New-York tribune., 1919-10-31
Baltimore M a k es
Preparations or
Huge Foreign Trade
Great Piers and Warehouses
Planned to Facilitate
Handling of Large Vol.
ume of Business
Stat Cor-.esron1cnes

StaF Cores r ordcnes
BALTIMORE, Oct. 30.-Baltimore is
setting out upon an ambitious program
of harbor development, If the present
tentative plan is completely followed,
the port will have fifteen great new
piers and as many warehouses before
Americas foreign trade emerges from
the handcaps incident to demoralzed d
foreign exchange market.
The municipality, which will finance
the building of between two and four
new piers, has already begun work.
Under its direction workmen are filling
in bulkhead in the center of the har-
Dor. and the actual construction will
soon start.
Baltimoreans believe that America
ternational trade as soon as Europe re-
covers sufficiently to become a robust
customer They feel that New York
Will maintain its position as the lead
ing seaport, but contend that the out
flow of goods will far exceed the
capacity of the New York piers. Bal
tlmore, they assert, has the second best
natural harbor on the coast, and should
get large share of the export and
import business Of the country, partic-
ularly since it is nearer than New York
to most interior cities and therefore
has freight differential in its favor
TO direct the expansion of the Bal
tlmore harbor, most of which is still
undeveloped, the people of Baltim ore
have just launched the Export and In
port Board of Trade. Through a pop
uar campaign S15O,OOO year was
subscribed to finance its operations. 1t
is the purpose of this board to make
the development systematic, instead OF
haphazard. Thus far only 32 out OF
l12 miles of waterfront of the harbol
has been used.
Many New Ship Lines
Until the war, Baltimoreans now ad.
nit, the residents here we're unaware
OF the potentialities of growth in
herent in the natural advantages OF
the port. When the Federal govern
ment during the armed conflict found il
desirable to send men and materials te
the Old Work in record shatterinq
time 1t became necessary to use as
many ports as possible to avoid con
gestion. A special study Of the Bal
timore harbor was made, and its show.
lngs attracted the attention of ship
ping men everywhere. AS result
twenty-five new steamship lines have
been established here since the sign
ing of the armistice, making a tota
of thirty-six
In the Curtis Bay section, which is
the fastest growing district in Balti-
more, the construction of new plants
IS steadily going on. Five years age
the district was virtually unused
Sixty million dollars has been spent
on its development. The Baltimore
G. Ohio Railroad recently built 8
coal pier in Curtis Bay, which, officials
of the road assert, holds the worlds
speed record for coaling ship, al
though it has never been able to use
its full capacity because Of the in
adequacy of the ships taking on Goa
grain elevator, which will be read,
for use on December I, holds a SINH
lar place among elevators 1t viii
have a storage capacity Of 100000
bushels and will be able to receive
100000 bushels in ten hours.
Perhaps no plant on the harbor j,
expanding more rapidly than the
Bethlehem Steel Corporations works
at Sparrow's Point A large par
OF the plant is being used to turn out
material for its own extension anc
betterments. New rolling and shee'
mills are now under construction
" Ho' .ic pltHeilV program OF eHldrge
ment is carried out, this plan viii
rival in size the corporation's mair
establishment at Bethlehem, Pa More
over, the Bethlehem shipbulding yard:
here are engaged in producing flee
of ten ships for the corporation
which will be used in bringing iror
ore from Chile. Officials of the cor
poration declare that ore from tha
country is better than the Superior
district ore in the states.
Delegates Visit Steel Plant
The commercial delegations from
Great Britain, France, Belgium ane
Italy, who arrived here Tuesday even
ing and left to-day, visited the stee
plant, and saw four blast furnaces il
operation, each of a capacity of 400
tons OF iron day. Two additiona
furnaces of 500 tons capacity each are
nearly completed, and two more O.
similar capacity are soon to be bull
The completed plant will produce dali,
$500 tons of iron ore. 2,2OO tons O.
| limestone, and 1000 tons of coke.
When the steel strike was calles
this plant, it is said, was practically
unaffected except in the tin plat,
works, in which a large proportion O
| the workers are Firms. The striker!
in this unit have substantially all re
turned 70 work and at present twelve
tin plate mills are operating, will
twelve more mills under construction
Most Of the units of the factory ar,
in operation, but the rail mill section
is practically shut down, because tn,
railroad admin nistration is not buying
The shipyards, consisting of ten ways
now employ II 900 men.