The Wilmington morning star., 1941-01-07
. Editorial Comment
FOR PORT DEVELOPMENT
BY VIVIAN WHITFIELD

Wilmington was formerly North Carolina S
largest city. For more than a quarter century
it has been a habit of many of us to criticize
our principal seaport for its seeming lack O.
progress, placing the entire blame on its citi
zens. Now, unquestionably, the leaders of Viii.
mington, somewhere along the way, have
failed to take full advantage of their oppor
%tunities, but the state, as a whole, must also
share part of the responsibility for the city's
failure to expand on a larger scale as an i'm
port-export center.
For years the great tobacco and textile in.
dustries of the state have preferred to ship
most of their exports through other ports,
when Wilmington and now Morehead City,
could have been Utilized to advantage, if the
industrial leaders, the city officials, and state
officials had made a joint effort to work out
the problem. "s%
At present, the port of Wilmington is asking
the Reconstruction Finance Corporation for a
loan of $685., 900 with which to construct mu-
nicipal port facilities, especially adequate stor'
age warehouses. This loan will be a distinct
step forward for not only Wilmington, but for
North Carolina, and our senators, congress
men and the proper authorities at Raleigh
should do everything within their power tc
aid Wilmington in procuring this loan.
North Carolina should take every step pos.
sible now to provide its ports with adequate ia.
cilities for handling their legitimate share Of
business in the trade expansion that is sure
to come at the end of the war. Furthermore,
the state government should do it's part in
assisting our ports in procuring their share
of commerce.. The state should know the pre-
else facts governing a North Carolina manu-.
featured product that reaches another coun-
try through a United States port other than
Wilmington or Morehead City and, whenever
possible endeaVOr to correct the situation!
In addition to it's present manufa ctured pro.
ducts, there is sufficient evidence to justify
the prediction that our state is going to be.
come a large producer of dairy and pork pro.
ducts. It is not just idle dreaming to say that
in the comparatively near future North Caro-
lima evaporated, condensed and dried milk,
and butter in tins for the tropics, will be going
through Wilmington and Morehead City as cen
tiers of export. Likewise, such will be the case
with pork products of various kinds, as well
as processed products of soybeans, peanuts,
and other products from our farms.
The other side of the picture is that, oil
imports. Are Wilmington and Morehead City
going to get their share of import trade after
the war? Of course, that depends on the eff
forts exerted by the two cities and the state
working together. The United States has finally
realized that it must face south" That fact
alone would seem to call for a careful study
of the Latin American trade situation on the
part of the port authorities of our two ports,
with the view to sending a trade commission
to certain strategically located Latin Ameri.
can countries for the purpose of directing a
volume of trade through the import centers
of our state.
The road to our goal is a difficult one, but
not ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS we. apply intel.
ligence and energy. 4