply of wharves generally is
! somewhere near adequate. Water
| 'front.' warehouse space is inadequate,
| except at a few important ports. Mod
ernern transshpping machinery, eX-
cept for bulk freight, is almost entire
ly lacking. Only 7 ports have any
thing approaching a general belt rail
road, with a total main track of but
30 miles. serving directly only about
so wharves.
| Private interests control nearly all
of our active water frontage. Public
control exists in considerable degree
only at New Orleans, San Francisco.
Baltimore, and New York, and is
greatly modified at New York by eX
elusive private leases for long terms.
out of 50 of our foremost ports, only
II, New Orleans and San Francisco
have practically complete public own
frship and control of their active
water fronagc: have a small de-
1 gree OF conrol. and 40 none at all.
Out of 81 ports for which data are
I3Va1IdDlc tteNcluulH.5 New oIItetiiS etii't
San Francisco, only Ia have any pub
licIy owned wharves (about 26O such
wharves in all many privately con-
trolled under long leases. Out of %
lDorts with available data Excluding
New Orleans and San Francisco). only
10 have WharVcS "open"'ito general
traffic with Il total of only ~ such
Wharvcs the majority insignificant
and antiquated. out of DC such ports
Excluding the same tW" citleS),
ma iority of the active frontage is priv
lately owned in 40. and in small
|amOunt is so owned. ctu OF the 3o
foremost ports above mentioned. there
are u in which railroad ownership and
occupancy covers over 90 per cent OF
the active frontage, and l. more be
tween % and 80 per cent. 1t is our
theory that the waterways are pubic
highways. In fact their essential term
finals are largely under private control
!. Two ports only. New orleans and
San Francisco, are noteworthy for
their high degree of public ownership.
lcontroI efficiency and equipment. At
New Orleans the active water front
is admirably equipped and controlled
bv q state board; most of the WharveS
and sheds are opend for general traffc,
and a municipal board operates 1"
miles of belt-line railway giving CO.
lordination between the waterway, local
Industries. and trunk-line railroads
At San Francisco there is an excellent
/ systcm of wharves under state con-
troll, kept open for general traific, Inc
water terminal situation in these two
cities is by far the best in the country
At many large Lake ports much of
1.-The lake front is protected by gov
lernment breakwaters, but almost no
terminal use is made of it, in spite
of the serious congestion of the inner
Iharbors. At of the most important
Lake ports there is a total front of
about II miles protected by break
waters. On this entire II miles there
are only afoout 10 active wharves.
NEARLY all under railroad control. OF
this frontage. railroads own about Z
Imiles, other private parties about J.
and the cities about .. The striking
lack of terminal use of such protected
front seems to be due largely to adj
Verse control. mainly by railroads, al
so in part to the established growth
lof the cities on the inner river har-
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