The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-05-23
RAILROAD OWNED l! STEAMSHIP LINES i MAY GIVE TROUBLE Might Refuse to Deliver Freight From New York
 to Warrior River Boats MONTGOMERY HAD
 THIS EXPERIENCE Believed, However, That Appeal to Interstate Commerce Commission
 Would Easily Remedy the Matter
ny RALPH R. su.xEn

Much interest is attached to the question as to whether or not the railroad owned steamship lines plying up and down the Atlantic coast will deliver at Mobile port shipments to the barge lines which will ply up and down the Warrior river ,p and from Birming ham.
 The city of Montgomery had trouble of this kind and many other cities on navis- able waters have been involved in a simi- lar controversy. What will come up in the Birmingham case is of much interest right now when discussion of the last connecting link in the Warrior water transportation system between Birming- so much attention
 At the joint meeting of the good roads committee and the waterways commit tee of the Chamber of Commerce at the chamber offices tomorrow morning at II o'clock 1t Is probable matters of interest will be decided upon in regard to this last connecting link in the Warrior river transportation system. H. NJ Beck IS chairman of the good roads committee and Erskine Ramsay is chairman of the waterways committed
 IApcct ReSulIS Soon
 Tn the mean time the negotiations be- tween the railroads and transportation committee of the chamber R R. Porter. chairman, and L. Sevier of the Southern railway, will probably produce results which will be made public the early part of this week. Mir. Sevier has not vet answered the different propositions under which he would rent, lease trackage or sell the present line of the Ensley South ern from Birmingham to Maxine which IS on the Warrior river at about its high est point of navigation and near the place where the terminus of the link connecting the city with the river will have to be located
 Bankers yesterday gave it as their opin ion that county warrants drawn in strict compliance with the laws of the state Tor the purpose of building road 10 the Warrior could be sold with ease It has been suggested that this would he the proper Way to finance the propos ef county highway to the barge terminus on the river by means of which freight to and from Birmingham could be moved by means of motor trucks road of good character already is constructed 1t ds said, about two-thirds of the way and the remainder could be constructed with the idea in mind of especially eliminating steep grades and at the same time Keeping the distance as short as possible If is generally stated by business men, that they would rather drive their trucks a nile further than be compelled to pull up ana down steep grade on each trip. The total distance of such a road, by reason of its winding about to escape formidable grades would be from 20 to | about P or 2S miles, it is said. This haul by motor truck could be made between ci1t at to .,f 10 cents per hundred pounds. it is said by those who have studied the case In yesteroay mornings AgeHeraId story regarding the matter the rate for
 Nashville was given for New Orleans
 As shown there Birmingham is now pay
 Ing the 1igNsst freight rate in the south, sl-l4 on first-class from New York The rate to Nashville is 9lc instead of to New Orleans as it was made to appear: to At
 lanta- N.05; Chattanooga, slO5, and Mo- bile, 75c.
 Some criticism of the comparisons of the rates as set out in yesterday morn | ing's story was made on the grounds that
 the rate of 40 cents from San Francisco by rail to Galveston and from there by water to New York was on canned goods which really is third-cass freight, while
 the comparison was made with first class rate from New York to Birmng- nam HIS ic tiuc, ltcnDcdiIy speaking,
 but the fact remains that freight classi- fications practically disappear in water transportation. Everything goes as mer- chandise and practically under the same
 rate so that the comparison still holds. Must Pay for Delivery The $1.14 rate by rail from New York | to Birmingham at present fs even in creased by an extra cents per 100 deliv- cry charges which the Birmingham man
 has to pay in order to get his goods de- lvered from the freight yards to his place of business. thus making the total
 cost $1.16 per 100 pounds. With 75 cents to Mobile by water, 10 cents up the river
 and 10 cents for the haul to the city from
 the barge terminus at Maxine or vicin- 1 ity, making total of 95 cents, the say | ings in freight can be seen at glance
 even with the present railroad owned
 ships making the first lap of the haul from
 New York to Mobile.
 1 With these coastwise ship lines di- vorced from the railroad ownership, how l ever, as the interstate commerce commis-
 sion has done with the Great Lakes ship lines (the decision probably covering | coa stwise lines also). that Recent rate
 from New York to Mobile will probably
 be cut half in two or more. The very | fact that the 40-cent rate by rail from