CALIFORNIA HARBOR LEGISLATION 



CLARO'CB E:. BDWORDS 



EALIZING the vast importance of the State's harbor as a factor in 

 the development of California, the Counties Committee of the Cali- 

 fornia Promotion Committee, at its sixth semiannual meeting, held 

 at San Diego December 15, 1906, thoroughly discussed the subject 

 of harbor improvement and adopted resolutions requesting the 

 national and State governments to appoint commissions for the purpose of 

 mvestigating and reporting on the needs of the various harbors of the State, 

 a result of this action the Committee on California Harbors of the Cali- 

 rnia Promotion Committee prepared and presented to the State Legis- 

 ture the following resolution: — 



"Resolved, that a special committee of six members be appointed from 

 e Legislature of the State of California, consisting of three members from 

 he Senate, to be appointed by the president thereof, and three members 

 from the Assembly, to be appointed by the speaker thereof, to investigate 

 the condition of the harbors of the State, and to make recommendations for 

 legislation necessary to be enacted at the next session of the Legislature. 

 "Resolved, that it is the sense of the Legislature that the report should 

 be comprehensive in all respects, and that it should include not only existing 

 conditions and facilities, but also recommendations for financing future 

 permanent improvements." 



This was unanimously adopted as a joint and concurrent resolution by 

 both houses of the Legislature, and in pursuance thereof a committee was 

 appointed consisting of the following members: For the Senate — Leroy A. 

 Wright (chairman), Edward I. Wolfe, and T. J. Kennedy; for the Assembly — 

 Percy A. Johnson, Louis Strohl, and W. B. Leeds. This committee estab- 

 lished headquarters in California Building, San Francisco, and held its first 

 meeting there July 1 8, 1 907. This meeting was attended by representatives 

 of all the commercial organizations of San Francisco, who presented their 

 views regarding what was needed to improve the harbor. It was the sense 

 of this meeting that such recommendations be made to the Legislature by 

 the committee as would call for a State bond issue of sufficient amount to 

 cover the requirements of all the harbors of California, as these harbors 

 were the property of the entire State, and the whole people benefited 

 therefrom. 



The legislative committee investigated the San Francisco harbor by a 

 personal visit, and on Monday, July 21st, visited Oakland and met repre- 

 sentatives of the commercial bodies of that city at the rooms of the Cham- 

 ber of Commerce, listening to such recommendations as were offered, and 

 then visited Oakland harbor for personal inspection. 



The committee then adjourned to meet at the call of the chairman at 

 an Diego, and from there will proceed along the coast, visiting the harbors 

 Long Beach, San Pedro, Los Angeles, Port Harford, Monterey, Eureka, 

 nd other points from which information is desired. The commercial bodies 

 of these various points have been requested to have prepared data and 

 statistics shovving the business and needs of the ports, so that they can be 

 examined by the committee without delay on its visit. 



At the San Diego meeting of the Counties Committee of the California 

 Promotion Committee representatives were present from fifty-one of the 

 fifty-seven counties of California, and all were of the decided opinion that 

 the time had come when California should take care of its harbors, as the 

 importance of these outlets for the products of the entire State Is now 

 recognized by the entire State. 



The joint legislative committee will make a thorough investigation not 

 only of present conditions but of the possibilities of commerce coming from 

 the increased importance of the Pacific Ocean, and it is expected that this 

 showing will result in material betterment of existing conditions in every 

 harbor in California. 



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