Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-05-11
'GREAT BR|TA|NS SHIPPING GREAT AS IN PEACE

Personally / WIS even more inter
ested in what / saw at Manchester
than in the sights of Liverpool. Man
chester is more like an American COM
mercial city than any other / have
seen in Europe. There we were guests
Of the Manchester Ship Canal COM
pany, which has made an inland city
into one of the great ports of the en-
pire. l once heard peevish citizen
of New Orleans say in an Outburst of
contempt that ''if Atlanta could suck
as hard as 1t could blow, it would suck
up the Atlantic ocean and become a
seaport" That is precisely what Man.
chester did, and the description would
lack something If it omitted mention
Of the fact that Manchester Is still
blowing about what 1t did
Canal Cost $50,00o,000.
Manchester was 80 miles inland
from the Liverpool harbor. The great
est textile manufacturing center in the
world. 1t suffered acutely during the
American Civil war from the stoppage
Of cotton shipments. The city was
Frustrated, its industries seemingly ru-
ined. After the war there was a pc
riod of revival, but 1t was presently
found that the industry was bearing
an impossible toll by reason Of its in
land location. Either the industry must
be moved away to the seapOrts or the
sea be brought to Manchester.
Manchester, getting this idea firmly
into its head, organized its Ship Canal
company, and set about digging the
great canal. The corporation found
the expense much greater than had
been anticipated, and the city Of Man.
chester took S25,OOO,OOO Of stock in the
company. To the present time some
thing over $5o.OOO,OOO has been invest
ed in the canal and in the development
Of the Manchester dock and warehouse
district. The city dominates IL Of the
p directors of the company.
/ doubt If anywhere in the world
there is so complete an illustration Of
modern efficiency in dealing with trans
portation as at Manchester. This is
true because the whole thing was done
once; done as unity. The canal and
its docks and jetties were fitted into
the whole situation in a scientific
way; railroads and warehouses were
provided as part of the general
scheme. Factory districts were laid
off precisely where they would be most
easily served either by water or by
rail.
The result of all this scientific Or
ganization is that despite the expen-
sive necessity Of bringing ships 35
miles inland through the tortuOus ca
nal, there are so many incidental econ
omies in other parts Of the process
that the Manchester port is now dis
tinguished success. This year the
stock Of the canal company received
Its first dividend on the common
shares, and the earnings are such as
to justify the expectation that divi-
dends will be regular In the future.
Mammoth Grain Elevator.
In Manchester and the next day in
London we inspected mOnOtonOus mile
after mile of ships taking on and put
ting off cargo from everywhere on
earth. 1 am not permitted to go too
much into the details of this part OF
our trip. We were conducted through
a wonderful concrete grain elevator.
only recently finished and the largest
in the United Kingdom. 1t was very
wonderful sight to the members Of our
party who were not Americans. The
Americans were more familiar with
the great grain terminals of our lake
ports, and this Manchester affair was
designed and its construction super
intended by an American.
Manchester is now the center Of the
greatest industrial section Of Great
Britain. 1t is quite the most Occiden-
tai town In the country. The officers
and directors of the Ship Canal COM
pany, who entertained US, gave the
Americans precisely the feeling they
would have enjoyed If they had been
doing Kansas City or Los Angeles I'M
der the guidance of the Commercial
club Of either of those towns. Every
body In Manchester is booster. He
knows that his town is the best town
there is, and is anxious to tell you
why. Before he has done, he has you
convinced.
The following day we toured the
dock section Of London and saw the
greatest commercial shipping district
in Europe. If not In the world. At all
three of these ports the most impress
sive thing was the marvellous shipping
activity. Ships big and little. steam
and sail, tugboats and liners rushing
through their port operation in order
that they might be back at sea. We
were provided with a mass Of statis-
tics about the commerce of each port.
year by year and week by week since
the war. The figures would not be
particularly impressive, except as they
made 1t indubitably clear that Eng
lands shipping and commerce are do
ing business at the old stand.