The Wilmington morning star., 1940-07-11

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fifth of the tonnage other than pc
troleum and fertilizer moving
through the port of Wilmington dur
ing the year 1888.
1.-The cost of the facility as est.
mated by Col. Shourds-$480, 900
could easily and quickly be liquida'
ted upon the basis of the income
outlined in the attached estimate,
or even by one-half of it.
cit is our understanding that il
this project can be shown to be
self-liquidating there is every posi-
bility of it's being financed by the
Reconstruction Finance Corpor-
alton by way of a loan secured by
a mortgage of the facility and a
pledge of its income, or a sufficient
portion thereof, to repay the loan.
This would make it unnecessary
for either the City or County to
issue bonds for the construction Of
the facility, although it might be
necessary to advance a sufficient
amount to operate the facility for
the first year. 4
"In view of the foregoing, the
Port Commission suggests:
81. That a committee be appoint
ed by your bodies to proceed at
once to Washington and interview
the proper authorities of the Re-
construction Finance Corpora
ton in order to get their position in
respect to a loan for the construc-
ton of a facility along the lines rec
commended inn the letter of Col.
Shourds of June 4, 1910.
90. If the reaction of the Recon
struction Finance Corporation is
favorable, that there be incoc-
porated by charter from the
Secretary of State a local Port
Authority, which will be empower
ed and directed to take such steps
as are necessary to erect said ter
minals at the earliest practicable
moment, and that the erection and
operation of the said terminals be
committed to said Port Authority
which will be responsible to the
City and County Commissions: that
the personnel of said Port Author
ity be appointed by the joint action
of said County and City Commits
sioners; that the details as to the
incorporation of the Authority. the
issuance of stock and other mat
tiers in connection Herewith, be de-
termined by a Committee from the
City, County and Port Commiss-
ions.
In the opinion of the Port Com
mission time is most vital in the
accomplishment of our objective.
Recent events have brought about
a recognition of the importance of
enormous advantage to us if we
vigorously pursue the matter at
this time. Certainly, for the i'm
mediate future one of the most i'm
portant things for the nation is to
prepare a defense against the eco
nomic warfare which will, undoubt-
edly, be the first and continuing
result of the present European sit
uation, whatever its other conse-
quences may be. At this particular
juncture, Wilmington stands in a
position much more favorable than
in ordinary times, as withdrawal of
steamship services from III COM
petitive ports will enable us, with
our new facilities, when business
returns to normal, to start on a
much nearer equal basis than
would have been possible in nor
NAL times.
ut is the considered opinion of
the Port Commission, and, we be-
lieve, of the majority of our citi-
zens, that affirmative and vigorous
action taken by your bodies in con-
structing these public terminals,
and thereby recognizing the great
Importance of the Cape Fear River
to Jul community and the State,