The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1917-06-14


ago, and has spent about $225 600, 90
on the vast works which make Liver
pool. despite many natural disadvar
tages, one of the four or five leadin
shipping centers of the world.
To begin with, tides are high an,
violent at practically every importan
British port, except Southampton. Be
tween high and low tide in the Mer
sey river at Liverpool is normal va
ration of about eighteen feet, Will
the highest tide increases this varia
ton to thirtyfour feet. The mouth O
the Mersey is INSTRUCTED by sgrea
sandbar, on which dredges are con
stantly at work to keep the channe
open. Despite these difficulties, Liver
pool has been erected into the SECOND
shipping center of the kingdom, sur
passed only by London in it's annua
tonnage.
A Cooperative Concern.
Up and down the Mersey on both
sides extend eight miles Of tremendous
sea walls. Originally these were built
Of massive granite blocks brought
from Scotland, but in the modern era
Of cement construction REINFORCED con.
crete has been chiefly employed. The
sea wall is at frequent intervals
pierced by inlets for dockage Of YES
sells; and mile after mile of elevators
and warehouses line the docks.
The Mersey Docks and Harbor cor
poration is sort of cooperative con-
Germ composed of the leaders in Liver
pool shipping affairs. There are 38
members of the board of directors who
have complete control of the harbor
except in the restricted areas that are
claimed by the admiralty for naval
purposes. The city of Liverpool has
no more municipal authority in the
dock region than the government at
| Washington has over the municipal
concerns of Cornwall. There is, how
ever, one exception at this point: the
dock and harbor area is policed by the
officers of the city Of Liverpool.
The Mersey corporation raises its
money precisely as any other CONNER
cial company would do. Its revenue
is produced from tonnage and dockage
and warehouse charges, and is ample
provide for all harbor works.
We were taken on tug up and
wn the river, with permission to
I'D and inspect the warehouses and
|vators. The harbOr master assured
that it was poor time to see Liv-
pool shipping because there were
yer vessels in port than usual. To
however, it looked as IL about all
boats in the world were trying to
- in or out Of the Mersey, orr were
in the docks receiving and discharg-
ing cargo. In these war times, when
every hours detention of a CONNER
cial vessel is highly undesirable, the
process of loading and unloading goes
on day and night in successive shifts.
Instead of having been driven from
the seas by submarine menace British
shipping is more concerned than ever
it was before to make it's stay in port
just as brief as may be.
Submarine Treated as Joke.
We saw vessels from literally every
quarter of the globe coming and going,
bringing and taking every conceivable
Liverpool had not known one case Of
officer or sailor refusing to ship be-
cause Of submarine or other danger.
With the sailors, indeed, the subma-
rine is humorously treated as joke.
If it gets your ship, why, you row
around in the boats until you are
picked up and carried ashore, where
you promptly stand up for another
voyage in the next boat.
The sailors, of course, are intensely |
bitter against the submarines. The |
perils of the sea are ample without be- |
ing accentuated by such a treacherOus |
foe. Until this war broke down all |
the rules of civilized conduct the
world had gone on for centuries stead
lily developing means for increasing |
safety of life and property on the
wide waters. Now there is no law of
the sea save the law of German muir
der and piracy; but the sailors of Eng
and sailing to all the ports of the
world. 1t has become matter of
honor with them.
Personally l was even more inter
asted in what I saw at Manchester
han in the sights of Liverpool. Man
chester is more Hike an American com
nercial city than any other l have
seen in Europe There we were guests
If the Manchester Ship Canal COM
1any, which has made an inland city
nto one of the great ports Of the en-
)ire / once heard peevish citizen
# New Orleans say in an Outburst of
contempt that '1f Atlanta could suck
is hard as it could blow it would suck
10 the Atlantic ocean and become a
That is precisely what Man ]
hester did and the description would 1
ack something if it omitted mention 1
# the fact that Manchester is still j
lowing about what it did.
Canal Cost $5ooOo,ooo.
Manchester was 35 miles inland ;
rom the Liverpool harbor. The great
st textile manufacturing center in the 4
World, it suffered acutely during the
american Civil war from the stoppage
f cotton shipments. The city was 2
rostrated, its industries seemingly ru-