The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-22
Birmingham to Benefit by Recent Rate Ruling of
 Supreme Court
MIDDLE WEST HURT
 ON COAST BUSINESS
Can Now Save Money by Shipping to Atlantic Seaboard and Thence to Pacific Coast by
 Water

Washington. November 2o-(Speciai) Through the opening of the Panama canal and the coineident readiustment of trans continental freight rates the attention of many manufacturers In the middle west has been turned to Birmingham and that section as an advantageous and attractive locality to which to move their plants. ss a number arc seriously contemplating Unless some officials of the interstate Commerce commission were misied by re- marks at a rate hearing held In Chicago last month by Examiner Thurteil. many mills with wide variety of products will move from the middle west to more east erly and southeriy sites.
 Tn brief this condition Is caused by the fact that goods may be shipped from Atlantic and gulf ports through ths canal to the Pacific coast and thence by rail Inland toward the east cheaper than they can be shipped overland direct even from points in the middle west The railroads are permitted by the commission to charge higher rates to points east of the Pacific coast than through to the coast itself. This ruling has been sustained by tho supreme court of the United States
 
 the commerce court. and from 1t those at interest appealed at a hearing held in Chicago In October.
 Cut. From Atlantic Seaboard
 At this hearing ii was claimed and shown that the opening of the canal had cut freight charges from the Atlantic sea- board to the Pacific coast from 10 to ix per cont on some commodities to almost 50 per cent on others. and that msnufnc- turers In the middle west found 1t cheaper to ship their products by rail 10 the Att lantic seaboard and thence by water to Pacific coast points than to send them overland by rail the whole distance, In such a situation, many said. they could do far better by establishing their plants In the northeast or the south and so avoid the rail charges from the middle west to Atlantic or gulf ports
 Some idea of the tremendous inroads already made by the canal on the roai- roads business was given to the corre- spondent of The Age-Herald by Mr. Thur tell. who said:
 Tn the entire year of 1913. shipments from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific by way of the 1sthmus of Tehauntepec. with a little around Cape Horn. amounts to approximately 100000 tons. or monthly av- craze of say, S3.00o tons. In the month of September. 1914. something over 10000 tons passed through the Panama canal. or more than twice the previous average monthly tonnage from coast to coast"
 Big Portion From Middle West And of this. 1t Is estimated, a substan- tial proportion was contributed by man. ufacturers of the middle west who had routed their goods to the Pacific coast and inter-mountain territory by way of the Atlantic seaboard and gulf ports, the canal and the Pacific. The saving they would have made had they been located in the south or east might be computed at tremendous aggregate. As to the effect of the canal route on rall freight rates figures presented to Mir. Thurtell in some cases were almost amaz- ing.
 one, originating In 1911. when the Inter- state Commerce commission established the following fundamental rulings; 1 On traffic originating at the Missouri river and west thereof and moving to the westword rates to Intermediate points 1 should not be higher than through to the | Pacific.
 On traffic originating between the Mis- souri river and Chicago for the westward. rates might be per cent higher to inter- mediate points than through to the coast, Itself.
 | On traffic originating between the east | ern boundary of the Chicago territory and 1 R line between Buffalo and Pittsburg, rates might be 15 per cent higher to in- 1 termediate points than through to the Pa- | ci1c coast
 l On traffic originating east of the Buff i falo- Pittsburgh line and north of the Nor l folk & Western territory, rates might be 25 per cent higher to Intermediate points l than through to the Pacific coast l | Objections to these rulings were sus- l tained by tho commerce court on the grounds that the commission should not make rates wholesale" and ''by rela- tion." and that no one could foretell what l rates ultimately might be established l through water competition. Appeal was | taken to the supreme court. which on | June 22 last. sustained the commission l On this decision the carriers again ap- | pealed to the commission for relief aver ring that there were many commodities on wfich water competition had made ' the rates so low to be reasonable. 1 and on this appeal hearing recently was | held. All frelghts was divided into three 1 classes, class C being composed of about 1 120 items, including scores of commodities. which, it was claimed originate in large
 volume on the Atlantic seaboard and are f particular susceptible to the influence of {! water transportation. This class formed the basis of the plea for relief. ! And at this hearing the sentiment of tho
 middle west manufacturers was thus in- | formally expressed:
 | "Unless there Is a readjustment of rates | which will keep us on practical parity | with the eastern seaboard and the gulf 1t looks as though we would have to move to the east and south."
 And 1t Is this feeling and prospect which lead some experts to believe that there may be a material migration of manufacturing establishments from the middle west to the Birmingham district as an attractive section for their plants and an advantageous shipping point. | c. F. 8.
 
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