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_ Thriving Seaport of | * General View of Classification and Storage Tracks, Slips and Warehouses Alabama State Docks, Mobile Where Rail Meets Ship for Interchange of Cargo SO OBILE is prepared to han- Bi dle every class and type mi of commerce that enters, or may be expected to en- ter, the ports of the Gulf, either from the interior of the North American continent or by ocean car- riers from other American ports or foreign countries. Mobile’s evolution from a cotton and lumber port to one for all classes and commodities, has been so rapid and complete that many shippers in this country and abroad hardly realize the advantages the Alabama seaport has to offer in their particular lines of trade. Additional steamships and lines in coastwise, intercoastal and foreign trade, new and extended rail connec- tions, including wider application of the joint rail and water rates of the inland waterways and rail lines to in- terior points, have followed closely the harbor and terminal improvements at Mobile. The forces that brought about these developments are still at work, so that further gains may be expected. The United States engineers main- tain a channel 300 feet wide and 30 ~The author, A. D. Spottswood, is assistant general manager of the Mobile chamber of com- merece. This article was prepared at the edi- tor’s request. By A. D. Spottswood feet deep at low tide, through Mobile harbor and bay, and 33 feet wide across Mobile bar. The channel dis- tance from the harbor to the Gulf is 31 miles. The harbor, proper, inside the mouth of Mobile river, is five miles long, about 900 feet wide, and is completely landlocked. The 30-foot channel continuously maintained from Mobile to the open sea is shown to be ample for the present needs of the port, though sur- veys have been authorized by con- gress which indicate that the next project for the port will include the deepening of the channel to a usable depth of 35 feet. Only 5 per cent of the improved harbors have - greater depth than 30 feet. Straight Well Marked Channel The straight, open and well marked channel enables steamers to proceed at good speed under their own steam to and from the wharves, day or night, and without delay because of the tides; the tidal variation in the lower bay being but 1.1 feet, and in the harbor, 1.4 feet. Pilotage is under control of the Ala- bama State Docks commission, the port authority, and is maintained on a highly efficient basis, and at reason- MARINE REVIEW—J uly, 1929 able rates, fixed by state law. The pilotage rates range from $2.50 per foot for vessels drawing 9 feet or under to $6 per foot for those draw- ing 80 feet or over. The city of Mobile was one of the first municipalities in this country to obtain control of an important portion of its harbor frontage and to build and operate rail and ocean terminals thereon. The Municipal wharf has a frontage of 1400 feet, near the prin- cipal business center of the city. On this wharf there is a steel transit shed, 1860 feet long and 100 feet wide, with concrete floor. Railroad tracks parallel the front and rear. A portion of the Municipal wharf has been leased to the Mississippi- Warrior barge line of the govern- ment-owned Inland Waterways Corp., and is used for storage and transfer of sound and river freights. River steamers, bay boats and ocean car- riers utilize the remainder of the berthing space. Terminals owned by the railroads along the Mobile front include four wharves and piers operated by the Mobile & Ohio railroad, two by the Southern railway and two by these allied lines, jointly. The Louisville & Nashville railroad owns and operates 47