New York taken on the 7th instant, with reference to the foreign service of the Government, which action, I assure you, is keenly appreciated by this Department. Very sincerely yours, (Signed) HUNTINGTON WILSON, Acting Secretary of State. Mr. SERENO S. PRATT, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York. DEEPENING OF EAST RIVER. EUGENIUS H. OUTERBRIDGE, Chairman of the Committee on the Harbor and Shipping, presented the following preamble and resolutions, and they were unanimously carried. To the Chamber of Commerce: On the 17th of February last a public hearing was called at the Aldermanic Chamber by the New York State Harbor Commission, at which there was presented a report by Col. W. M. BLACK of the Corps of United States Army Engineers in charge of the New York District, of Surveys and Soundings, with plans and estimates for deepening the channels in the East River, lessening the currents, removing obstructions, and improving the approaches to piers and the shore. with the view of very greatly improving and increasing the harbor facilities on the east side of Manhattan, in Brooklyn and the Bronx, and the approach from Long Island Sound. This hearing was attended by representatives of many commercial bodies in New York, including representatives of this Chamber, who were unanimous in approval of the plans presented by Col. BLACK as above enumerated. The estimates for the entire work amounted to the sum of $32,500,000, and it was resolved by all the representatives at that hearing that Congress should be memorialized to appropriate the funds for this work. A Bill, H. R. 21531, was introduced in the House of Representatives on March 8th, by Mr. AYRES, calling for an appropriation of $32,533,501. As this work would be of vast benefit to the trade and commerce of the port, statistics having been furnished by the Department of Docks indicating that in 1910 a total of 45,331,216 tons had been handled in these waters, and would, when completed, contribute greatly to the relief of congestion on the North River as well as make possible the development of a large area not at present used, which would tend to increase the value and importance of the water borne commerce of the port; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York approves the report and recommendations of the Board of Army Engineers, and of Bill H. R. 21531 proposing an appropriation to accomplish the desired ends, and urges the Committee on Rivers and Harbors to favorably report and Congress to pass this measure; Resolved, That copies of this resolution be sent to the President of the United States, to the Chairmen of the respective committees in the Senate and the House, to the Speaker, the President of the Senate and to the Board of Army Engineers at Washington. E. H. OUTERBRIDGE, E. E. OLCOTT, R. A. C. SMITH, CHESTER B. LAWRENCE. NEW YORK, April 2, 1912. Of the Committee on the Harbor and Shipping. NORTH RIVER PIER EXTENSIONS. Mr. OUTERBRIDGE, on behalf of the same committee also presented the following report and moved its adoption: To the Chamber of Commerce: Your Committee on the Harbor and Shipping has had called to its attention by the Chairman of the State Harbor Commission certain correspondence which has just issued from the United States Engineer Corps District No. 1 addressed to the International Mercantile Marine Company, in which the government engineers rehearse the conditions under which a permit was granted for temporary extensions to the outer end of two piers in the Chelsea district. After pointing out the conditions under which this temporary privilege was granted, the letter goes on to state "Since it is known that considerable time is required for the construction of piers suitable for the use of vessels of the class in question, and since one year and more has elapsed since the permit was granted, a period of nearly half of the total time. granted for the life of the temporary extensions to piers 59 and 60, I have the honor to inquire what steps have been taken by you toward providing permanent accommodations for your vessels." The Steamship Company in their reply referred to the willingness of the Governors of the States of New York and New Jersey to appoint a commission to investigate where and how suitable terminals could be arranged for on the Island of Manhattan, that these commissioners were promptly appointed and had been actively employed in investigating the conditions and in studying the whole situation, with the view of making their recommendations at as early a date as possible, and concluded by stating 66 We consider that there is nothing that we can do except to await the decision of the commissioners of the State of New York. We are, however, forwarding to these gentlemen a copy of your letter and of our reply thereto and urging upon them the necessity of prompt action on this vitally important question to the future of the Port of New York and those interested therein." It is apparent to your committee, and we believe would be admitted by the State Commission, that they are unavoidably much hampered in arriving at their conclusions, and in determining upon definite recommendations by the delay of the city authorities in reaching a decision as to various collateral questions, such as the determination whether there shall be a marginal freight railway or not, and other points touched upon in the report of your committee, at present lying on the table and under discussion with the joint committee of the Board of Estimate. Your committee is mindful of the fact that it is imperative that prompt decisions as to the policy to be followed in some of these points should be reached in order to facilitate and permit a prompt conclusion of the work undertaken by the State Commission, and important plans promulgated by the Dock Department, but this communication from the War Department again emphasizes the strictly temporary nature of the permission granted for two pier extensions and the