The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1910-09-26
WATER TERMINALS
CONTINUED From Page one)

|lighterage service in the harbor and
about 10000 men employed on them.
The railroads alone, exclusive OF
their ferryboats. have fleet Of
about 1900 harbor vessels. Even
in the case OF the New York Cen
trail. which enters Manhattan Island
directly by land. three-fourths OF its
freight Is moved at New York In
barges. The heavy lighterage costs,
in the opinion of many practical ex-
perts. have caused considerable d.
version of traffic from New YORK
harbor.
The amount of drayage resulting
| from the lack of adequate rail-water
coordination is extraordinary. The
congestion OF this traffic on the mar
ginal streets is extreme and involves
vast total of delay.
Ownership.-For number OF
years IL has been the policy of the
city to acquire important portlonsof
| it's water front. particularly on Man
haitian Island. In 1905 II was stated
in a published report that out Of a
total of 900 piers on Manhattan
Island the city owned 2O7. At pres
ent G91O), taking perhaps the most
Important section, there are about
I1S0 piers from West Seyentieth
street to the Battery and thence up
| to East Forty-second street. and OF
these the city owns about $50. Rail-
roads occupy a comparatively small
frontage in New York (about 8 l-3
miles,. but that part is very Import
ant. constituting about "a per cent
of the North river front. the best
part OF the harbor. About 10 rail-
road systems are located there.
Although New York City thus
owns a very large portion of the i'm
portant frontage and of the wharyes
as well. it has greatly reduced its
own practical control thereof by a
system OF long-term leases for such
wharyes. Unlike many other ports.
New York has In general followed
the policy of making its water front
a substantial source OF net revenue.
THE city revenue from leased wharyes
| in 1908 was s3.44O,949. or approx
mately 200 leases in force In De-
Icember. 1908. 1853 of them were for
ten years or more. or these 1873,
I62 were for from ten and under
Twenty years. ~ were for twenty
and under thirty years, and 40 were
for thirty years or more some OF
1.-THE most desirable property being
leased for fifty years. AS a result
Of this lease system, there are very
few open piers" that is, piers not
exclusively controlled by particular
interests, and available for general
|trafIic, tramp vessels or transients.
AT present Q91O) there is only one
pier and one-half of another open
on the North river between the Bat
terry (the lower end OF Manhattan
IsIand) and Thirtieth street. There
are but 6 on the East river between
the Battery and Corlear's Hook
(Grand street,. There are only ?
open piers in Brooklyn, with part
of 5 others and 6 open" bulkhead
landings. At the present time there
are but piers reserved for canal
boat. There is only one open pier
on Staten Island. In this important
matter of open piers New York Is in
marked contrast to San Francisco.
described later.
The ownership of the Boston water
front is chiefly private, consisting OF
n large area of railroad holdings.
about eight important wharf com
panies, and much industrial 'front.'
age. The city owns a few scattered
and unimportant wharves, but most
IF it's frontage is used for park,
municipal and ferry purposes. The
state has an undeveloped tract.
known as the Commonwealth
Flats" with large possibilities for
terminal use. Most of the trans
Atlantic lines use railroad piers
coastwise steamships usually lease
their piers.
The question of harbpr improve
ment and regulation Ms been the