The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1910-06-23

greatest difaculty exists. Is the decline
Of our export trade. The demand Of
the home consumer is lessening the
volume Of our export Of foodstuffs.
and will effect similarly some other
items on the list But this change
will bring relief to the carrier only In
so far as export terminals are con-
cerned.
IAN enormous volume Of new traf-
fic is being developed by the indus
trial advance Of the country between
the Mississippi river and the Pacific
coast. All Of this must seek its mar
ket, and much Of 1t will be added to
the total that already overburdens our
terminals.
I'm the great markets Of the east
ern half Of the country, in New York,
Cleveland, Buffalo, Chicago, the crisis
has already arrived. Trahic growth
and terminal congestion are applying
the brakes to business progress. This
means trouble for the whole country.
It is no moro disastrous to have tho
banks close their doors than to have
the railroafA choked. The interest
which you <esent must suffer with
the other, syefore 1t should be
taking though others for the
future. For the 4espse will work
out the same efteeA 'oes~e west.
What is the RENEE It course
there is none cut and dh mplete
and effective, for an evhs> tat has
been growing for so long a time, and
which publication thus far has tended
to intensity rather than to diminish.
The best that can be done is to offer
suggestions for tentative and partial
relief, and then to engage the best
thought and effort for the whole coun-
try, especially Of business men and
associations such as yours, in an ef-
fort to lessen the tension that now
strangles trade. Where terminals can
be enlarged without incurring pro-
hibitive Indebtedness, that, of course,
is the natural remedy. Existing ia
cilities also may be made more effec-
tive.
Decentralization Of trafic termin-
ais offers q partial cure, partially
only, however. because it is appli-
cable only to q portion of the business
to be done. Some of the through
business of the country can be divert
ed to other points than those where
1t now collects, but the great central
markets can not be destroyed nor the
bulk of their business affected.
There is, however, considerable
element in our traffic aggregation
which is capable of decentralization.
Take your own industry for example,
because both your raw material and
nroduot oro h,,1lr1y hoovv
articles, you are, perhaps, more inter-
ested than others, since you are most
likely to suffer from terminal con-
gestion. 1t is worth while to consider
whether considerable share of your
distributing business could hot be-
re-adjusted. If orders went direct to
the mills from the smaller cities and
towns. and shipments were made dd-
rect to them, instead Of being con-
sjgned to central agencies, and thence
transferred to buyers, 1t would make
less business for terminals. BY such
Ia process Of decentralization, adopted
by business generally, much relief
might be obtained.
"The problem OF terminals is the
greatest problem Of the country, the
problem of transportation agencies, Of
financiers, of the communities directly
affected and of all the Industries that
depended directly or indirectly upon
cheap and speedy carriage for the
commodities which they buy and SELL
1t is a problem for everybody, since
probably not one business man in the
whole country would fail to feel the
disastrous effects If it were to be
neglected for the next five years as
it has for the last ten, and to blight
every form Of activity by paralyzing
the whole trade"
PEACE PLAN