The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-11
PORT CHARGES RESPONSIBLE.
COL. DIXON ACCOUNTS FOR THE
LOSS OF LUMBER SHIPMENTS.

limo we stopped f1EhunB the
Railroads, He Says-The Terminal
Charges Here No More Than mt
Any other Southern POrt-Tbe
stevedOring Costs Less-Lumber
Tributary TO savannah is Coming
Here Anyhow.
Some Of the Savannah lumbermen, as
well the railroad men and the ship
brokers, are taking issue with the lumber
man recently quoted in the Morning News,
and who in his interview stated that bus
mess is kept away from Savannah on ac-
count of the high terminal charges here.
Col Merritt w. Dixon of the firm of
| Dixon, Mitchell & Wells takes strong issue
with the statements made in that article,
| and says that, taking everything into con-
| sideration, it is just as easy and easier
to ship lumber through Savannah, when
1t comes from Savannah's own territory,
as it is to ship lumber through other ports
THE terminal charges here, instead of
| being SO per 1000 superficial feet" he said,
| ARE not more than 60 to 65 cents per 1000
| feet, which is as cheap or cheaper than
the same charges at any other southern
/ port. The railroads do not charge us 81
car for transferring to their own
wharves, but they deliver the lumber on
the cars at their wharves free of any trans
fer charges. If, however. we hire
private wharf along the river
front thereby saving the wharfage our
| selves. the Central of Georgia Railway
| Company transfers that lumber along the
river front for us for 81 car regardless
| OF weight, which is 81 a car less than the
company Is allowed to charge by the state
railroad commission. If we traisfer Ium-
ber that comes in by the Central railroad
around to the s., F. and W. wharves or to
the Baltimore wharf, a distance of nine
miles. the two railroads charge us 1920 per
| car regardless of weight, even though the
railroad commission allows them $6.4O
| All of our lumber that comes In by the
| Plant system is delivered to the Baltimore
| wharf free of charge, even though the
railroad commission allows them 50 a car
| to transfer it.
I'VE have a natural channel for the
| lumber tributary to Savannah, and that
| lumber has got to come here regardless
| of what we might do, and II does come
| here. The terminal charges of the rail-
| roads here on lumber are as cheap as they
are at any port in the south, and l think
| It's high time that we stop fighting our
railroads and try and get reasonable
| profit for our product
| L do not know who could have given
| you the account of a million-foot order
| for foreign market unless 1t be some
one connected with the Southern Pine
| Companys business as I know they have
several million feet for foreign shipment,
| and the mills that are cutting this lum-
| Der, if tributary to Savannah are going
| to bring it to Savannah, and If they are
| tributary to Brunswick, or the mileage
| there is less, they are going to take it
| there, as they have offices in both cities
| 1t is natural for the bulk of the South
ern Pine Company's business to go to
Brunswick, because the majority of their
| mills are so situated along the lines of
| the different railroads, that under the
| rulings and rates of freight on a mile
| age basis, established by the railroad COM
mission, they have to send 1t to Bruins
| wick.
ut is the railroad commission of Geor-
| gia that has hurt Savannah as far as the
| lumber and naval stores businesses are
| concerned, and not the railroads. For
| instance the Brunswick and Western rail-
road used to belong to other parties than
the Plant Investment Company, and tho
city of Waycross was a competitive point
| even though it is twenty-five miles further
| from Savannah than 1t Is from Brunswick
But the railroad commission rules that
both roads belong to one party, and that
they would have to charge in proportion to
mileage. The consequence of this is that all
| of the lumber and naval stores south and
| southwest of Waycross goes to Bruins
wick, the haul being shorter and the differ
| ence on lumber in favor of the shipper
| being 80 cents per 1000 It Is natural
therefore that the lumberman in saving
/ that difference would ship his product
| to Brunswick
1.-THE gentleman you quoted stated that
the railroads transfer lumber from one
end of Brunswick to the other free of
| charge That is simply because the Bruins
wick and Western railroad circles Bruins
| wick. Our railroads deliver our lumber
| to us at any point on the line of their
road or to their own wharves free Of
charge. What more could we ask? Our
| stevedoring in Savannah is as cheap as 1t
is at any port on the South Atlantic coast,
and little cheaper, and l see no reason
why such great furore should be stirred
up about terminal charges.
THE truth of the matter is Il is our
port charges and the rules governing our
port that are killing Savannah. II is
our expensive quarantine system using
the same old sulphur pot that was used
twenty years ago, and charging vessel
SIS for $3.50 worth Of work Take a YES
sci like ours. the Lewis Kennedy, bound
here for cargo of crossties for our
| nrm. They allowed II to come UP to the
Savannah bar. then ordered Il back to
the national quarantine at Sapelo and
after she had remained there two weeks,
she was forced TO report to our quarantine
here. even though she had a clean bill
of health from the consulate at Havana
when she left there
such luxurious expenditures as the
tug Theckla. which is only used as a
junketing boat, and for bringing the mail
from and to the quarantine station at
an expense of $1,000 year, are what are
killing our port. Our city fathers might
tell you she is used for boarding vessels
Out at sea, but let us investigate. Take
the quarantine laws. and they distinctly
notify our pilots that certain vessels from
certain ports, when spoken at sea, must
be ordered at once to Sapelo, while others,
II there Is no sickness aboard may be
brought to the Savannah quarantine.
When the latter course is pursued the
work Is done by pilot with one OF the
towboat company's regular towboats,
while at the quarantine station a little
skiff with a man 10 pull II at 81 day
| would be suitable for the purpose.