The West Side Improvement and Its Relation to All of the Commerce of the Port of New York (Classic Reprint)
(Excerpt from The West Side Improvement and Its Relation t...)
Excerpt from The West Side Improvement and Its Relation to All of the Commerce of the Port of New York
The upland back of the Manhattan piers has been developed by the building of a marginal way, 180 feet in width and a public street known as West street, 70 feet in width, making the entire available street and bulkhead area back of the piers 250 feet in width. It has been the practice to permit the construction of bulk head sheds upon the outshore fifty feet of the marginalway, and it is in these bulkhead sheds and in the sheds covering the piers that the entire Manhattan freight business of the majority of the New Jersey railroads is carried on. In addition to the actual transshipment of freight through these sheds, the practice of allowing a certain amount of free storage time has made it neces sary to use a very large portion of the shedded area for warehouse purposes. Careful studies of the freight movement at Manhattan piers showed that practically all of the incoming business is handled in between two and three hours in the morning, and that the outgoing business occupies a similar period in the late afternoon. At least two thousand cars per day are handled in and out of these Manhattan waterside stations.
The necessity for dispatching the business within very limited periods of high congestion morning and evening, combined with the cramped conditions under which freight is handled over the piers and through the bulkhead sheds, has produced a condition which places a most serious burden upon the shippers of the City. West street and the marginal way are at times crowded with trucks to a point where it is impossible to reach the freight stations without intolerable and expensive de lays. Testimony which appears entirely reliable has been taken by a number of commissions which have ih vestigated the subject to the effect that several hours delay in waiting for a chance to receive or deliver freight is no uncommon occurrence, and that the actual cost to the New York shipper of getting freight to and from the waterside stations is frequently equal to or in excess of rail service as far west as Buffalo.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Robert Alexander C. Smith a promoter, capitalist, and dock commissioner in New York City.
Background
Robert was born on February 22, 1857 in Dover, England, United Kingdom, the son of Gilbert and Emily Smith. His father was chief engineer of the Compania Transatlantica, a steamship line operating between Spain and Cuba. From his second to his thirteenth year, Robert lived in Cadiz.
Education
He completed his education at Folkestone and London.
Career
In 1874, he came to New York. His knowledge of Spanish led him into the employ of Lyles & Gilson, who specialized in selling railroad supplies to Latin America, and for a time he was the firm's representative in Havana. Cuba was the principal scene of Smith's activity for many years. Becoming a sort of contact man for the Ward Line and other American business interests, he was particularly active in railroads and shipping.
In association with Henry G. Runkle, he is credited with the chief initiative in introducing gas, electric, and water systems to Havana. It is said that he and one J. J. McCook once formed a syndicate to free Cuba by purchase.
During the Spanish-American War, he assisted with transport and shipping, having particular charge of the evacuation of Spanish prisoners. That same year, he organized and became head of the American Indies Company, a public utilities organization, and the American Mail Steamship Company, which secured a lucrative mail contract and soon leased its ships to the United Fruit Company.
His financial activities were not limited to Cuba, however. In 1895, with Morgan backing, he and Alden M. Young formed the Gas Supply Company, later the Connecticut Railway & Lighting Company, which secured control of some fourteen separate lighting and traction companies in that state. His interests also included sugar, coal, realty, and banking corporations and he was chairman of the board of the White Rock Mineral Springs Company.
Because of his knowledge of shipping problems he was appointed chairman of a state commission "to investigate port conditions and pier extension in New York Harbor, " and in 1913, before the publication of his report, he was made commissioner of docks and ferries of New York City. New York at the time was challenging London, Liverpool, and Hamburg for first place among world seaports. After the outbreak of the World War in 1914, it held a secure primacy.
Smith wrote several vigorous pamphlets on various aspects of port problems. Among these were: Commission to Investigate Port Conditions in New York Harbor. A Tabulation of Facts (1915); New York's Progress in Port Problems (1915) and others. He was influential in calling attention to the needs which in 1921 led to the creation of the Port of New York authority.
Retiring as commissioner in 1917, he continued to serve as director in various corporations. After a period of ill health, he sailed for England but died on board the Majestic just after the vessel's arrival at Southampton.