The Brunswick news., 1922-07-21
A REAL GEORGIA PORT.
(By ]. w. Simmons, Pres, Brunswick
Board of Trade.)

Brunswick and Brunswick's citi
zens, appreciate with pride and awe
the magnificent work of the Grand
! Architect of the Universe, when he
course of Georgia's rivers and made
the boundaries where land and ocean
meet of such wonderful contour as to
produce for us a harbor, of which a
prominent Albanian speaks as fol-
lows: "of the 103 coastal ports of the
United States, most of which l have
visited, Brunswick has no superiors
and few peers" and which Bruins
wick has dreamed some day might
become world port"
We have realized that from time
lmmemorlal We could not hope to de.
veiop our port with our meager local
capital. We have sadly realized that
we could not hope for any of the great
railroads, having through connection
l. interchange, commercial and other
compelling interests in other ports
well developed. to pay Brunswick the
honor of making her their only love
and care so far as ocean connections
were concerned. Therefore we gladly
hailed the proposal of the State to
build a great terminal at the port
of Georgia that might offer the best
advantages for the magnificent devel-
opment contemplated.
brunswick naturally presumed that
natural and artificial advantages
be considered III proper proportion;
she had not thought that the question
would be settled almost entirely upon
the grounds of artificial advan-
taSes, because these usually are
the direct result of long tedious
commercial activities that demand
them. Brunswick was hardly rrepar-
ed for the sU 'Drising dictum ,Lat
Trade follows the Money Market"
having always thought that money
was the most rapidly travelling com.
modify in the world. She had pre-
sumed if resources promising mar
velously profitable development were
found in the middle of China. money
would be the swift-winged prospector
first on the scene.
Brunswick has no intention of ap.
pearing as a bad loser, for she hasn't
lOst-not by any means. Brunswick
has no fault to find with anything
but specious arguments and misrepre-
sentations of sound economic princi-
pies. Common sense and economic
principles are very hard to fight with
anything but concrete examples of the
re ults of infraction of their rules.
Fhe harbors and ports belong to
the state and nation They are the
open doors through which alone we
can and must deal with our neighbors
throughout the world The more de-
veloped ports we have the greater our
markets. the greater our prosperity
Close one of them, that might give
promise of large development, and
you have laid tax upon all for its loss.
We are hardly ready for the argu-
ment also that a river port is to be
preferred over sea port. We were
always of the impression that the
quicker the high seas were reached
after loading, or the earlier dock could
be reached from the open sea- the
more economically could shipping be
conducted
Ports and Terminals an excellent
magazine. had presented what we
thought was irrefutable argument in
favor of diminishing the expense of
turn around" in a harbor. Just for
example. let us assume that a high
class freighter has daily expense of
$4,000, or one hundred dollars
an hour. Is it not natural to assume
that if half of this can be saved on
entering and half on leaving, the
economy is worth while, when we
would expect to move several hundred
ships per year? Add to this numbers
Of cases of long towages by the ton,
hour, pilotage by the ton-hour, NOV.
ing, shifting, turning, etc, and then
calculate the economies that might
be accomplished if any, or sometimes
all, of them might be saved. Someone
somewhere, other than the shipown
ers and operators, pay the freight
You may guess where the additiona
costs are distributed. We can spir
| itually subscribe to Shakespeare
couplet, "All places that the eye OF
heaven visits are to wise man ports
| and happy havens" But we can hard
| ly recommend to our. Sovereign state
a selection of state port by this
| rule, or she would have as many aS
! there are miles along her coast line.
We would like to believe that the
operation of a modern state terminal