The herald., 1912-09-26
Mr.. MANSON GETS REPLY FROM
DOCK BOARD.
Manson's Wild Talk at Algiers League
Rally Shown Based On Either
Ignorance or Malice.

The speech of Captain Harry Man
son, of the revenue cutter Davy, at
league rally in Algiers Monday night.
in which he charges graft in the Dock
Board, besides creating a storm of
protest among attaches along the river
front, aroused a broad stir of indigna-
ton among the port commissioners,
who refute his remarks with the fol-
lowing statement, comprising data
from the official statistics of the Unit
ed States.
The refutatiOn deals comprehensive
ly with the charges he levelled, and
reads as follows:
'In the issue of the Times Democrat
yesterday space is given to a speech
made by Captain Harry Manson. at a
meeting held in Algiers. Captain Man
son either made the statements cred
tied to him maliciously or ignorantly.
The entries for 1911 at New Orleans
show a net tonnage of 2,O19.O67: Pen.
sacola, 1929 net tons. 1t was there
fore not possible for eighteen ships a
day to enter the port of Pensacola
the entries of tonnage would show the
average to be not more than three a
week. The entries at Mobile show
gu. AS net tons, an average of not
more than five a week. At Galveston,
S3O,O12 net tons, an average of about
seven vessels a week. The combined
net tonnage of the ports of Galveston,
Pensacola and Mobile amounts to l..
100000. AS stated above New Or
leans was 2,019,067, which shows that
the foreign tonnage entering this port
exceeds that of the three combined
ports by 1905 net tons. These fig
ures are official, being obtained from
Statistical Abstract of the United
States Bureau of Statistics, year end
ing June 80, 1911. In the face of them,
does it look like Captain Manson knew
what he was talking about? The
wharfage assessed in the port of New
Orleans is fixed by law and will COM
pare more than favorably with the
other ports, where terminals are most
ly privately owned, whereas they are
publicly owned in this port. Captain
Manson says: While New Orleans has
the port facilities it has not the bust
ness, and there is a reason Do the
above figures indicate that his state
ment is correct?
Our last annual report shows: To
tai gross tonnage for 1902, 1907, 457 !;
1911, 5,112,912; tonnage using public
wharfs, 1902, 2.37O,O9l; 1911, APPS, 23S,
an increase of 1,205,4
Revenue, 1902, s215,32919; 1911,
1896, 1908, or an increase of $751;.
4O119.
THE following comparison of for
eign commerce is taken from the
Worlds Almanac, 1912, for 1911:
Imports and exports, New York, 81,
I654.145,13S; New Orleans. s239,557,-
5SS; Galveston, 1924, OS5, 1862, and Pen.
sacola, $2O.OOO,OOO.
HE declares graft exists. He
should be specific. 1t is only fair to
the people of this city for him to show
where the graft exists. No man
should make a charge unless he is in
a position to prove it. 1t is not true
that tramp steamers are the only ones
compelled to have spark arresters; all
steamers entering this port are com
PEELED to have them. Furthermore, all
switching locomotives on the river
front are compelled to have spark ar.
rosters. The Dock Board does not sell
spark arresters and has no interest in
anybody that does sell them, their only
interest being to see that they are
used as required by law.
at would seem that the limit of pa
thence is reached when wild and base
less charges are made and given pub
licity for no other reason than to gain
political point. Fairness and justice
demand that they should first be sub
stantiated.
Wv. A. Kernaghan. President