Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-01-16
City's Ports Cen Gtpe
Relief to Freight jam

working out q project for thifty-dve-
foot channel here. but. as IL Is. we have
a thlrty-foot channel at mean low water.
We have a six-foot range Of tide which
brings the channel up TO thirty-six feet
at high water. This would float any
vessel that know OF that is now ply
ings between the United States and the
countries OF our allies.
"An Of our piers are either equipped
or could be equipped with railroad sid
ings connecting with the belt line in
Delaware avenue. This In turn connects
with the three trunk lines running into
the city. This does away with all ne
cessity Of liEhterine and. In itself. would
save the Government from thirty cents
to dollar on each ton Of freight
handled.
Tn New York. the railroad terminals.
IN the majority OF cases. are far from
the loading piers. This necessttates the
paying Of iiEhterage, as an added cost
to the Government Practically every
piece OF tonnage shipped through New
York must be lightcred from the railroad
terminals 10 the ship on which II Is 10
he carried TO Europe.
philadelphia is 100 miles from the
open sea. while New York Is only fifteen
miles But this again gives us the adj.
vantage. II brings US farther into the
Interior and Just that much closer to
the source Of manufacture or supply.
philadelphia Is ninety miles closer to the
west than New York and II is from the
West that our war supplies are coming
This mot nn1x- dsla he,
cars. but the enpties must be broueh,
back that extra distance. And. under
present conditions. the freight delay be.
tween here and New York Is a matter
OF fve or more days Besides, hsuIfnp
by water is cheaper than by rail and
the Government has this added cost or
the ninety miles to New York
our piers here are the equal of an,
In the world. They have every facility
for the expeditions handling OF freight
Here we can run the freight cars rish,
out alongside the vessel. unload from tn.
cars into the matches and send tbs
empties away. This gives the least
handling possible"
WAREHOUSES; LACKING
Mr. Hasskarl then went into the mat.
ter OF warehouses. In this he is ex.
ceptlonally well informed. having made
several trips to Europe to study por,
conditions in various countries. HI
has been connected with the Department
OF Wharves. Docks and Ferries since II.
creation in 1907 and served term as
its head. Before entering the city serv.
Ice he was chief civilian engineer con.
nected with the army In this district
in Europe" he pointed out. the,
have given careful consideration to the
warehouses. Here we have not. Every
port there has ample warehouse space
to meet any contingency. l have tried
to drill this into Philadelphia. but hav,
not succeeded. We have warehouses
here, but not enough for an emergency
4 This is being proved now. The pier'
are being used in place Of building,
ashore for storage OF freight. This
the goods on the piers than to keeI
freight cars idle by using them fol
storage.
However. this storage would moi
hinder the handling of freight here. Al
the stored freight is waiting for bottomi
to take It abroad. II they send me thu
ships. it will be gotten out in good shap'
and there will be room for more. W.
can handle here in Philadelphia all th'
export freight they can send u.s."
Mr. Hassltarl said that the local por
lS Wtll cqulppCu W h3huio ea'
ore. For the former there 10 a 1000. 900
bushel elevator at Port Richmond an
another Of 1000. .000-bushel capacity 1
the SchuyllSill at Girard Point.
A striking evidence Of the Govern
ment's failure to send ships to the loca
J port IS the great number OF motortruck
and ammunition carts that have beei
standing in Delaware avenue for th'
last several weeks waiting for a ship Il
take them abroad. They cover virtual!
the eastern half OF Delaware avenu
from the Southwark Municipal Pier TO
several blocks northward
without so much as tarpaulin owe
them, these much-needed war nipple
ments have been standing in the weathe
under military guard. They are de
teriorating each day they are out o
use through rust and other destroyini
elements. Had a ship been sent TO
these vehicles when they we're ready 70
shipment they would now be in servic'
in France.
Another question to be met is thu
supplying Of stevedores. Many Of th'
shipping men are securing the city fo
able-boded men to work on the PIER
as freight handlers. Even az wage O
from fifty TO flfty-fve cents an hou'
has not proved effective bait.
of labor along the river front 10 th'
high wages paid at Bristol, Hog Island
Cramps and other shipouilding estab
lishments.
Investigation shows there is virtu
ally no organization among the long
shoremen Of philadelphia. There are Nv,
or three organizations OF various sort
among them. but there has been NJ
concerted organisation.
Two orEanisers from the Internationa
Longshoremen's Union affiliated witt
the American Federation OF Labor ar
expected In the city today or tomorrow
They are coming to help the Govern
ment by getting these men togethe
and showing them their duty OF stand
ing by the Government. They will spen'
two or three days in investigation o
conditions before making a report
Their coming Is looked to as a mean
OF relieving n serious detriment tina
might result later through shortage o
men to handle freight sent throug
the local port. E..
W. II. III. Willis, division freigh
agent of the Pennsylvania Railroad
has instituted a thorough canvass o
the Philadelphia district to md ou
. hou many consiRnees have freiRht 4