certainty of its termination unless the city has shown a definite intention to find other means to provide the necessary piers for the large ships. Until such time as a more comprehensive plan has been agreed upon by all parties in interest which would provide for the growing necessities of the ocean lines for a long time to come, and as the execution of such plans, when adopted, must from their very nature require a considerable time to effect, your committee feels it imperative to call the attention of the Chamber to the opportunity which now exists and which lies entirely within the power of the City Government, to place the Department of Docks in a position to provide at least two piers of sufficient length to accommodate the longest steamers now building. The Legislature has just passed an Enabling Act empowering the Board of Commissioners of the Sinking Fund of the City to relocate West Washington Market, and when so relocated to set aside and assign to the Department of Docks and Ferries the property on the Hudson River now occupied by that market, and the Commissioner of Docks has stated that this is the only point at which the necessary piers can be promptly provided without interfering with the features of other plans relating to freight collection and distribution, as to which a definite decision has not yet been reached by the city. Your committee therefore offers the following preamble and resolution: Whereas, It is of imperative necessity that some piers approximat ing 1,000 feet in length should be provided as quickly as they can be constructed for the accommodation of steamers now building, and Whereas, The Commissioners of the Sinking Fund have been empowered by the Legislature to provide the location necessary to permit of at least two such piers being promptly constructed; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York urges the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund to act as promptly as possible under the Enabling Act to provide some other convenient location for West Washington Market so as to place the present property under the jurisdiction of the Dock Department, in order that the construction of the two long piers possible at this point may be begun at the earliest possible moment, and that a copy of this report and accompanying preamble and resolutions be sent to the Mayor, the President of the Borough of Manhattan and the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund of the City of New York. Respectfully submitted, E. H. OUTERBRIDGE, Chairman, E. E. OLCOTT, R. A. C. SMITH, CHESTER B. LAWRENCE. Of the Committee on the Harbor and Shipping. A motion to adopt the report was put and unanimously carried. COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION. CHARLES L. Bernheimer, Chairman of the Committee on Arbitration, presented the following report, and moved that it be received and placed on file: To the Chamber of Commerce : Having been elected in March 1911 and sworn in by Justice VERNON M. DAVIS of the Supreme Court at the June meeting of the Chamber, your Committee on Arbitration begs leave to submit the following report covering its work during the first year of this new method of settling mercantile disputes: Its activities have necessarily concentrated upon a systematic campaign of publicity, in order that the business men of the city and the country might learn of the scope and purpose of this system of substituting inexpensive, speedy and impartial arbitration for expensive and protracted litigation, in cases of such differences between persons and corporations engaged in business as involve questions of fact rather than of law. Its publicity work has included the following: 1. The publication of a pamphlet containing a description and explanation of the system, the rules and regulations, a handbook for arbitrators, the state law of arbitration and other matter of interest. Copies of this pamphlet have been widely distributed to the 1,500 members of the Chamber, the 2,000 members of the Bar Association and to important organizations in many sections of the world. Applications for copies have been received from a number of the states of this country and even from foreign governments. 2. The attention of leading newspapers and other publications has been directed to the action of the Chamber in establishing this system; and hundreds of commendatory articles and editorials have been printed. Many of the most influential dailies and weeklies, and some of the most prominent monthlies have devoted much space to it. Without exception the action of the Chamber in the establishment of mercantile arbitration has been warmly commended as a step in the right direction. 3. An extensive correspondence has been carried on with the view of making the arbitration system better known and its methods better understood. This correspondence has brought to the committee scores of letters from individuals and organizations all disclosing a keen interest in, and appreciation of, the Chamber's undertaking. The American Consul General in Berlin writes that the project has been given publicity in Germany and as it has excited a considerable interest there, he desires further information. Very gratifying was the response which came from lawyers in reply to the Chamber's letters transmitting copies of the book of arbitration. These expressions of legal opinion have been in strong approval of the Chamber's plan. A typical letter is the following from Supreme Court Justice HOTCHKISS: 66 SUPREME COURT. JUDGES CHAMBERS. NEW YORK, March 5, 1912. "SERENO S. PRATT, Esq., 65 Liberty Street, MY DEAR SIR: "Please accept my thanks for your letter of the twenty-eighth, accompanying which was the Book on Arbitration which I have read with interest. The idea is an excellent one, and ought to be of great practical advantage to merchants having differences depending largely upon questions of fact rather than questions of law. Very truly yours, (Signed) H. D. HOTCHKISS." |