226 THE IMPORTANCE OF PORT FACILITIES IN THE 



guished from the commercial interests of a port; and a large number of our ports are suf- 

 fering from the encroachment of industrial interests. 



The following may be given as some of the important characteristics that our ports and 

 port facilities should possess from the standpoint of the interests of our merchant marine 

 and our commerce : 



1. The use of deep-water frontage should be restricted to the commercial business of 

 the port. 



2. At least half of the deep-water frontage should be publicly owned or controlled. 



3. Berthing, handling, transferring, switching, and storage facilities should be conve- 

 nient, efficient and economical ; they should be ample to carry any probable peak load. 



4. There should be complete flexibility of movement between any and all water carriers 

 and any and all land carriers, and vice versa, as well as from any water carrier to another, in 

 order that the movement of commerce through the port may be as free as possible and may 

 be accomplished in a minimum time and at minimum cost. 



5. The port charges should be reasonable ; should be as similar as practicable, both in 

 manner assessed and in amount, for all of our ports ; and should be based upon actual cost 

 of the service performed, including interest on investment and overhead. For ports under 

 unified public control, the charges should be without profit. 



6. All the facilities of the port should be under one control, which preferably should be 

 independent of the local government. The port authority should be animated solely by the 

 aim to conduct the port business as an efficient link in our sea-borne commerce and in thor- 

 ough sympathy with our national policies for a merchant marine. 



With our interests centered upon our domestic affairs and internal development during 

 the latter half of the last century, our ports and our merchant marine were neglected, and 

 our port facilities, like Topsy, "just growed." In the absence of public interest and appre- 

 ciation of the important function of ports in national commerce, there were no general plans 

 for port development and management, and for financing the cost of port facilities. As a 

 result, the affairs of each port were handled as a local problem with little or no attempt at 

 coordination between ports, and with little or no thought given to the development of our 

 port system in accordance with broad economic principles. This led in many cases to the 

 local municipality, and in other cases to private interests, assuming responsibility for furnish- 

 ing necessary piers and wharves, and taking control of the water frontage and improve- 

 ments. The railroads were quick to grasp the opportunity afforded to attract to themselves 

 sea-borne commerce by constructing and operating marine terminals at their own expense. 

 Usually each so-called railroad port was dominated by a single railroad. Where more than 

 one railroad constructed a water terminal at a port, these terminals were operated as inde- 

 pendent and separate facilities, with little or no interchange of freight, thus affecting the 

 movement of commerce and dividing the port, to all intents and purposes, into as many sepa- 

 rate ports within a port as there were railroad terminals. 



Due to the same lack of foresight and any general conservation of that must valuable port 

 asset, deep-water frontage, cities have been permitted to encroach on the water front of most 

 of our ports ; industrial establishments that could have been satisfactorily located inshore have 

 appropriated for their own use much valuable deep-water frontage ; and no attempts have been 

 made to restrict the growth of the city upon land now found to be required for port facilities 

 and port operations. As a result, we are now paying the penalty through the difficulty ex- 

 perienced in increasing our port facilities, in the increased cost thereof, and in carrying on 

 port business in an economical manner. 



