192

U.S. Engineer dept. Board of engineers for revers & harbors

WAR DEPARTMENT

CORPS OF ENGINEERS, U. S. ARMY

сор

SHORE CONTROL

AND

PORT ADMINISTRATION

INVESTIGATION OF THE STATUS OF
NATIONAL, STATE, AND MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
OVER PORT AFFAIRS

PART 1. Control of the Port, By Edmund Brown, Jr.
PART 2. Organization and Duties of Administrative
Bodies at Ports of the United States

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1923

N.S. Govt.
gr.
1-24-1924

WAR DEPARTMENT,

BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS,
Washington, D. C., September 22, 1922.

Subject: Shore control and port administration.
To: The Chief of Engineers, United States Army, Washington, D. C.
1. There is transmitted herewith a report, in two parts, on Shore
Control and Port Administration, which is an investigation of the
status of national, State, and municipal authority in port affairs.
Part I, prepared by Mr. Edmund Brown, jr., covers particularly the
legal phase of the matter, including the ownership and control of
water-front property. Part II deals with the organization and
duties of administrative bodies at the principal ports of the conti-
nental United States, Porto Rico, and the Hawaiian Islands; it has
been prepared from data submitted by district engineers.

2. It is well known that over a period of many years our ports were developed in a somewhat haphazard manner, without due regard to any comprehensive plans devised in the public interest. Instead of a logical development and coordination of port facilities to meet the needs of both through and local commerce, the improvements progressed under conditions favoring the segregation of the ports into separate districts. Valuable water-front sites which should have been reserved for the use of the public fell into the hands of individuals and corporations, rendering exceedingly difficult the task of establishing properly located and connected terminals.

3. The situation above described is one which has frequently come to the attention of the Corps of Engineers in its work of improving rivers and harbors, and its related study of water-terminal facilities. Since the remedies lie in a proper application of the powers of the Federal, State, and municipal governments, the Chief of Engineers directed the board to investigate the authority of these agencies over shore property and port affairs. It was learned that Mr. Edmund Brown, jr., then connected with the Federal Trade Commission and later a member of the faculty of the University of North Carolina, had made a careful study of the legal aspects of port control, and was preparing a treatise covering the results of his labors. Arrangements were made with Mr. Brown for the use of his material in connection with the detailed study of the organization and duties of port bodies. In view of the value of this information to the public,