Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-06
PEACE USE OF WAR TERMINALS
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

At the hearing on the independent
Offices appropriation bill testimony
by Shipping Board" officials indicated
that one wartime project, at least
into an extremely valuable and effec-
tive peace time activity.
During the World War the Army
built a number of steel and concrete
terminals on the Atlantic seaboard
for the purpose of facilitating the
movement of troops and supplies to
France. The largest and most i'm
portant of them were located al
Boston. Brooklyn. Philadelphia and
Norfolk. Thousands of troops and
millions of tons of war materials OF
all sorts were handled through these
terminals and their value in prose-
cutting the war was incalcula BILE.
When the War Department had nc
further use for them, the American
soldiers having been brought home
and the surplus war material dis
posed of, they We're turned over tC
the Shipping Board to be utilized
in the interests of the American
merchant marine. About that time
a prominent warehouseman of Phil
adelphia, by the name of Harvey C
Miller, called the attention of the
railroad companies whose lines enter
that city to the possibilities of the
Government owned piers at Phila-
delphia, as a general tidewater termi.
nal. The railroad officials We're inn
pressed with the idea and suggested
that Mr.. Miller consult with the
Shipping Board relative to operating
the piers for the benefit of all tht
railroads running into Philadelphia
After a due amount of negotiation
with the board, Mr., Miller organized
the Philadelphia Tidewater Termina
Co. and leased the piers. This ven
ture was so successful that later the
terminals at Brooklyn, Boston and
Norfolk were similarly leased. Sepa
rate companies were organized In
each city, with local interests repre-
scented in each instance, but with Mr.
Miller as president and genera
operating director of them all.
BY leasing the piers for private
operation the Shipping Board at.
tanned five important objects. II
carried out the provisions of the
merchant marine act in that 1t wen
as far as 1t could toward developing
private operation of its port facilities
in the interest of the American
the issue of negotiable warehouse re.
ceipts which could be done by a pri-
cate concern, but not by the Fedora
Government. 1t insured the mainte-
nance of the piers as going concerns
and provided income for their up
keep. Also by keeping the piers ir
operation It carried out the nationa
provisions of the merchant marine
act, and finally. it insured higher
income from the properties thar
would have been possible by direct
Government operation.
Net Income Increasing.
The chief of the Bureau OF Opera
tions of the Shipping Board, when
making his report to the House com
mittee on appropriations. said that
net profits to the board from all these
properties are now running upward
of $500 900 a year and improving al
the while.
with the allotments already made
pra ctically all major repairs viii
have been cared for" he said. "Ir
the future - ;,,tments payable by
the board for repairs will amount &c
not over 100000 "A year for the mex
five years. Therefore, the board vii
from now on have a clear, overall
eSIlmaIed pront or not less lHaI
$500 per annum."
This statement was borne out wher
the final reports for the calendar yeal
1925 were received They showed the
four terminals had turned in $419. 00(
to the Shipping Board for that period
When member Of the House com
mittee asked just why the Miller or
ganization was able to make more
money for the board out Of the cp
| alton of the piers than the board
could make itself, 1t was explained
that a firm could not store at one
of the piers 500 bales of cotton anC
be given a warehouse receipt for 4
If the board operated the pier di
rectly. Under the present leasing
system. however the Miller organiza
ton can issue a negotiable warehouse
receipt TO the owner of the cotton
who in turn, can go to a bank ant
obtain money on that receipt.
The question of the attitude of the
private warehouse interests of the
country toward the operation of Gov
eminent terminals was brought up
To this Chairman O'Connor replied
that that question had been giver
careful consideration at the time tn,
Shipping Board took over the prop
critics from the War Department. Mr.
Weeks who was al that time Score
tary of War. was careful to stipulatt
in the agreement that the terminal:
should not be used in competition
with private enterprise.
Further the American Warehouse
mems Association has given it's un
qualified approval to the manner ir