The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-10-10
PLANS FOR THE BUREAU.
The Subscriptions Coming in Very
Satisfactorily.

/ Savannah, realized the necessity of a
/ freight bureau. and her commercial bodies
! are now hard at work to that end. An
| interesting report upon this subject was
! submitted from the joint committee by
| President Smyth of the cotton exchange
at a meeting OF that body last Saturday.
President Purse of the Savannah Board
of Trade is much pleased with the re-
port of the Charleston committee. 1t
contains. he says, some interesting in
I formation. which win be Of use to the
committees now at work in Savannah
The members of the committee, he says.
in soliciting subscriptions, are often asked
many questions as to the cost of main
tanning the freight bureau, and what
amount it is desired to raise, which re-
quirc some time to explain in detail Some
of these questions. which are raised daily.
are answered in the Charleston report,
of which the following is an extract:
Your subcommittee, to whom was en-
trusted the duty Of preparing a plan Of
organization for freight bureau for
Charleston, respectfully report that they
have Corresponded with all the large
cities of the west, and have in every case
received the most encouraging accounts
Of what has been accomplished by freight
bureaus.
They find that in nearly all Of the large
cities these bureaus cost all the way from
$500 to $4,000 per annum TO operate them.
when these bureaus were first insti-
tuted it was thought possible to operate
them thorugh the transportation COM
mittees of one or more of the commercial
bodies in the several cities, increasing
the pay Of the secretary or other officer
so as to enable him to give this freight
matter his entire attention. 1t was soon
found, however, that these transportation
committees and their secretaries
were no match for the able
railroad men with whom they
had 10 contend, and in order to Sc
cure fair and just rates for their respect
tive cities it was found necessary to en-
ploy some able railroad man and to pay
him such salary as would make it an in
ducement for him to leave the employ of
railways and accept service in the in
terest Of fair freghts
The result of this change of policy
was instantly apparent, and instead of
having men who were not (and could not
from the nature of their training bel fully
up on freight matters the cities soon
had representing them just as able men
as the railroad had, and men as thor
oughly well posted by reason of their
training and having been previously en-
gagged on the other side Of the question.
The result has been that Whenever
these freight bureaus have had as their
commissioner a man of this kind they
have in very short time secured for the
cities they represented that consideration
and fair treatment to which they were
entitled from their various railroad CON
nections
Your committee have carefully con-
sidered the idea expressed by some of the
business men, that this bureau should be
supported By the various commercial bod
les and they find that while the idea is n
credttable one, it is not at all practicable
BUSINESS methods have changed very
much in the past ten years, and the pres
ent conditions require that "a CITY of the
size and population of Charleston df we
intend to maintain our commercial Dosi-
uon) must be equipped with the same an
phances as cities containing many times
our population"
The report recommends that the freight
bureau be composed of the mayor and
mayor pro TEN of the city of Charleston
and the president and two representatives
OF each and every commercial body now
IN existence, or that may hereafter he or
ganized there. The commissioner To be
selected by them and to be under their
control, they to perfect their own organi-
cation.
The committee proposes that the ex-
penses of the bureau be borne by the
city, and that 10 per cent. of the amount
received from business licenses ba set
aside annually for this purpose should 50
much be necessary. The report of the
committee has been referred to the oitv
council, and action is now awaited by that
body.
The suggestion that the freight bureau
be supported by the city from a norton
OF the amounts received from business Ii
censes Is rather novel one as II is NOT
known that any freight bureau now IN
existence is supported in this manner
Capt Purses attention was called to this
point, and he was asked If the Savannah
cimmittee would make any such recon-
mendation with regard to the freight bu-
reau here.
Capt. Purse replied that the state con
s1tution and the charter Of the citv DrO-
hibited appropriations for such uurposas
as this, and that consequently the civ
would be unable to assume any portion Of
the burden of the freight bureau ever
should such request be made uDon II
The committee is progressing very salts
factorily in its canvass for subscrin.
tons, Capt. Purse said, and il is boned
that the full amount necessary will he Sc
cured within the next few DAYS The
support of the bureau by subscriptjons
from the various commercial bodies was
found TO be ineNpediont, and all sub.
scriptions will be by private individuals.