The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-01-09
TRANSPORTATION NEEDS
Of New England-The Empire
 of the SOuthweSt-HOw New England is Throwing Away
 Millions of Dollars Every Year

Mr. D. O. Ives, director of the trans portation bureau of the Boston Cham Der of Commerce, certainly got down to facts in regard to New England needs in transportation in recent speech before the Pilgrim Publicity association of Boston.
 MT. Ives said in part: "The Boston Chamber of Commerce has now in hand cases covering comprehensively the subject of freight rates between New England and every State and district in the country; it has brought of rates West on imported goods, and is about to open the question of ex- port rates. In connection with the campaign for better terminal facilities very strenuous effort Is being made to get better transfer facilities for freight which originates in any part of New England and is tranferred at Boston for shipment to any other part of New England or the rest of the country; but the great crying need, or at least, the need which has most strongly impressed itself on the Cham. Der. because 1t seems such a giaring omission of golden opportunity is the matter of steamship line to that great Southwestern empire, Texas. Texas sends to New England 500. 900 bales of cotton, and almost as much comes from Oklahoma, the two fur nishing about 25 per cent of New England's requirements of cotton. New titles of wool to Boston, and the Southwest also furnishes us meat products, rice, oil, fruits, vegetables, hides and lumber. On the other hand New England manufactures innum- erable commodities of which the great Southwest is a large consumer; and the 1anentable state of affairs is that all this traffic is forwarded through New York and the Gulf and New England shippers must pay the added charge of the haul between New York and Boston over what New York man. ufacturers pay, because the all-rail rates are absolutely prohibitive except in rare cases of high cost articles. Boston was once a great seaport, and in handling New England business, yielded first place to no other; but today New England takes no part in carrying any of this great business it's own commerce. New York gets suit? Figures show that New Eng land trade is steadily on the decrease in the Southwest; we are in the habit of thinking of New England as a great shoe centre., but New England furnishes Texas less than 5 per cent of its shoes.
 ''The opportunities for the expan- sion of our trade in the great South west are greater than in any other section for three reasons. We of the Atlantic seaboard are, in transporta- tion units, nearer the heart of Texas than is any other great centre, not excluding St. Louis. New England and Texas are commercial complements of one another; they produce what we use and we produce and manufacture what they use; and while there has been phenomenal growth in many parts of the country the Southwest has outstripped all other sections. The awakening of Mexico, the wonderful development of the new State Okla homa, the opening of the Panama Can- al, the almost fabulous possibilitie in Texan agriculture, the great and con- stantly increasing cotton acreage and the enhanced value of cotton; all these are real reasons why our trade with the great Southwest should be multi piled many times. One great obstacle stands in the way and prevents any possibility of our taking any part in this development-we have no ships, and New England is hesitating about risking million dollars in such an enterprise"