New-York tribune., 1922-01-22
Anti Trust Barrier
Developing tke Por;


"a. most important locA. problems
he:ore tAc people o: tho CITY OF
:. York - the qusasior OF thu proper
:: .clensilic Development or un,hca-
!. q the port. with = view 20 tie
=. economical banding, storage and
:.sw.y Of freight.
..o be stated absolutely that there
i. 10 serious engineering or fnaacia!
..Al.,as 10 prevent its being promptly
..,.. IN fact, most OF the needed rails
=, ,,.cks arc now laid. and from the
',,.;eal side not many connecting
~. remain to be built. But we still
-. Nth us the problem of uniting all
=. interests concerned. This is the
-. remaining difficult thing.
:, !. time that such differences of
.sinion as arc now alleged to exist
.sould be settled and start made,
Nd may add my bit to what has al
ready been said?
h.v. slight authority to speak on
~. subject. Prior to 1911 there ex-
;.,.d in New Jersey no central board
=, authority having anything to do
nth the development Of the states
..ter front, except the Riparian Board,
those sole duty it was to sell the
tste's riparian lands. / was then
,ember of the New Jersey State SEN
,.e. Through my business connections
his situation was brought to my atten-
tim and introduced in the Senate and
id passed by the Legislature a joint
rsoluton authorizing the appointment
!, the Governor of the commission
,teh, in cooperation with a similar
smmisson to be appointed by the
isyernor of New York, was to inves
tr,te the conditions of the port as a
,hole make recommendation for its
s,cer and unified development and
r,srt its findings to the respective
s,aatures.
fHis resolution was signed by Gov
nor Wilson and the first commission
spointed, and it was, in fact, the pred
s.ssor of the present Port Authority.
recommended to Governor Wilson the
appointment of j. Spencer Smith as a
member he commission. Mr.. Smith
vas appointed, and served in this and
A, the succeeding commissions, and is
now one Of the New Jersey members of
. the Port Authority, having in all these
Years served the state with great abil-
E.
The gentlemen to whom credit for
be inception of this matter is due are
Charles Dickinson, of Chicago, then
Manager of the Hoboken Shore Road;
Palmer Campbell, former member Of
the New Jersey Interstate Bridge and
Tunnel Commission; A. J. Shamburg,
then and now a member of the New
York State Bridge and Tunnel Commits
sion, and Colonel ". j. Wilgus, a men,
bsr Of the board of consulting engi-
neers Of the present tunnel commits
sons. The actual resolution presented
BY me, and which became the law, was
drawn by Colonel Wilgus.
In considering the port matter two
facts may be positively stated, upon
which all parties concerned agree:
l. The present method of handling
Ho
detriment to the business of the port,
and should be improved not only to
save the excessive and unnecessary
costs, but to save the businss of the
port.
2. The entire problem is railroad
problem pure and simple, and the
success Of any plan will largely de-
pend upon the cooperation of the
railroads.
10 these two facts should be added
smother, equally important at this
time:
8. Tho City Of New York is under
legal mandate to build within q GER
"'n tlme tunnel under the Mar
rows connecting Staten Island with
brooklyn. and when built to lease
tns same under certain specified con-
diacns. This tho city authorities
must do or else be in the position of
v!slatins tho law.
It is conceded, think, by all that
essential to any scheme is the physical
fal connection Of New Jersey and Long
l'laad by y tunnel either across the
upper bay or across the Narrows.
Tue Port Authority has planned a
"as tunnel across the upper bay,
SAie the city under its mandate is
'sanins to connect Staten Island with
.'soklyn by u tunnel under the Mar
NrA
awould seem that the sensible solu-
'ss q this phase Of the controversy
''aH be for the Port Authority to ac-
," sae city's plan and in every way
% I'D in tie being successfully carried
~ and to so alter or amend its own
p'0Sosed plan as to include at this time
~ Aarrows tunnel, instead cf the
-p'et bay tunnel, unless, and only IN