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January, 1927 Pes BROT am > MARINE REVI Ew 51 NEW ORLEANS—AT LEFT—DOCK BOARD’S PUBLIC COAL AND BULK COMMODITY HANDLING PLANT—AT RIGHT— PUBLIC GRAIN ELEVATOR OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE PORT port of New Orleans, acting as an agency of the state of Louisiana, took over the administration of the port from the city, is a succession of tri- umphs in the cause of advancement and progress. In the period from 1718 to 1901 such growth as the port enjoyed was the result of no intelligently directed effort. It may be said to have been a development through the accident of geographical location; and _ such position as New Orleans then occu- pied among the ports of the world grew out of no effort of her own. When the first board of commis- sioners of the port of New Orleans took over the administration of the port from the city of New Orleans in 1901, it found the public wharves in a poor state of repair. There were no public wharf sheds. The _ road- ways were either not paved or very poorly paved; and the property as a whole was in anything but good order. The first board was without funds and without authority to issue bonds or to borrow money. Authority to Issue Bonds It boldly reduced the existing sched- ule of port charges and within a few months began the reconstruction of the wharves. Within about a year it constructed the first steel shed over a new wharf. The demands for better wharves and for sheds _ nat- urally followed rapidly, and as the board was not in possession of funds in sufficient amount to provide these facilities, and had no authority to issue bonds, the steamship companies volunteered to loan the necessary amounts to the board for the develop- ment of their respective berthing places, without interest, refund. to be made out of a percentage agreed upon of the port charges collected from the steamship companies using these facilities. In 1908, before the None had pro- gressed very far with construction under these arrangements, it sought and obtained authority to issue bonds out of the proceeds of which it re- paid the loans from the steamship companies; rapidly carried forward LOOKING DOWN STREAM SHOWING DOCK BOARD’S COAL TIPPLE IN THE FOREGROUND AND IN THE CENTER THE PUBLIC GRAIN ELEVATOR AND COTTON WAREHOUSE OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE PORT OF NEW ORLEANS