The photographs in the newspaper story are too murky to reproduce, but they show walls practically covered with paintings and framed photographs. One of these, apparently, was of Benjamin Shaw, a Portland real estate broker. Though never a member of the Society, Shaw was fondly remembered for his 1905 bequest to it of $2,677, most of it in water company bonds. Regarding the Society’s charitable activities, the story noted that "in the 100 years of the society’s existence, it has paid out in charity $60,000 so quietly that the general public knew nothing of the good work being done." At the time of the article there were sixteen individuals, widows and orphans receiving financial aid. The article concluded that "the society is in a healthy condition and is likely to continue to carry on the good work that it has done for more than a hundred years."
In fact, however, the Society was about to embark on a rather difficult period of considerable attrition, as from 1915 through 1930 no new members were admitted and by 1931 when the USS Constitution visited Portland there is no record of the Portland Marine Society’s having been involved in the festivities. It does not appear that there was any formal restriction written into the by-laws restricting life membership to masters or former masters of sailing vessels, but at the 16 September 1913 quarterly meeting Captain J. E. Farr raised the question of whether the master of a steamer was eligible. Apparently there was a lengthy debate over this but at last it was brought to a vote and decided that if a candidate had formerly commanded sailing vessels, he might be admitted. As Marine Society historian Captain Howard Wentworth remarked dryly some years ago, "The.. .members at that time were very late indeed in admitting the existence of steam vessels."
Apart from the decline of the American merchant marine generally, which meant that the Port of Portland’s traffic was largely foreign flag ships, Portland had been losing ground to its Canadian competition. Early in the century, while St. John, New Brunswick poured three quarters of a million dollars into harbor improvements, Portland essentially did nothing. It was not until shipping needs during the war made it all too plain that Portland’s port machinery was old-fashioned and out of date that a newly-formed Harbor Commission recommended to the Legislature that there be a new State Pier. A bond referendum passed handily by a margin of about four to one; the Cities of Portland and South Portland purchased Franklin and Galt Wharves in Portland for the site, and by 1923 the Maine State Pier (presently the site of the Bath IronWorks complex) opened for business.
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