Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-11-27
FOR PORT SURVEY

EVERY city, town ana namleL tndt
has any kind of navigable stream
running past its door wants to be
seaport. Municipalities have gone
crazy, as ]. Spencer Smith told the
inspection party Saturday, on the
subject OF harbor development. Com
petition between ports that already
exist Is very keen, and with many
miles of undeveloped waterfront
land, any city Is foolish to author
! re large expenditures without
knowing exactly what it is about.
The Evening News has already
referred to the effort being made
by the city of Trenton to have a
twenty-foot channel up the Della
ware river so as to make Trenton
n seaport, The government has al
ready given Trenton twelve-foot
channel and now they are after
more. Another agitation is on foot
to develop what is known as the
capitol district of New York. This
includes the territory OF Albany,
Troy and Schenectady. There is at
present twelve-foot channel In the
Hudson river as far as Troy, and
they want this channel made twenty
seven feet deep in order that that
district may become a seaport.
sThere appears to be something
magic in the word seaport" The
dream of all these municipalities
seems to be to have ocean steam
ships pull UP alongside their docks.
Once this is possible. they think,
the reputation of the municipality
Is made. and its prosperity is as
Z SIRED for all time.
Trenton is nearly 200 miles from
ne sea; even Philadelphia is 12t
miles from the tip of the Delaware
capes. while the port of Baltimore
Is 1C5 miles inland. Seattle, the
great Pacific coast port. Is 15t
miles from the sea. New Orleans Is
fully 100 miles from the mouth OF
The Mississippi river. Yet all ol
these plac are spending millions
OF dollars developing their water
front. Compare all these distances
with Perth Amboy's location, eigh'
teen miles from Sandy Hook and ii
Is not hard to grasp the wonderful
advantage this city has II 1t W.T.
but take advantage of It,
But, after all, 1t l. risky propo'
sltion. AS was pointed out on the
inspection trip Saturday, there is ne
particular advantage to a commun'
ity in merely having ocean steam
ships dock along its waterfront. Tt
be only a transfer point where large
quantities of merchandise are ship
ped by rail from interior points tC
be loaded directly on vessels mean:
nothing particularly to the city it
self. A few men employed on thu
docks to handle the freight would
be about all the city would sc
ont OF 1t.
1.-THE keynote of port development
Is the advantage it would be in at
tthcting industry. Factories tha
viii employ hundreds and thou
sands of hands are what count. Th
basis of industry, as Mr. smitl
pointed out so forcibly on Saturday
III transportation. Transportation de
ponds on three things. railways
highways and waterways. Show
manufactures that he can receiv
his raw material and send out hi
fRished product conveniently ant
economically, and he is interested
at once.
<All Of these communities, then
that are going in for port develop
nient SO extensively must haV
something besides ocean shipping t
sustain them. The secret lies Il
their own Industrial development i
the Immediate territory which the
herve. For instance, in the agtta
r 3tion for the development of tn
Albany district it is pointed out tina
Albany and Troy are the center Q
an enormous manufacturing distric
Both these cities have extensive In
dustries. as well as Schenectady.
few miles away. Besides this, Tro
is the natural gateway to the VA
industrial section in the wester
part of New England. A vessel goir
up to Albany and Troy could get
cargo from all that section and Il
shipper would be spared the co
Of shipping by rail all the way
New York or to Boston, not TO me-
ton the congestion in those ports
This is what Perth Amboy mu
consider. How can this city be
serve the industries located In tn
vicinity? Ard BY this vicinity
meant all this section Of the stat