Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-05-31
AMEn6AN PORTS
DEVELOPING
RAPIDLY


veIopment OF ports. In one OF the
bulletins ever issued by the bureau ol
foreign and domestic commerce. de
partment of commerce, this rapid de
yelopment is attributed TO the recen,
comm eI cial growth of the country, q
the building of the Panama Canal and
to the recent tendency OF Congress
to require communities receiving fed
eral appropriations. for river and har-
Dor work to cooperate in makils,. the
improvement or to provide public ter
minals.
All Americans win be pleased 10
learn that American ports are better
suited by nature to handle the largest
liners than any of the old world
ports. The author of the report, Com,
n.ercial Agent Grosvenor NJ Jones,
states that there are four American
ports-New York, San Francisco
Seattle and Tacoma-where il is pos.
sible to deck beats as large as the
Aqu,tania and Imperator at any stage
of the tide, and in Boston such boats
can proceed to the whafyes at high
tide. In natural advantages the
busiest of the European ports do not
compare fayorably with these and q
number of other American ports.
1t is interesting to note the state.
ment that the great majority of our
ports along the seaboard are actually
located on rivers. some of the most
important reached by ocean-going YES
sells being located far inland Thus
New Orleans is LOG miles from the
Gulf of Mexico. Philadelphia f05 miles
from Delaware Bay, Baltimore Isl
miles from Hampton Roads.
Mr.. Jones has confined his atten-
tion to those ports having a water
borne commerce amounting to 1,000.-
900 short tons in volume or So, DOC, 900
in value. 1t is rather surprising to
find that there are 6S ports of this
Importance in the United States %
on the Atlantic Coast, on the Gulf
of Mexico, 10 on the Pacific Coast,
on the Ohio River and no less than IS
on the Great Lakes.
In recent years there has been a de-
cided tendency toward public owner
ship of water front property, due in
part to a recognition of the COM
munity value of port and in part to
the increasing tendency of Congress
to require communities receiving fed
eral aid in harbor and waterways i'm
provements to maintain public ter
minals. Only a few ports, namely,
New Orleans, San Francisco, Los An
geles and San Diego, own the major
portion of their water fronts or are
in a position to acquire the bulk If 1t.
The ports OF Oakland, Sacramento.
Stockton and Washington are SINH
larly placed. These are the only ports
of the IS studied in which the public
interest is dominant. Six Of these
eight ports are located on the Pacific
Coast.
The majority of the seaboard ports
in the report own public
terminals, New Orleans and San Fran
cisco leading in this respect. At both
Of these ports the entire water front,
is not only publicly owned or subject,
to appropriation at any time for pub
lie use, but is also largely improved
by an adequate system of public ter
minals under immediate public con-
troll
1t will be news to some to learn
that Boston has the most expensive as
well as the largest pier in the United
States, il not in the world. Common
wealth Pier No. 5 has cost upward OF
81 .000.0 900 and is 1900 feet long and
800 feet wide. Boston will soon have
another distinction that of owning
The largest drydock In the Western
hemisphere Already work has begun
On drydock 1900 feet long.
The most noteworthy progress made
in recent years in port development.
however, has been shown by the lead
ing ports on the Pacific Coasts San
Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Port
and, Tacoma and San Diego. In no
section Of the country has the import !
lnce of publicly owned terminal facili
les been more intelligently under
stood and in none have so large ex-