The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-28
HIGHER FREIGHT URGED BY
 DANIEL WILLARD
Speaks at Annual Banquet of Pittsburg Traffic Club. John Barrett Sounds
 Warning

Tittsburg, March 21-Daniel Willard,
 president of the Baltimore and Ohio rail-
 road. and chairman of the Presidents
 committee of railroads in official classi- fcation territory, at the annual dinner
 of the Traffic club of Pttsburg tonight argued for higher freight rates. and John Barrett director general of the Pan American union, sounded note of warn- ing in connection with the Panama ca nal. Present at the dinner were many l railroad executives from New York, Chi | cage and other transportation eenters. Tt gradually has come about that un- I der existing conditions, rates in effect | m official classification territory do not yield sufficient revenues to meet the sit | uation properly" said Mr. Willard. Tt | has been shown to the interstate com | Inerce commission that 30 roads in official cio ssifcation territory have added to their property investment since 1910 for addi- tiona facilities and equipment over s659,- | 000,000, but as a result of operations ill 1 1915, although the gross earnings were 1 $lSG, 175.000 greater than in 1910 the net | earnings, after paying operating expenses ard taxes, were $16,3 ,0Oo less than in 1910. showing that not only had these companies failed to earn any return on the newly invested capital. but they had
 $1d.911, 900 less net as returns upon pre-
 vious investments. It is unnecessary to
 Say that no business enterprises can con-
 tinue on such a basis.
 Need of Commerce
 Tt has been stated that the growing
 need of the country's commerce will re-
 quire an additional expenditure by the
 railroads for equipment and facilities of upwards of a billion dollars a year for some years. The only way in which such money can be obtained is drought private enterprise. and railroad invest ment must be made sufficiently attrac- tive 10 secure new capital else develop ment will cease. Nothing can more ef- fcctually check the gf,wth of commerce than insufficient transportation facilities. l
 T no not think the necessity for in- | creased revenues on the part of the | carriers in offical classification terri l tory is seriously questioned by anyone at this time"
 Discussing "The Panama and Pan American commerce." Mir. Barrett sad | among other things: "The issue of the | caLal tolls which is engaging | Washington and the country is abso | lutely unimportant and secondary as far | as actual trade conditions are concerned | when compared to the importance If | practical steps to the canal for the | upbuilding of the export and import 1 traffic of the United States. While l | cannot, on account of my official posi-. | tion as an international officer dis | cuss the pros and cons of the tolls l question l can tell you there is not a | great port or exporting or importing center of Europe. Japan. Australia and of northern and western South Amer- l ca that is not doing more to get ready 1 for the Panama canal than our cor responding ports and centers of the l United States with the possible excep- ton of New Orleans and San Francisco |
 "The investigations l have carried on | both officially and personally con vinces me that unless the traffic in- terests of the United States wake up | and make extraordinary efforts the ca nal will prove d far greater advantage | during the earlier years of it's use to | foreign lands than it will to the United | States" |