OCR Text |
Show FINEST PORT IN WORLD IS THAT OF LIVERPOOL Doc! s of Stone Extend for S;vcn Miles Ships from Eve-y Land Constantly Loading and Unloading in the Spncicus Harbors Many Beautiful Buildings in the City, v (Special Correspondence.) Or.? of tho wonders of tho world of today nro tho docks and wonderful shlpplrg fncllltlcs of I Iverpcol. Asldo from London, tho chief port of Great Britain and tho second city In sizo !n Dnglnnd. It tnkes prccedcnco over all tho other ports, and lately has bo-como bo-como of more than usual Interest owing to Its being tho scene of the American Invasion Into England's snipping circles. Liverpool has a peculiarly fine situation situ-ation on tho banks of tho river Mersey, Mer-sey, three miles distant from tho open sen. Tho river, but a inllo In width, directly opposite tho city, expands ex-pands ns It goes farther Inland, forming form-ing a basin about threo miles wide. The largest Btcaraers can enter Its two channels In perfect safety, so deep Is the water. Tho tldo, which Is unusually un-usually great, has oftentimes a fall of 32 feet at certain pca3ons of Uio year. It 13 thlo which ha necessitated tho building of tho docks. Sixty docks flanking tho river for a dlstanco of over seven miles, nnd more building! No other port In tho world ran show such facilities as this. Kuch one is llko n mlnlnturo body of water In Itself, surrounded by massive mas-sive stone walls that cut each off from Its neighbor as completely as If they wero miles apnrt. Great gates of Iron open and shut to' keep out tho tide, working on tho samo prlnclplo as tho locks of a canal. Tho docks cover on area of 388 acres, and thero nro lu all twenty-six miles of quas. Tho masonry Is of tho finest workmnnshlp, nnd rising from tho water's edgo aro great stono warehouses In which aro stored tho cargoes unloaded from tho ships, Theso docks oro many of them In direct communication with tho railways, rail-ways, bo that tho goods may bo unloaded un-loaded from the ships almost Into tho cars thcmhelvcs. Tho Alexandra dock, which Is tho fillips to tho tops of tho cfov&tors, ftom which It Is empued Into 500 enormous duos, each ho.uing ncar,y 200 tors. Te docks nro ovned by tho city, and bring In a revenue of something i - a Castle Street and Town Hall. line $7,500,000 a year not a bad Investment In-vestment for a municipality. Those of the populace who pay dock dues oi illO per annum may voto at tho election of toe dock board, who control con-trol tho docks. Ships from all over tho globe, from Australia, India, China, Ceylon, Japan and America, and sailing vessels from every lmaglnablo port, from tho Cape of Good Hope to Alafftfa, nro docKcd at Liverpool. About 28,000 vessels put Into Liverpool annually, and tho tonnago of tho port aggregates aggre-gates about 25,000,000 tons every year. Tho city, not content with Its dock holdings, is buying ull tho land It can get nnd building slill moro docus, whllo several blocks near tho landing stage havo been undergoing tho clearing clear-ing process over since enrly last summer. sum-mer. A part of this cleared tract will bo utilized for moro dock space, somo for the building of now nnd vvldor streets; still moro of tho land will bo used for tho finest public baths In tho world, ..hlch will Include nn enormous Turkish bath, who-o tho people may batho and swim In first, second and third class pools, according accord-ing to tho state of their roBpoctlvo finances. Theso baths, which mo also owned by tho city, promise to 'oo another an-other good Investment. Liverpool Itself Is a delightful city, reminding ono much of American cities In many ways. It has somo lino public buildings nnd business blocks, and, notwithstanding that tho most dlro poverty In all England Is In tho district to tho north of tho city, It has a prosperous air, and a . i i Nelson Monument and Exchange. largest, Iiob an area of forty-four arres, and It Is hero that most of tho great grain-laden ships from America como. Enormous revolving belts carry tho grain, In unlondlng, under tho roadway and Into tho elevators, which are situated tuitio diHtnnco ono or two of them about n ipiarter of a mllo away fiom tho Inndlng. Many of theso elovntors, which aro built on mo Bamo plan as American olovators, nro equipped with American machinery. Ily meann of theso great hands and nn endless chain of deep hucketB the grntt is roii-led lu a steady r'am fn.m (he holds of thr hustle that makes ono comparo It with Now York. St. George's Hall, which occupies an Imposing position near tho center of tho city, Is tho finest exnmplo of Cor-Inthlnn Cor-Inthlnn architecture In tho kingdom, and, Bomo porsotiB Ba, In ull Kuropo, In it Is tho great organ, rnmed ns being ono of tho largest lu tho world. Twlco a week ono mny pay a six-ponco six-ponco nud drop In to tho rccltnl, which Is held for tho henoflt of tho public. The orpnn, which has 10S stops nnd cost $50,000, Is worked by a largo steam engine In a vault In tho basement |