The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-06-25
Freight Rates Are Not in Line With Natural
 Advantages
DISTRIBUTION COST
 ENTIRELY TOO HIGH
This Interests Manufacturer More Than Cost of Assembling Raw Ma terials-Says Birmingham Not on
 Level With Southern Cities

for the location of small industries was the subject of address before the Bir- mingham Real Estate Exchange at the weekly business luncheon yesterday at the Tutwiler, delivered by J. T. Slat- ter, manager of the Birmingham Mer- chants and Manufacturers association
 Mr. Slater claimed that while Birming- ham had big natural advantage in the location of raw materials, railroad facn- ities and evidences of thrift. that all these received an enormous discount when the prospective industrial operator learned of freight rate conditions He spoke in part as follows:
 Skaters Speech
 ''The first question a manufacturer a sl<s after he has decided on a suitable loca- tion, is, what are your freight rates? A general answer will not satisfy him, but he must know specifically what freight rate he is to pay before he can deter mine his ability to meet competition in l the territory he expects to serve.
 i Tt is. therefore, of paramount impor- l tance that our freight rates be in line with our natural advantages, else we will find it a difficult matter to induce manufacturers to locate here. Our asso- l citation has never made a campaign for new industries; but for the past six or seven years our energies have been dt- l rected towards removing some of the obstacles in the way of their coming. | During that time we have come in con- tact with a great many representatives of industrial enterprises, in quest of a | -t-f- orally the environments had won their 1 favor before they reached our office. They were impressed by our natural advan- | tages, pleased and satisfied with our rail- road facilities. charmed with the evi- dence of thrift and enterprise manifested ] in big ways about us, but they always hesitated and wanted to know, before making a final decision what kind of 1 freight rates have you?
 T regret to say our answer was gen. orally dscouraging. We could not show l them, as Chattanooga could, that we can | reach up in Tennessee and sell our prod ucts on relatively equal rates. Nor can we go over in Georgia and compete with | Atlanta. Nashville and Memphis car come to our doors and sell their goods but we .cannot get very much over 5t miles from here in their direction A manufacturer is more interested in dis tribution of his goods than in assembling the raw material. Hence. when he sees that he can ship stoves from Chattanoo- ga to Birmingham for 19 cents. while he has to pay 34 cents to ship them from Birmingham to Chattanooga, he is not f,x lx- fa a1. vantages, and naturally thinks Chatta- nooga a better location for a stove plant than Birmingham
 Difference. in Rates
 If his product takes a first-class rate he also finds he can ship it from there to Birmingham at 57 cents. while he must pay 67 cents if he ships it from Bir- mngham to Chattanooga. He finds, fl he makes cotton ties which he wants .to sell in Montgomery he must pay F cents per 100; but the same rate of P cents applies from Chattanooga, and so he finds the obstacle of unfavorable freight rates flinders him from locating here, although we have the advantage in raw material and transportation facilities. He is con cerned, however, more in the cost of dis tributing the finished product than ir assembling the raw material So he goes where these obstacles are not in his way | Now, there are no sound trafflc or transportation reasons for these Bir- mingham obstacles They are alike hurt ful to our city and our railroads. They are the result of conditions in the past which have long disappeared by lea son of this city's development and growth. They can be removed. And their removal will benefit the railroads though they do not believe it, and alse benefit Birmingham. No one man acting single handed and alone can do this and no divided community can accom- plish much in this direction against a system so strongly established as thai which fixes and adjusts our freight rates It will take united effort, de- termined purpose and persistent work to accomplish anything in this direction
 We want to get it out of our heads that we are batting the railroads ano opposing their interests; for such is moi a fact A fair adjustment of rates Is d help to the carriers and not an in iufy because if removes complaints stimulates enterprise, and encourages g locality to enter the field of manuiac- ture by affording relatively equal means of competing with other localities, in 2 common territory Whenever this is