Show biggest state undertaking that was ever attempted general public now reopens for vast stores of goods include ng 56 miles of wine casks and 45 worth of tobacco london ben the clocks struck 12 at mian the london docks passed out of the hands of the companies camp anies which had previously owned them london and india surrey commer cial and Mill wall and became public property to be administered in the public interest by the new port of london authority iso similar transfer of such magal tude has ever taken place before the docks are the biggest enterprise that has been socialized so tar no such vast undertaking has hitherto become a state undertaking the price paid to the various shareholders amounts to the effect of the transfer will be felt all over the world considering the magnitude of the interests involved it seemed only na tural to suppose anat as the fateful hour struck there would be some tor mal handing over of authority some ceremonial befitting the great occa As a matter of hard cold tact nothing took place at all at midnight the dock house instead of being brightly lighted and full of activity was dark and still leaden hall street had its usual quiet nocturnal appearance all the officials old nd new were tar away tucked up snugly in bed the hour struck on a number of neighboring church clocks there was nothing whatever to show that the morning was different from any other morning or that a new era had begun in the h story of london in the corn merce between great britain and the rest of the globe that is the way of business men they have no time or theatricality they make arrange ments for matters to go on a bus nes way and have no use for or mality or ceremonial mr Phillp son the new temporary secretary was at the dock house and to take charge of the offices and at fairs but he said emphatically nothing will happen to mark the oc casion nothing at all there is something fine and quite as impressive to the imaginative mind as a ceremony in this unemotional his severely businesslike way of ef acting so tremendous a transfer all jie 1 acres of immensely valuable and and the acres of water and the acres of warehouse flooring landed over aitho it a word all the vast stores of goods in the warehouses the 56 miles of wine casks the 45 worth of the wool the wheat the ivory the spices the rubber the feathers worth in one room alone the tea he silks the carpets and all the in numerable other wares which the branes are hauling in and out of chips holds every day for tl ese the dock compan es are no longer responsible their sov is over the port authority meets and beg ns its reign but still there was no formality foi mality the work of the offices and the work at the docks was on just the same as usual there was nothing tor the moment to show the public that any change has been made before long however there Is ground or hope that the change will be apparent to ever body the au will beg n to discuss the im provement pro of the dock accommodation and the construction or a new dock capable of admitting the huge vessels which have revolutionized the ship ping under sir hudson kearley s able gu dance the carefully chosen managers will approach appi in a sive spirit the task before them that of making london which is still the greatest in point of commerce the best equipped port in the world |