Arizona republican., 1919-12-17
T|DENATER PORT
 LOOKS ID ARIZONA
 FUR b|C BUSINESS
BY RUFUS CHOATE President of Harbor Commission for the City of San Diego


 San Diego harbor has stood the acid test. Tn all the world there are only five ships, commercial or naval that exceed the tonnage of the super New Mexico. The New Mexico has entered San Diego harbol and anchored in the channel opposite the commercial piers. Comparison figures prove that San Diego has one of the worlds safest and best harbors and can accord to commerce the maxi mum demands for efficiency.
 In European countries harbors are regarded as greater assets than they are in this country. In the settlement of boundaries following great wars the harbors have been regarded as vital factor. The countries of Europe spe- cialize and are largely dependent upon international trade. On the other hand our speciality has been interstate com merce. One has called for ships and harbors, while the other has demanded rail transportation facilities.
 Thirty-seven Feet On Bar
 The harbor entrance at San Diego now has a low tide depth of thirty seven feet. Just inside the entrance the main channel makes an abrupt turn dangerous to the navigation of any vessel over two-hundred feet in length. This channel has a depth of fifty feet. The larger vessels have to use the direct course across the mid dle ground which has low tide depth of thirty two feet. The federal gov ernment has made a survey and esti- mate which will give the harbor of San Diego a low tide forty foot depth over the bar and middle ground at a cost of $350,000 The Panama canal has a depth of forty feet. Fifty per cent of the channel water in San Diego harbor are over forty feet deep, while the balance ranges in depth down to twenty feet.
 One of the great factors in our de- velopment is the efficient entrance of two great transcontinental railway lines, the Santa Fe and the Southern i Pacific. Each road has right of way | 100 feet in width abutting each other 1 Their lines skirt the commercial wa 1 ter front of San Diego. Next to the Santa Fe right of way are the tide | lands which are owned by the city of San Diego. They aggregate about 75O acres, having an average width of six hundred feet. Like other cities, San | Diego did not provide a water front 1 street. The tide lands have come tc our rescue. On this property will be | located a great water front avenue Ample room will be set aside for the municipal belt line. This property vii be leased to industrial concerns.
 Build Great Warehouses
 Great warehouses will be so built a. to coordinate efficiently with the ad jacent piers. San Diego harbor is Voi( Of river and also transbay commerce thereby suggesting one commercial factor-ocean commerce. This condi
 tion has caused the federal govern
 ment to allow exceptional length il
 our piers, which will be 1000 feet. w
 have under consideration piers fou
 hundred feet in width. These wharve
 will contain about 912 acres and vii
 afford exceptional storage capacity.
 Of all railroads tho Southern Pacifi
 is best equipped to promote the inter
 ests of port. For years it operate
 the Pacific Mail and today it has i
 operation the line between New Tor
 and New Orleans. Its water iron
 facilities in New York are among tn
 best. The short line route betwee the Pacific and the Atlantic is tn , Southern Pacific line, San Diego t | i It also is the low altitude route. possesses the greatest ability to com pete with the Panama canal. Housto
 and New Orleans are developing mod ern, up -todate port facilities. Sa Diego is well aware of the splendi ,, possibilities and will provide the be: , means for the handling of freight. ,, Count on Salt River
 The greatest incentive to our pol development are the results to com from the three great tandem irrigatio , sections, namely Imperial valley. Yum , and the Salt River valley. With diret rail to these agricultural districts tn , port Of San Diego views within fiy , years no less than a quarter of a mi , lion tons of sea going freight. Tn real success of San Diego harbor de bends upon the progress and prosper ity of those sections. For the firs time in our history we are planning
 great commercial port. for we kno'
 We shall win.