The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-12-09
SHOPPING DAYS" NOW SEEM ASSURED Board of Trade Takes Up Gom- modity Rates REPORT ON WATER MATTER Committee Is Named to Arrange for Board of Trade Annual Banquet
 Which Will Be Held
 In January.
REPORT ON WATER MATTER

The Board of Trade yesterday after noon held anNenthusiastic meeting, talk ing up the matter of sh6Sping days, water supply, the boards annual banquet in January, commodity rates and the city directory which will be ready Decem- Der 10.
 After the presidents report the report of the committee on special shopping days for Birmingham was read by Pres ident Ewing:
 '.The committee, composed of R. w. Ewing, chairman; Colman Blach, M. ". Joseph, John w. O'Nelll, R. M. Brown, Oliver Chalifoux, S. W. Lee, R. D. Col lAs, appointed at the last meeting of the board to arrange a series of special shopping days for Birmingham, have been doing some considerable work on the project and have a, very encouraging report to make.
 "A plan has been outlined and let ters written to all of the roads having agents in the city, presenting the matter in detail. A special subcommittee of four members of the above committee were appointed to deliver these letters to the road agents in person, which was done, with the result that the agents, with practically unanimous voice, have ex- pressed themselves as willing to cooper ate in procuring the special rates de- sired.
 While it is not necessary to give all the points of the plan which has been worked upon in detail here 1t Is the expectation that the Wednesdays of every week will be established for period of time as regular shopping days for the territory surrounding Birmingham from d radius of 12O or 125 miles, Special rates are asked from the railroads on this day and tickets are desired good for return on the following evening, which will give two days in Birming ham,
 "The railroads seem to be of the opin- ion that if the merchants of Blrming- ham want this and will back up the efforts of your committee in obtaining it, it can be done. Every effort will be made by your committee to perfect this plan and arrange for these shopping days to become effective the first part of January. It is expected that final report can be made at the next meet ing"
 On Commodity Rates.
 J. D. Shelby, who reported for the spe cial committee on commodity rates, said:
 ITO secure commodity rates on special articles which may be manufactured or consumed it is necessary that the busi- ness interests of every community be thoroughly acquainted with the rates ap- plicabIe to their shipments as compared to those applicable to like shipments nov ing from or to other cities which may compete or which handle the same classes of business.
 'The only method in my opinion possible for Birmingham to obtain such informa- ton in order to secure the required re- suits is through bureau whose duty it shall be to gather and furnish to it's members infoSlnation covering all mat ters of transportation-wate rail, freight and passenger, all of which the com munity must necessarily be interested In. Through such a bureau, after the facts are known, all different interests in the community can present their desires to the railroads, coupled with facts to sup port their contentious and when the rall- roads or other transportation companies do not accede to what the complaining member may feel to be just the board of directors or executive committee of such transportation bureau can pass upon the question and if in their opinion the trans portaton company is wrong in the po- sition assumed then such action can be undertaken through the freight bureau as will in the judgment of the board of directors or executive committee bring about the status which should maintain for transportation in the matter under consideration.
 "Your committee has learned that under recently enacted laws of Alabama the railroad commission has a great deal of power over state rates but in commun- ities such as this interstate rates are fully as, if not more, important than state rates and even in the matter of state rates the community should be pre- pared to present fully and intelligently to the commission of the state any mat ters which they should deem necessary to be passed upon and upon which they companies
 Directory Soon Ready.
 A letter was read from R. l.. Polk & Go. by President Ewing, stating that mingham city directory ready for deliv-