The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-02-22
Planning Board Chairman
Impressed By Local Port
Continued from Page One)

nopsis of the groups findings,
which will determine the fate of
Cyrus D. Hogue's terminal finance
bill. The bill provides for the Gre
alton Of State Shipping Authority,
for its authorization to issue rev.
enue bonds for port Improvement
in three seaboard counties and for
authorization of the State to sub.
scribe to the bonds.
Only two weeks Of this session
of the State Assembly may remain
to take care of passage of the
port bill if it is approved by the
Board and the governor, Mr.. Way
nick pointed out during the lunch
con. To rush an enabling bill
through in this period, he explain
ed, would require that the Board
go before the Governor and the
Assembly with very impressive
recommendations.
Main point of contention in the
Boards attempt to arrive at
decision, which might figure in
forthcoming Assembly debate as
well, was understood to be wheth-
er or not the importance Of Will
mington port improvement to
State industry was great enough
to offset possible financial loss in
the operation of the projected IA
cilities themselves.
In this connection, terming the
5000, 900 NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. cur
rently projected IAN inadequate
proposal, temporizing with the ac-
tual needs in the case" Mr.. Way
nick called in question the scope
of local planning to foster til e
growth of the ports sea-traffic
and facilities beyond tn initial
step represented by the $900,O
project.
He was answered, apparently to
his satisfaction, by J. T. HERS
and Cyrus D. Hogue, who pointed
to the three-fold 1,70O, 0OO-ton in.
crease in Wilmington cargo
which had taken place between
1882 and 1914 without improve
ment of admittedly inadequate ia.
elites, and by W. G. Broadfood,
president of the North Carolina
Navigation Co. The latter explain.
ed that the War Shipping Admin
istration, desire Gus of making
North Carolina ports party to war
and postwar shipping business,
had authorized the organization OF
his firm as the nations solitary
war-born ocean steamship line
and allotted it 81 ships from ma
tionalized yards.
Mr.. Hogue also explained that
approximately 80 per cent of Will
mington's growing sea-traffic con,
sisted of fertilizer n d petroleum
products. shipped from terminals
constructed by the distributing
companies al their own expense,
implying the Statewide benefit to
manufa cturers from publicly built
terminals which would allow gen.
eral merchandise to assume its
natural proportion in the traffic
of North Carolina industry's most
convenient port.
TIL Board members who made
the inspection trip were Mr.. Way
nick, Mr.. Grisette, James L. Hale,
assistant managing director, May
or w. F. Carr, of Durham, George
w. Kane, Roxboro contractor, and
R. Bruce Etheridge, of Raleigh,
director of the State Department
of Conservation and Development.
With them on the four-mile riv-
erfront tour went Mr.. Hogue, Mr..
HERS, Mr.. Broadfood, City Man.
ager A. c. Nichols, T. D. Love
and N. L. Foy.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla, Feb. q.
-R)-Officials of the South Allan
tic Florida ports conference ex-
pressed fear today that the pres
ent unequal apportioning of
freight between Eastern and
Southern ports might become
pattern for the postwar period I'm.
less speedy action is taken.
They declared that more than a
million carloads of freight were
shipped through New York, Phil
adelphia, Baltimore and Hampton
Roads in 1914 compared to some
$4,000 carloads through eight South
Atlantic and Florida ports.
Members of the conference will
consider m ans of providing
Southern ports with more
equitable distribution of freight"
at meeting here tomorrow. 9th
err plans for the session include
recommendations for forming a
Latin American Board of Trade
which would develop postwar COM
merce in the Western Hemisphere.
Preliminary reports by Civil
Aeronautic Board examiners in
the North Atlantic Always case
also promised to become a prime
topic at the gathering. During pro-
ceedings in the case, several
Northern cities requested co-term-
lnal rights with New York in ship
ping passing through that port. If
these please are headed, it will
mean that freight can be shipped
directly from the point of origin to
its destination without being rout-
ed through New York. Conference
will be asked to press
for similar rights in other hear