The Wilmington morning star., 1947-01-31

will fall far behind her sister southe.
Legislators were told that unle.
prove state ports now that they
have an opportunity, lit will be
nothing less than a shame and a
crime"
T. Henry Wilson, ports authority
member and Morganton furniture
manufacturer said North Carolina
produces more bedroom and din
ing room furniture than any other
state il the union, and yet it has
no port from which to export its
products and import raw materi-
ais for manufacture. He said the
inustry, o h $3.50, 900, 900 a
year, consumed annually 500, 000,-
900 feet of hardwood, most of
which had to be imported. This
hardwood, he said, must be
brought to other southern ports
and then shipped into North Car
DINA for furniture manufacture.
ut would be good business On
the part of this state to spend
money to increase its port facili-
ties, rather than put its furniture
industry in competition with other
states" Wilson DECLARED.
A. G. Meyers, Gastonia textile
manufacturer and ports authority
member, said North Carolina
will not progress as it should I'M
less it has proper port facilities
He traced the creation OF the au-
thority by the 1945 g e e r a l
assembly, and said the estate had
diagnosed a case but failed to ap-
propriate any money for the
cure"
Myers added that if the legis-
lature didn't furnish funds to i'm
prove ports, North Carolina will
pay-and pay for a long time"
Tobacco Cargoes
j. Harry White, another mem
Der, who is connected with the
Winston-Salem tobacco industry,
said ''There is enough tobacco
traffic in and out of North Car
DINA to justify a big port" He
said tobacco was now being ship
ped out of Newport News and Nor
folk, Va, when it could just as
we'll be Wilmington.
1--WE are the most progressive
state in the SOUTH" he added,
land it will be nothing less than
a shame and a crime if we don't
improve u ports at once"
Former Governor j. Melville
Rroughton of Raleigh, counsel for
the authority, said North Carolina
is the only seaboard state in
America without at least one
great" port. Gas a result North
Carolina has uttered" he said.
Broughton said t h e authority
had no state appropriation and
thus far it had operated solely on
funds g r n t e d by the Fed
eral works administration. He
said federal funds were now ex-
hausted and it was now time for
the state to take over.
He traced efforts of the ports
authority to obtain the Wilmington
shipyards from the U. S. maritime
commission. 1t was learned that
the state had offered the commits
sion ST. 200, 900 for the yards, and
that offer was originally turned
down.
Special Delegation
However, Broughton said a
special delegation had gone to
Washington and conferred with
President Truman and other fed
eral officials, and sit is hoped
something satisfactory can be
worked out at an early date" He
added that ''this will be the be-
ginning of a great thing for in
dustry."
Col. George W. Gillette. of At
lanta, Ca. division engineer of the
Southeastern division of the U. S.
Corps of Engineers, discussed
South Atlantic ports. He said
North Carolina had great posi-
bilities for port development at
Wilmington and Morehead City,
but added that thus far the state
was tagging far behind other
South Atlantic states.
c. v. Davis of the Harris En-
cheering company, New York,
which recently completed an en-
cheering planning study of North
Carolina ports, said his studies
showed that over a period of time,
some $40, 900 tons per year could
be developed by a state terminal
at Wilmington and about 1875, 900
tons through a state terminal at
Morehead City.
He said North Carolina ranked
among the first dozen states in
its manufacturing activity, but
most of its commodities have to
be shipped through out-of-state
ports because of lack of proper
shipping facilities.
The meeting was presided over
by Chairman R. B. Page. Viii.
mington publisher. Other mem.
bers Of the ports authority r H
S. Gibbs of Morehead City; w. o
Huske of Fayetteville; and S. B
Frink of Southport.