The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

December, 1915 port, and the first large enterprise was the construction of a most mod- ern cotton warehouse. In the latter Part of July, 1914, Ford, Bacon. & Davis submitted a number of designs for this development, one of which was selected, and the plan has been executed under their designs. It is a part of a comprehensive plan which may be enlarged in storage capacity, terminal trackage and wharf space. It is designed so that minimum insur- ance rate on buildings and contents can be obtained and is arranged to enable the plant to be operated at maximum earning capacity, and after providing the best possible facilities for receiving, storing and cotton, also provides for the storage, in any vacant capacity, of coffee, rice, jute, sisal and other standard package commodities. Special facilities have been provided to permit of the re- ceipt and chandling of cotton and other commodities from vessels and their transfer to freight cars, adapt- ing the plant to two-way operation and arrangements have been made so that flat, as well as compressed cot- ton may be handled and stored eco- nomically, so as to be adapted to the present methods of inspecting, weighing and classing of cotton, as well as to the proposed methods. and to Handle “Hactors’ cotton, “F..-O. B.” cotton and “Through” cotton with equal efficiency. Cotton Warehouse Before accepting the general de- signs of the engineers, we considered the latest types of construction in the United States and abroad, and cured the approval of the New Or- leans Cotton Exchange to plans which embodied the latest successful devel- opment. There will be yard trackage for about 2,000 cars and the plant will be capable of handling between 2,000,- 000 and 2,500,000 bales of cotton per annum. Within the terminal there will be nearly five miles of overhead and floor level concrete runways for the accommodation of electrically op- erated trucks or trains for conveying cotton through the plant. Within the - compartments there will be electric cranes and specially invented appli- ances for pulling, pushing and grap- pling, which are truly remarkable in the extent to which they render service exceeding any device previ- ously employed. The magnitude of this warehouse could be best appreciated when I tell you that it required approximately 20 acres of roofing to cover its roofs; close to 10,000 tons of steel will enter into its construction; more than 20 miles of rail will be needed to serve it. And, if the walls were to be ex- shipping THE MARINE REVIEW tended from end to end, they would reach 5% miles, 45 feet high. The terminal buildings cover an area of approximately 50 acres, but including the trackage adjacent to the plant, the total area covered is ap- proximately 100 acres. The wharves are two-story, reinforced concrete, 2,000 feet in length and 180 feet in width. The lower story is 16 feet 8 inches and the upper story 15 feet 8 inches in height. The warehouses are six in number, and, with the wharf sheds, have a normal capacity of more than 450,000 bales, with an emergency capacity of 600,000 bales. The estimated cost per bale ca- pacity for multiple story construc- SC Civil Service To select efficient employes and protect them in their positions, with- out influence or favor from political sources, a civil service law was rec- ommended to the legislature and passed at a recent session. This law creates a board of examiners, - appointees of the governor of the state, one to be nominated to the governor by the Cotton Exchange, one by the Board of Trade, and one by the Board of Port Commis- sioners. This board of examiners holds competitive: examinations for all positions paying over $75 per month, except as to samplers, wetighers and inspectors of cotton, who are employed only when rec- ommended by the Cotton Exchange. The board of examiners certifies to the port commissioners the names of three men who have satisfactori- ly taken the examination, and we then select a qualified applicant from this certified list. There ts a pro- bationary period of four months, after which time the employe, over $75 in salary, is not removable ex- cept on serious charges proved be- fore the commissioners. tions was- more than $10, depending upon the type of construction used and the insurance requirements in relation to the construction. Through the design of warehouses adopted by the Board of Commissioners, elimi- nating the floors in the multiple story design, and so among other items eliminating expensive foundations and by tiering the cotton from 10 to 20 bales high, the cost of the construc- tion is reduced to approximately $4 per bale capacity. At least $1,500,000 has been saved in the present devel- opment in the adoption and making practicable of the high tiering plan of storage rather than the multiple story type of storage in use else- tically 445, where, particularly in New England and abroad. The elimination of floors allows the weight of the contents of the building to rest upon the ground, making special foundations unneces- sary. This completed plant gives New Orleans a most modern warehouse system adapted to storage, handling and shipping of agricultural commodi- ties. It is estimated that the reduc- tion in the cost of handling and storage of cotton through the opera- tion of these warehouses and _ter- minal, compared with past costs, will amount to approximately 40 per cent, and the rates of insurance will be reduced to approximately one-fourth of the expense heretofore. The owner of cotton stored in this warehouse may deliver to any ship, any railroad or any boat under prac- ideal conditions. Storers of cotton will receive warehouse receipts issued by an agency of the State of Louisiana, carrying with them the moral obligation of. the State, of Louisiana, which will make these re- ceipts collateral security in any part of the civilized world. Grain Elevator During the year ended June 30, 1915, the volume of grain handled at the port of New .Orleans was over 50,000,000 bushels, and, during a part of this year, railroad-owned elevators were unable to satisfactorily handle the trafic. While these elevators are open to all railroads, the terms and conditions of service to certain roads. have been unsatisfactory and have prevented them from developing a business in grain, correspondingly re- ducing the total volume of grain that might otherwise have been shipped through the port. These conditions were investigated by the Board of Trade, which brought the matter to the consideration of the port com- missioners, with recommendations looking to a publicly owned elevator to be located on the New Orleans public belt railroad, where it would be open to use, upon equal terms, by all railroads entering the city. the Board of Commissioners, after due consideration, and after securing a report upon the matter from their: engineers, proceeded to finance the construction of such an elevator, issu- ing $1,250,000 of bonds for this pur- pose. The Board of Commissioners then instructed their engineers to pre- pare plans and specifications for an elevator of a storage capacity of about 1,000,000 bushels and requested the Board of Trade to appoint a com- mittee to confer with the Board and its engineers so that, in the design of the elevator, all conditions relative