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

December, 1915 per 100 pounds and via rail is 12 cents per 100 pounds. Grain moved all rail secures the benefit of through rates by ‘means of a milling-in-transit privilege, while grain arriving via water does not. The milling-in-transit privilege is granted in Buffalo for grain arriving via water and the result is that, so far as. the moving of grain to the east is con- cerned, we might just as well not be on the: lake... By. this. 1 do not mean that no grain moves through this port, be- cause at times of congestion at other ports it does. We are, however, pre- vented from building up a milling cen- ter by the absence of the privilege named”. Toronto believes that shippers do not sufficiently appreciate the ad- vantages derived for the transportation of merchandise by water as compared by rail during the navigation season of the year. The question whether the several local governments extend sufficient aid towards carrying out ‘necessary harbor improvements was almost uniformly answered in the affirmative. The muntti- cipal authorities are apparently satisfied with the part they are playing in pro- moting lake commerce. The fact that every lake port 1s grappling with unsolved problems and crying loudly for imperatively necessary improvements would indicate, at least, that there is an inconsistency between statement and actual condition. It is true that the several municipalities are engaged in meeting recognized needs. But it is equally. true that these needs were slow in receiving recognition, and that there has been an absence of timely anticipation of future needs. It has developed that municipalities have not always been backed by a wholesome public sentiment in recogniz- ing immediate and prospective harbor requirements, that the official machinery has frequently been hampered with in- efficiency, that the process for obtain- ing appropriations is often times cum- bersome and slow, and that the admin- istrative arm is not always vigorous and expeditious. The modern municipality has many legitimate demands upon its treasury. But, it does not always distinguish be- tween the necessary and the merely de- sirable; between the things that make for material progress: and those that cater to the pleasure side of life. They fail to recognize that a row of busi- ness blocks, a group of factories, a train of freight cars and a fleet of ships precede a park, a boulevard, a monu- ment, or a zoological garden; that one must earn the cost of the other, and that government, be it local or national, must encourage commerce, trade and industry as well as foster the civic and cultural activities of a people. Then, too, it must be admitted that there has been a tendency on the part THE MARINE REVIEW of lake cities to rely more largely upon federal government aid than upon their own initiative. The public does not always realize that government action is predicated or contingent upon actual or probable commercial needs and a re- ciprocal compliance on the part of the municipalities with certain conditions. At most lake ports the intermediary between the city government and the United States engineers consists either of the municipal authorities or the local commercial organization. The commis- sioners of public works or aldermanic. committees, or sometimes committees representing commercial bodies serve as the connecting link between the local and national governments. The local records and data covering the history of the .port commerce and of harbor con- ditions are frequently kept in a frag- mentary and disconnected manner. The factors, therefore, that serve as the intermediaries between local and national governimeent _ are 3 sometimes transitory in, authority, unfamiliar with the’ history the ldcal’ harbor condi- tions and -xperiended in what consti- tute® the most utilitarian improvements. There sis frequently a “hazy “conception as to where local government obligation begins and where federal government obligation ends. Thus, if the harbors on the Great Lakes are not developed to the highest possibilities of useful service it is, in part at least, due to dis- connected and spasmodic effort on the part of local authorities. Deductions and Conclusions « The problems of the Great Lakes, physical, administrative and economic, must find their ultimate solution in the realization of the following factors and conditions : First-——Public sentiment in port cities should stand ready to render adequate financial support to-all needed harbor improvements.. The demands of local government are in many instances mani- fold and pressing. Harbor needs are frequently minimized, inadequately urged and not accorded the popular recogni- tion they deserve. Second.—The deepening, widening and straightening of inner harbors, rivers and channels to accommodate a modern lake commerce is necessary. The ac- complishment of these improvements should be urged upon broad and liberal lines recognizing the reciprocal relations between port cities as well as mutuality of interest, and the material gain ultimately to be derived for the locality as well as the nation at large. Third.—Terminal facilities that will provide conveniently accessible docking and the expeditious discharge of car- goes are required. If water transporta- tion is to be developed to its highest possibilities it must be provided with conditions that observe economy of time, port. their. 459 effort and substance. Terminal facili- ties are as essential to water transpor- tation as they are to land transporta- tion. Fourth—Commercial enterprise should awake to an appreciation of the ad- vantages of water transportation and avail itself to the fullest extent of its services. It is within the possibilities of water route shipping to accommodate a large variety of commodities as well as a great tonnage. The economies to be achieved must primarily come into greater recognition at the hands of the shipper. Fifth—Such governmental regulation as will adjust the rates for both land and water borne commerce, eliminate discrimination, and ensure a _reasonable compensation for the service rendered should be urged. There should be de- veloped a better co-ordination between land and water traffic in order that the Great Lakes may serve the commerce of the nation most advantageously. Sixth—It is essential to have an in- termediary between local and _ national government that is alert, energetic and efficient. Such intermediary should not be exposed to local administrative changes and upheavals, but should con- sist of a body of men chosen because of their character as citizens and their knowledge of harbor affairs, with rea- sonable tenure of office or continuity of service. The accomplishment of the objects and purposes here enumerated involves the dissemination of intelligence which must be extended to all port cities. Not only must each municipality be brought to the realization that it must bring ‘s own port up to the highest stage of efficiency, but that each port is .con- cerned in the efficiency of every other If the inadequacy of one port re- duces the lake tonnage by one caro then some other port is surely affected. A shipping port necessarily means a re- ceiving port. Thus, the interests of the port cities are mutual and reciprocal. The Great Lakes Waterways Conference should become a great educational force that can send its message into every popula- tion center, arouse an appreciation of the services rendered by the Great Lakes. to the economic welfare of the nation, send light and instruction into every port city, and awaken a high sense of duty in developing one of nature’s most marvellous waterways to the high- est service of man. San Francisco news dispatches state that the Alaska Steamship Co. paid the Union Iron Works $325,000 for the steamer Kansas City, which is to be placed in service between Puget Sound and Alaska. The vessel formerly be- longed to the San Francisco & Port- land Steamship Co.