The_Open_Door_deel1

CHAPTER 12
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TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION: 1900 - 1979
I. TRANSPORTATION
The development of a physical infrastructure in Liberia (roads,
railroads, sea and air ports) is impeded by natural obstacles.
There is a dangerous surf along the coast of Liberia, and in the
absence of a deep-water port all loading and unloading of cargo,
as well as the embarking and disembarking of persons
traditionally took place with the aid of surfboats. These boats,
which were rowed by native people, bridged the distance between
the larger vessels anchored a few hundred yards off-shore, and
the mainland. The coastal mangrove swamps and the tropical
rainforests further inland make road construction difficult.
Moreover, the equatorial climate with its extremely heavy
rainfall render the soils of Liberia - and of other West African
countries - quite unsuitable for road building. These
climatological and environmental obstacles, combined with the
lack of capital and technical know-how characteristic of the
settler population, explain why in the beginning of the present
century there were no roads, railroads or sea ports in Liberia,
It would not be fair to say that the Liberian Government had
never attempted to change this situation. At the end of the
nineteenth century, however, two attempts to have a railroad
constructed by a U.S. concessionaire had failed (1889, 1894) (1),
Further attempts also f : ailed. In 1913 a German firm had obtained
a concession for the ;&onstruction of a railroad, but this
concession never materialized either (2). The following year the
Liberian Legislature authorized the Government to enter into
negotiations with an American investor who had plans for the
construction of a railroad to the Anglo-Liberian border through
Montserrado County (3). As stated before, in 1914 the Government
had given the Excelsior Mining Company the rights to construct
a railway in Maryland County, a pier or wharves at Cape Palmas,
and communication facilities (Chapter 6).
The U.S. Government had more than once shown interest in having a
.coaling station on this portion of the West African coast, but
nothing came of it (4)» Hence there was no port suitable for
larger vessels and all loading and unloading continued to take
place with the aid of surfboats.
When in 1919 a large crate, mistakenly labelled "Liberia", was
safely brought ashore and, to the surprise of all bystanders,
proved"to contain a Model T Ford - originally intended for an
agent of a British trading firm in Nigeria - the mistake of a
shipping clerk in the U.S.A., where the crate had come from,
accidentally started Liberia's history of modern transportation.
The representative of the receiving company in Liberia knew that
the risks involved in sending the crate back through the breakers