Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1910-10-27
Local Agents Expect to Build
Up Trade.
THIS PORTS ADVAN IAGES
Treasury Department VIII be Asked
to Deputixe Customs officer to En-
ter and Clear Vessels After Regular
Hours to Avoid Delay.

With the abolition Of the State
uuarantine at midnight next Monday
night. this port will be able to handle
bunker" coal steamers with quicker
dispatch than any other port on the
Atlantic seaboard and the local coal
agents will be able TO make strong
or bid for this trade than they have
been able to make in the past The
bunker" trade here now Is compare
lively heavy, averaging more than ono
ship a day. but shipping men believe
that Il will be Increased in the near
future.
After the State quarantine Is done
away with vessels of medium size
which are bound here for fuel coal
can come into port at any hour OF the
day or night and be docked at the
coal piers without any delay. Under
existing conditions. vessels arriving
late at night must anchor In the
stream until the following morning
to be inspected by the quarantine off,
Ger.
Get Much Quicker Dispatch.
IL is claimed that after November
1, vessel arriving here at 5 o'clock
in the afternoon to load fuel coal can
be locked, furnished with her suppl
OF from 300 tons 20 500 tons In from
five TO ten hours and get out OF port
before daylight the following morn
ing. Quick dispatch Is the prime es-
sential In the bunkering business and
shipping men here say that II this
port can gain AZ Il should under the
new order OF things the bunker
trade should nearly double within a
year.
Now that II is possible for vessels
to be handled at night, 1t is probable
that the local shipping agents viii
request the treasury department TO
depntize an employee OF the custom
house to enter and clear bunker
steamers as late as O'Clock or y
O'Clock at night IL this Is done, YES
sells arriving at s o'clock could get
underway early the following morn
ing. Under the present arrangements
vessels cannot be entered and cleared
at night as there Is no one deputized
by the treasury department for this
work.
As a Business Proposition.
The shipping agents will put the
matter up to the department as bus
mess proposition for the good OF the
port and the foreign shipping. They
will point out the fact that the gov
eminent has spent large amount OF
money In equipping the channel to
this harbor with acetylene gas buoys
so that ships may enter and leave
port at night and that the local busi-
ness interests have had the State
quarantine abolished so that vessels
arriving at night will not be delayed
in docking and taking their supplies
and getting out 10 sea again.
One Of the local agents said yester-
day that. while the general public
here probably is not aware OF the fact.
the "bunkr" coal business is worth
thousands of dollars annually to New
port News. Each vessel coming into
port takes from 300 to 500 tons or
coal from the local agents and many
of them employ watchmen while In
port. They also buy supplies and
provisions from the local ship chand-
lers and merchants. II is estimated
that each steamer arriving for bunk
err coal spends nearly $4,000 at this
port besides giving employment to the
men who dump and trim the coal and
TO watchmen to guard the crews a.
keep them from escaping from the
ships.