Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-03-21
URGE use OF CANAL
FOR FOOD CARRYING
Commerce Chambers of This
City and Cumberland, Md,
Act on Plan.
COMMITTEE IS APPOINTED

immediate renaDll1Iat1oh OF Hle NHcS-
apeake and Ohio canal as a carrier of
food and other products besides coal is
to be sought by the chambers Of COM
merce of Washington and Cumberland.
Md.
At meeting in the capital yester-
day of representatives of the two or
CARNATIONS it was decided to name a
joint committee of six members to take
Up the question with the committee
on inland waterways appointed by Di-
rector McAdoo.
Col Robert n. Harper will head the
local representatives, the other mem
bers being P. T. Moran and Nathan B.
Williams. The Cumberland half of the
committee will be named today or to-
morrow. The joint body will arrange
for meeting to be held in Washing
ton probably next week.
Optimism was expressed at yester-
days meeting that the 1S4-mile water
way connecting the capital of the ma
ton with Cumberland is to be restored
to its former usefulness as a trade ar
terry before it came under railroad DOM
nation
Bright Pictures of Commerce
Representative Frederick L. Zihlman.
Others drew bright pictures of the
vival of Georgetown port: of boats
coming into Washington laden with
grain, produce tin plate and manufac-
tured products, as well as of coal, and
returning to Cum berland filled with po-
tatoes, salt and raw materials for man
ufacturing purposes instead OF return
ing in ballast, as at present
1t was developed that the canal rate
for coal shipments from Cumberland
exceeds the railroad rate, but this was
attributed to the fact that the water
way has been under the control of the
Baltimore and Ohio railroad and that
overhead expenses are high because of
the maintenance of a large force of
lockkeepers and other employees for the
operation of a small number of boats,
only eighty-two barges having been
used last season. as compared with 500
IN the early days of the canal
Representative Zihlman expressed the
opinion that the placing in service of
more barses and the development of
trade relations which would assure re-
turn eargoes would result in reducing
overhead charges and making possible
a rate that could compete with the rail
rate This point is to be taken up with
hhe inland waterways committee.
Indebted to The Star, He Saws.
Commissioner Gardiner, who said that
Washington and Cumberland are in
debted to The Star for its advocacy OF
the canal proposition, declared that he
is considering plans for obtaining
enough ccd, via canal. during the sum-
mer to meet the needs next winter of
all District schools and Institutions He
said that the canal at present repre-
sents ar econo mic waste which should
be corrected.
Although Washington trade oreani-
cations have sought to develop closer
commercial relations with MANY towns
section -
nrSt attempt to develop such relations
with the mining and manufacturing
section at the other end of the canal, of
which Cumberland. with a population
of approximately 10000, is the me-
tropolis
Secretary Thomas Grant and Charles
A Baker, chairman of the committee
on harbors and waterways of the local
ORGANIZATION, met the delegation of
Cumberland business men upon their
arrival at Union station at 1:45 yester-
day afternoon The visitors were head
ed by President William L Sperry of
the Cumberland Chamber of Commerce,
and included Henry Shriyer John G.
Lynn. John C. McCauley, W. W. Han
ley, H D. Billmeyer and L. l. Helmer,
all prominent business men of Cum
berland- They were entertained at a
luncheon and later assembled at the
Hotel Lafayette at O'Clock for a
business session
Trade Possibilities Discussed.
Practically all the members of the
harbors and waterways committee at
tended this meeting, and there was a
general discussion of the possibilities
of trade development via the canal. Mr..
shr1Ver expressed the opinion that
trade could be developed to such an
extent that no boat would return to
Cumberland in ballast, and Mr. Lynn
recalled the days when there were
large storehouses IN Cumberland for
receiving the heavy return cargoes
the Marylanders when he said I'VE
want to trade coal with you for the
things that we need"
After Representative ZIh1man, Col
Harper, James F. Oyster and other
members of both delegations had dis
cussed the question from various
angles, Mr. Moran suggested the crea-
ton OF committee of six to urge
upon tt the inland waterways committee
the placing OF more boats on the canal
ana to consider plans for trade develop
ment. This motion carried unanimous
y The discussion was followed by
cite, ait which Presidents A. Leftwich
Sinclair and William L Sperry of the
chamber of commerce Jointly pre-
sided The speakers table was dec
GRATED with the original unnamed car
nations grown by A GUIDE of Anacostia,
recently awarded first prize in the
mower snow at New York.
Speaker at the Dinner.
President Sinclair welcomed the Wis
itors and President Sperry responded.
The only other speakers were Repre-
sentative Zihlman, who reviewed the
history of the canal, told of the ambi-
tious plans formulated for this water
way by George Washington, Jefferson
and other great men of their day. and
Commissioner Gardiner, who told of
the steps he rs taking to enable the
District government to reap the bene-
fits of an increased utilization of the
canal, should 1t be taken over by the
government The dinner was concfud-
ed by 1880 to permit the visitors to
catch an o'clock train for Cumber-
land
Members of the harbors and water
ways committee and other guests at the
dinner, IN addition to the representa-
tives from Cumberland, were President
Sinclair, William F. GUIDE. James F..
Oyster, Col Robert N Harper, Thomas
Grant, Isaac Cans. A B. Hardy, George
y kill1an. James NJ Denly, Charles A.
Baker, Nathan B. Williams, Jesse L. Err
good, Robert E. Heater, P. T. Moran.
Chaplin Brown. Samuel A Kimberly
David Lynn, Arthur ]. May and John
Martin