DEVELOPMENT OF A MERCHANT MARINE AND COMMERCE. 231 



1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 



Port charges 3.3 1.2 2.6 3.7 1.8 3.5 



Stevedoring aiid handling 25.0 24.2 17.4 19.1 18.7 14.2 



Rental of tenninals 2.5 3.5 3.6 2.6 3.5 3.9 



Repairs and depreciation 9.8 10.8 18.4 18.3 14.1 13.9 



Fuel, water and lubrication. .. . 11.5 12.0 14.3 13.9 11.3 14.8 



Feeding passengers and crew. . . 7.9 7.3 6.5 5.6 6.6 7.1 



Loss, damages and injuries 1.8 2.2 1.1 .9 1.5 3.5 



Equipment and stores 3.9 4.7 4.8 4.2 5.2 3.5 



Wages, officers and crew 14.1 14.1 14.0 13.3 14.1 16.6 



Miscellaneous 7 .6 .5 .5 .5 .8 



Undistributed expense 14.1 15.2 13.7 11.7 16.2 14.0 



Administrative expense 5.4 4.2 3.1 2.4 3.2 4.2 



Charter hire ... ... 3.8 3.3 



Total 100% 100%, 100'% 100% 100%, 100% 



Tons of freight carried 577,686 546,660 630,055 1,103,587 634,256 408,060 



Number of vessels operated. .. . 8 13 11 28 20 10 



Number of trips (one way) .... 135 141 177 221 170 147 



The above figures indicate that the percentage for each item of expense in general has varied 

 between rather narrow limits. The unit costs, however, such as cost of stevedoring per ton 

 of freight, average operating cost per steamer day, etc., have nearly doubled since 1916. 



In an article such as this, it would be impossible to give a detailed description of port 

 facilities. It is sufficient to say that the principal port facilities include necessary piers and 

 wharves equipped with transit sheds, overhead cranes, and other necessary handling devices. 

 The distribution of freight to and from each wharf is attained by tying up the railroad ter- 

 minal yards with each other and with the water front by the means of a so-called outer belt- 

 line railroad. Communication between piers themselves should be attained by an inner belt 

 line, which may be on land by railroad or on water by lighters, or by both. The port should 

 be equipped with sufficient warehouse and storehouse facilities, for reservoir purposes, and to 

 eliminate the uneconomical expedient of using freight cars as storehouses when they are 

 required for their proper purpose, to meet traffic demands. 



Private enterprise may be expected to provide the proper docking and repair facilities. 

 Private enterprise may also be looked to for salvage facilities, but it cannot be estimated that 

 any given port with reasonably fixed tonnage movement will support a proportionate invest- 

 ment in salvage equipment. Frequency in marine disasters does not necessarily follow the 

 greatest traffic but depends to a great degree on the navigation hazards existing in a given 

 region. From the business standpoint, a salvor has to determine the ports which will offer 

 the best market for employment on work other than salvage for appliances and trained per- 

 sonnel that are necessary in any well-organized salvage unit. The salvage facilities in this 

 country are considerably in excess of those which could be maintained by salvage operations 

 alone, and the continued maintenance of such facilities depends entirely upon the amount of 

 work obtained by the salvage company other than rescue work. 



Alexander Hamilton wrote considerably over one hundred years ago: "A prosperous 

 commerce is now perceived and acknowledged by all enlightened statesmen to be the most 



b 



