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36 A yaa ha) a SA 4 || oi i MARINE REVIEW conveyors, derrick barges, plants for handling bunker and cargo coal and fuel oil; also for pumping and storing molasses. Vessels load directly to or from barges in midstream or at the wharves, or take lumber from rafts floated alongside. The city of Mo- bile owns and operates a wharf and steel transit shed 1500 feet in length, and there is abundant protected stor- age space at and near shipside, suit- able for many purposes in connection with shipping. Ample Ship Repair Facilities Mobile claims first rank among the Gulf ports in the matter of facili- ties for ship building and repairs. The Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Co. operates six dry docks with ca- pacities ranging from 200 tons to 10,000 tons; the Todd Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. Inc., has two dry docks, of 10,000 tons capacity each. The Henderson Shipbuilding Southern Dry Dock and building Co. and Murnan building Corp. operate one dock each and Harrison Brothers have roller ways for smaller vessels. There are also numerous. plants where launches and power boats are built and repaired. The ship repair facil- ities bring many vessels to the port from other countries and other ports on the Gulf and South Atlantic. Mobile harbor, five miles along Mo- bile river immediately above its en- trance into Mobile bay, is connected with the Gulf of Mexico by a channel 33 miles long, 30 feet deep and 300 feet wide. It is a land-locked, fresh water harbor, having a mean tidal variation of 1.1 feet. This brief description, together with what is known of the mild, semi-trop- ical climate, productive soil of sur- rounding fields, and numerous manu- factures, gives a fair impression of the port of Mobile as it is today. Forces are at work to double by 1928 the capacity of the port for han- Ship- Ship- Cos. dling world commerce, to provide man- ufacturing sites at shipside and rail- side, and to let the world know about the advantages of Mobile. As noted above the state of Ala- bama is now improving the port of Mobile by the construction of a ter- minal system to cost not exceeding $10,000,000, to which amount the is- suance of bonds under the credit of the state was authorized by the legis- lature and approved by the voters at a special election, for this purpose. Power and authority to carry out the plan of seaport development by and for the state was given to the J. L. BEDSOLE President, Chamber of Commerce state docks commission, created by act of the legislature. This ‘board, composed of three members, is ap- pointed by the governor, whose ap- proval is necessary in the issuance of docks securities and certain other important phases of the work. Recognition of the fact that produc- tion in Alabama and contiguous states August, 1926 was increasing, and that other ports were getting trade that rightfully be- longed to Mobile, by reason of its lo- cation and lines of transportation, led to the improvement of the Alabama seaport by the state, as an act of public necessity and good public pol- icy. Mobile’s facilities for the inter- change of freight between railroads and ocean carriers were controlled by the municipality, the railroads, pri- vate corporations and the federalized Waterways corporation. None of these owners was prepared to bring about the physical developments that ap- peared necessary or to advertise Mo- bile’s advantages as a shipping and manufacturing port. The Alabama seaport enabling act was adopted and approved in Septem- ber, 1923. The docks commission was finally organized several months later, by the appointment of Major Gen. William L. Sibert as chairman and chief engineer, with former Governor . ‘Charles Henderson, of Troy, Ala. and Frank G. Blair, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., as associate commissioner. One year after the passage of the act, General Sibert was able to report that the site for the port development had been selected and appraised for purchase, the general plan of construction had been completed, arrangements made for the removal of the Louisville & Nashville railroad’s main line tracks back about 2000 feet further from Mo- bile river bank, and contracts made for the purchase of a large portion of the site from the various owners. Site for Ocean Terminal The site selected, 560 acres, lay be- tween One-Mile creek and Three-Mile creek, with a frontage of 7000 feet on Mobile river, and extending west- ward to the right-of-way of the Southern railway. Though situated within the city limits, the tract re- mained practically unimproved and was largely covered with marsh grass and brush. This condition was due to the fact that the elevation was but SECTION OF* SHOWING TRANSIT $ ALABAMA STATE Mos