Port Development

McGraw-Hill, 1926-01-01. 2nd Ed. Hardcover. Good. McGraw-Hill, 1926. Hardcover, xv, 456 pages. Second Edition, 1926. In good+ condition. Black cloth covered boards with gold lettering on spine. Light bumping to edges of covers and nicking to cloth at corner tips and top and bottom of spine. light overall scuffing to covers as well. Binding tight. Pages lightly aged but otherwise unmarked. NOT Ex-Library. NO remainder marks. Black and white frontispiece photo, illustrations, diagrams, maps (1 folded); index. [Excerpts from Preface] Owing to the large number of diversified subjects that must be considered the logical sequence of this book may not always be apparent. . . Part I is the general raison d'etre of port development, its value to the nation and to the port city. Port development involves the attitude of the established National Government with its laws and machinery. Then there is the machinery set up by the commonwealth or the port city that undertakes the development of traffic and facilities at the port. To develop traffic a sales and publicity effort is necessary, as part of the port organization. To be able to sell the port means that there are definite advantages as compared with other ports. As port traffic is highly competitive these advantages must be found. Hence, Part II begins with a comparison of the general features of many of the world's ports, a discussion of statistical comparisons and the analysis of the various physical features of a port that may make it more attractive to shipping than some other ports. But physical advantages as talking points in selling the port are less important than the traffic advantages, discussed in Part III. These subjects in port competition are, balanced cargoes, tonnage market, grain exports, rail and water rates, together with the costs and service at the terminals in the three important operations of switching, lightering and carting. These last named three chapters encroach upon the field of terminal facilities in some phases but the center of interest remains that of cost and service among competing ports. Part IV consists of three chapters upon Free Ports. This institution is a very great advantage in port development. The struggle to obtain the passage of an enabling act through Congress has been energetic and prolonged, but to no avail, while foreign countries have made extensive and rapid progress. The Free-port question also is given extended discussion here because there has been no permanent record of the facts and events of the free-port question, the literature to date being in the form of pamphlets, hearings, reports and scattered articles upon one or another phase of the subject. As. one of the very first advocates of this institution I have a special interest in this movement and the reducing to book form of the important features of past discussion.