The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-30

that his road nad long since learned that waterways aided railroads.
 PEOPLE MUST DO PART
 'In this proposition of providing wa terways. the government can only do part The people must do the rest. The government has placed a great inland waterway within reach of Birmingham and this district It is a mistake for you to think that all you have to do is to put a boat or two on the Warrior and that the thing is done. It is not. This river transportation is a scientific prop osition and must be handled as such. It is complicated just like a railroad sys- tenn and demands thought and attention What will suit one river and one section of the country will not suit another.
 "The type of boat must be suited to the needs of the locality and the kind of freight to be handled as well as the river itself The question of speed for the different crafts is an important one. The government has made exhaustive ex- periments on various waterways to ascer- tain what type of boat is best suited for the needs of each stream and we have discovered that much money is lost be- ca use of using boats which are too slow. The largest items of expense in river transportation are the crew and mante- nance, and if the time is cut in half these big items are lessened just 50 per cent. Then another item which must be considered is the time lost in loading and unloading freight. On some streams, the system adopted is to use a good tow boat with a string of barges which are left at the big points to be unloaded and are picked up on the return trip
 The river transportation problem is be- ing solved very satisfactorily on the Mis- souri, which has only four feet of wa ter in it's shalowest point against a minimum of six feet in the Warrior alone. There they handle all kinds of freight, including such things as pianos and musical instruments, for all points or the Missouri and the Mississippi and they will even issue through bills of lading for points on the Atlantic seaboard. This can only be done where strong financial company is formed, but it solves the river transportation system in a most satisfactory manner
 LOS ANGELES HIGHWAY
 'I understand that you people in Bir- mingham are preparing to construct a good highway from your city to the river. This has been done by Los Angeles, which has a highway over 20 miles in length to San Pedro, it's port on the Pacific. Freight is handled most satis- factorily there by automobile trucks and am certain that you will be able here to get much good from such line. These are all questions, however, which have to be solved in way to suit the needs of the particular locality.
 Tt is up to you men of Birmingham to solve your problem in the way best suited to your needs. Study what has been done elsewhere and then devise plans of your own. Railroads wait on an aver age eight years before paying dividends yet people put their money into the stocks and bonds of these carriers A river transportation company of the kind needed here will probably not begin tc pay dividends under four or five years but 1t should be able to pay it's way from the first. Birmingham has the finances and the men with the business ability tc meet this problem and solve it right. Its solution means more to your city and dis trict than any one thing that could be done. I believe you will meet the is- sue and that you will be equal to the demands of the situation"