104

WAREHOUSES  IN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES.

useful  hints  may  be  gleaned  from  the  experience  of  a  municipality
which  is  in  sole  control  of  a  water  front  involving  a  capital  expenditure ­
  of  millions,  and  an  annual  turnover  of  large  sums.
WAREHOUSES  FOR  FREE  GOODS.
The  city  has  its  own  transit  sheds  and  its  warehouses  for  the
storage  of  free  goods.  I  send  inclosed  a  list 0  of  these  sheds  and
warehouses  with  their  area  and  cost  of  construction  in  perhaps
unnecessary  detail;  but  it  is  intended  to  show  that  the  city  has  found
it  desirable  to  split  up  this  warehouse  accommodation.  It  has  carried
out  the  principle  that  its  storage  buildings  should  be  so  placed  as  to
receive  goods  direct  from  ship.  The  saving  of  one  handling  thus
effected  has  been  the  principal  reason  no  doubt  that  warehouses  in
private  ownership  for  nondurable  goods  have  been  to  a  large  extent
superseded.
Grain  and  general  merchandise  are  stored  in  these  warehouses.  At
them  the  city  is,  in  fact,  prepared  to  handle  almost  any  sort  of  a  cargo
from  the  moment  that  the  ship  breaks  bulk  up  to  the  time  of  its  final
disappearance  from  the  docks.
Charges  on  unbonded  general  goods  vary  widely. 6  The  quay  rate,
which  comprises  charges  for  landing  from  ship’s  rail,  sorting  on  quay
when  required,  and  delivering  to  railway  trucks,  including  landing
accounts,  varies  from  44  cents  to  $1.33  per  ton,  delivery  to  craft  alongside ­
  costing  6  cents  per  ton  extra.  The  warehouse  rate  comprises
landing  from  ship’s  rail,  sorting  when  required,  housing,  unpiling,
and  delivery  to  trucks,  including  landing  accounts,  and  varies  from
61  cents  to  $1.39  per  ton,  delivery  from  warehouse  to  craft  alongside,
12  cents  per  ton  extra.  For  the  storage  of  goods  in  the  warehouses  the
rent  per  week  varies  from  3  to  12  cents  per  ton.  Weighing  on  delivery, ­
  when  required,  14  cents  per  ton.  These  charges  must  be  paid  by
the  person  giving  the  order  for  the  work  or  clearing  the  goods.
The  charges  and  rent  on  barley,  oats,  durra,  and  millet  in  bulk  per
100  bushels  are:  From  ship  to  craft,  70  cents;  from  ship  to  truck,  80
cents;  warehouse  rate,  $1.50;  rent  per  week,  G  cents  ;  on  wheat,  maize,
beans,  peas,  and  rye  the  charges  are:  From  ship  to  craft,  74  cents;
from  ship  to  truck,  84  cents;  warehouse  rate,  $1.64;  rent  per  week,  8
cents;  the  charge  for  turning  in  warehouse  is  14  cents  per  100  bushels;
for  screening,  68  cents  per  100  bushels  ;  for  weighing  over,  54  cents  per
100  bushels;  for  cutting  and  starting  bags  (merchant’s  proportion  of
work)  in  ship’s  hold  (including  bundling  and  delivering),  24  cents
per  100  bushels.
The  ship  to  craft  rate  includes  metering,  filling  sacks  in  the
hold  of  vessel,  weighing,  and  delivery  to  rail  of  craft  alongside  vessel ­
  discharging.  The  ship  to  truck  rate  includes  metering,  filling
«This  list  is  on  file  in  the  Bureau  of  Statistics.  It  shows  4G  different  sheds
with  an  area  of  104.133  square  yards,  erected  at  an  approximate  cost  of
$1,125,000,  which  cost  includes  that  of  30,994  square  yards  of  covered  way,  not
included  in  the  area  of  the  sheds.  Some  of  these  sheds  are  built  three  stories
high,  and  many  have  two  floors.  There  are,  besides,  one  six-story  warehouse  of
0,414  square  yards  area  and  costing  $65,000,  and  three  granaries  with  an  aggregate ­
  area  of  over  51,000  square  yards  and  costing  over  $800,000.
&  Table  of  charges  on  general  goods  is  on  file  in  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Department ­
  of  Commerce  and  Labor.