The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-09
COLLINS PRESIDENT
 OF BOARD OF TRADE
 AT ANNUAL MEETING
CONTINUED FROM PAGE e,.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6). ! mingham, who has done more along this line than is generally known.
 Birmingham today stands forth as the most progressive city in the south along civic Improvements, much of which has been accomplished during the past four years.
 We are known far and wide for our wide and well paved streets and no visitor fails to comment on their cleanliness. Your committee wishes to thank every member of this body for aid furnished during the year and to urge each member of this organization to work individually on every proposition for the civic i'm provement of our great city. Respectfully submitted. c. c. HEIDT, Chairman. Street Railway and Railroads.
 The report of the street railway and railroad committee by J. E. Shelby, chair man.
 The first work coming before your com mittee of any great importance was, the Investigation of freight rates to and from the city. Upon Investigation your com mittee ascertained that our wholesale and jobbing merchants could not reach be- yond very limited territory on account of higher freight rates to and from Bir- mingham than were in effect to and from neighboring cities with which they con- pete. Our investigation brought out the melancholy fact that the Birmingham merchants could not compete with the merchants of Decatur on the north, with Memphis on the west, with Montgom- cry and Mobile on the south, and with Atlanta on the east for the reason that all of the above mentioned cities enjoy d lower freight rate than does Birming ham. Your committee in view of this in- formation made a report to this body at the February meeting and recommended that the Board of Trade cooperate and | work in conjunction with the Blrming ham Credit Mems association and the ] Birmingham Manufacturers association i in their effort to establish a freight bu- 1 reau. Upon this recommendation com | mttee was appointed. To what extent | they have labored or the successful es-
 tablishment of such a bureau remains | with your committee, This committee, l however is conscious of great good be- | ing accomplished from the establishment | of a freight bureau in Birmingham be- cause we are of the belief that but very | few merchants familiar with estaD | lished freight rates to and from the city. 1 And we believe that if our merchants | Cwhether wholesale or retaiD will support l this freight bureau a saving of many | thousand dollars will be made annually.
  | interstate rates.
 Yoar committee, by request of the 1 board, has been working on and have
 had considerable correspondence with the | various officials ,ot the different railroads ! relative to stop-over privileges at Bir- l Tningham. Our negotiations have been | most cordial and courteous from these 1 officials and we believe within the next
 12 months an active committee, which | may be appointed by the new admins | tration, can take up this work and bring | it to ultimate success.
 The last and what your committee S>-.
 siders one of the most important dutIes
 1t has had before it is our efforts
 to admonish some of the railroads who
 have recently established new schedules | for passenger service to and from Bir- | mingham and who we believe have great | ly improved their service, but while with
 out any thought of doing the merchants
 of Birmingham an injustice. they have l unconscously established @ local passen- l ger schedule which does not work to
 the best interests of the Birmingham mer-
 chants. What we have been working | for and what is needed is more local pas
 senger trains arriving in Birmingham in
 the morning and leaving in the even
 ing so that the shopping public within | buying distance of our city can visit us
 and have ample time to do their trad
 ing with our merchants and return home
 the same day. Your committee has been
 and is now in communication with the | railroads who have as yet not complied | or afforded this service and it is hoped
 and believed that these roads will eventu- l ally arrange their schedules so that they | will prove more advantageous to the Bir- | 1ningham merchants and to the people | generally. We would reccomend that the
 new administration appoint committee
 to continue this work, as we believe the
 ma tier of this passenger service is of
 the greatest importance to the commer-
 cial interests of our city. Respectfully
 submitted, J. E. SHELBY,
 Chairman.