Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1913-06-26

II SOL AI his ASSOC1dLlOu anu Inc JUST
Freight Rate Association can start
the ball to rolling and get the neces-
cary subscription in sixty days. l be-
lieVe that you will find a ready re-
Spouse in every town in the State, and
not only IA the State, but you will
find that Baltimore, Philadelphia, New
York, and Boston are ready to lend
a helping hand. These cities are alive
to their interests, and only a few days
ago | found in a trade Journal that
the Chamber of Commerce of Boston,
was seriously considering a PROPOSE
ton for State aid in financing new.
boat lines to reach trade centers
which they do not now reach. / verb
ly believe that no better investment
can be made. Capital need no longer
fear that investment in water trans
portation facilities will be destroyed
by temporary cuts to the quick rail
rates, to be restored after they are
driven out, for while the Interstate
Commerce Commission permits lower
rates, within reasonable limits. to wa
ter competitive points, the day has
gone forever when they will be per-
mitted to drive out water competition.
The railroads nave been permitted to
6b4AO III IAO Q6SL .0AL4A = LAS PupA1S
thought and conscience has cried out
against It, and laws have been enact
&c that will prevent 1t in future.
As to Water Transportation.
We are just on the eve of a great
revival of interest in waite rtranspor-
tation, and it's coming back to stay.
There is a natural economy in water
transportation as compared with rail
transportation as great s the
economy of I'll transportation COM
pared with the wagon road. An
authority has figured that a dollar
will move a ton of freight on a good
wagon road ten miles; on a railroad
127 miles; on the Great Lakes. LIS
miles, and on navigable rivers, 1000
miles. Another authority says that
freight moves the world oyer on an
average by rail twenty-five miles a day
and by barge 100 miles a day. l ven
ture the prediction that it is the ex-
p%erience of every merchant here that
he gets goods quicker from New York
it ordered shipped by water and rail
than if ordered all rail. We need to
avail ourselves of the economy and
the efficiency of this means of trans
portation.
And this revival of interest in wa
ter transportation is sure to come to
our North Carolina coast. Our loca-
ton just south OF HatterasI has here
tofore been a handicap, but with the
development of shipping through the
Panama canal the course of empire in
shipping will AXE its way southwark,
and will make the location of our
ports the most northern south OF Hat
teras an advantages as well as q
hndicap. Our ports are nearest to-
the coal fields and the granaries Of the
West of any ports south of Hatteras.
Shall we move at this opportune
time, or shall we wait until the field
lie occupied by the foreign investors,
who already have their eyes upon 1t,
who will have no interest in giving us
low rates and who will doubtless
form an alliance with the rail lines at
the first favorable opportunity and
leave us Just q little better of in
transportation cost than we now are?
The brilliant Colonel Frank Os-
borne, before the modern aeroplane
had entered the mind of man, used to
say that we could all ny If We just
had the nerve. The proposition have
suggested is not a difficult one. We
lust need a million dollars of capita
lization to dominate this. rate s1tua-
tion-an amount that could be raised
in a short time to finance a cotton
mill in any of a half-dozen OF u
cities-not more than it would take
to build and equip fifty miles OF nrst
class railroad. We would save the
amount Of the investment in reduced
freight rates in six months.
And if the refusal of the railroads
to adjust our grievances shall force
us to take such measure OF relet as
this we will owe them a vot OF
thanks for it.
Let's provide ourselves with Vtr-
GINA cities conditions and the rates
will take care Of themselves.