The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-10
MANY PROBLEMS BESIDES MONEY FACE PORT BOARD
Immediate Needs Will Be Taken Care Of By
 State Bonds '

MOBILE, Ala, Aug. 9.-tSpecial Leased Wire. )AState port authorities must solve many major engineering problems which have no connection with the financial phases of the $lO,- 100000 development program.
 The immediate financial needs of the state docks commission will be taken care of by the disposition of $l,uOV,,,, GOO of state bonds, bids for which VIII be opened at the governors office Tn Montgomery at o'clock, August Is, but it was made known yesterday tnat the difficult problems will be soIved quietly by authorities who have gwen consideration to them during the many months of negotiations for the mad on Mobile river, between One and lnree Mile creeks and while courts and pond lawyers were making close study or ie- gal questions involved in the proposed bond issues.
 Chief among the problems which must be solved is the kind of material to be used for foundation work at the SlU,- 000, 900 system of docks and slips. Close study has been made of the interesting stories prepared by experts in other port cities, and local authorities must study the experiences of other ports in determining the kind of foundation or piling to be used for the Mobile port.
 Concrete Or Creosote.
 Engineers must determine whether concrete or creosote material should be used for the foundation, They have before them the opinions of experts persons who have made life studies of the effects of the operation of bugs and worms which attack wooden foun- dations if improperly treated. Other cities are said to have had costly ex- periences and local authorities do not wish to make mistakes made by other cities and states. Experts say that the worms attack the piling or founda- tion between the water surface and the bottom of the water. In some places the pests have undermined huge struc- lures before the damage was discovered, 1t is stated.
 Work of the docks commission has been divided into units. The first mil lion dollars, which is expected to be available soon after bids are opened en August IS, will go to land owners and for the remeEal of main line tracks of the Louisville & Nashville railroad. Land owners will get more than $600,- GOO, under the agreed terms entered into between them and the commission, while the cost of moving the<tracks will pass S300,000
 Not Worried Over Money.
 Notwithstanding the fact the state is permitted to issue only $1 900 bonds at this time, port builders are said not to be worried over financial matters because they are authorized to issue an additional $2,000,000 at the beginning of the second year of the constitutional amendment. September IS is the second year. The one mil lion, now being advertised and the two millions which may be issued next month, will be a fair sized sum for port constitution. In fact, it is agfeed that'the commission will have to work fast to spend two million dollars be- tween September Is, 1924, and Sep tember 19, 1925, at which time an ad- additional two million will be avail able.
 The commissions legal department is giving attention to land matters Legal options are being signed, by the land owners, and it is believed that neces- sary papers will be in soon The Mar mott Wharf case, on the docket of the equity division of the circuit court, will be heard shortly, and the legal au- thorities are giving muchi attention to this, due to the important question in- .volved. II