Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-04-09
c. of c. and Cotton Ex- change Protest Against
 Order of Director.
WOULD HAE ONE
 OFFICE MAINTAINED
Point Our! Importance oi Having cen traiIy Located Office to Handle .sEI Needs of Com
 munity.

A communication has been sent to Director General of Railroads Me Adoo, signed jointly by the Pine Bluff Cotton Exchange and the Pine Bluff Chamber of Commerce., protest ing against tho order closing all separate commercial offices in this city on April 30. The letter winch was mailed yesterday, follows tele- gram sent the day before.
 The local men take the stand thsi one of the two commercial offices should be kept open. They agree that both are unnecessary under trc ] present government control of r.i l. roads, but point out how the ctficicn. cy of the freight department Of both roads can be improved by having an interests.
 l The communication follows: 1 'dIonorablc Wm. G. M. McAdoo, Dir
 cctor General. Interstate Com
 mercc Building, Washington, D. C. Dear Sir:
 ''"Thc following telegram was sent you yesterday.
 l NIissouri Pacific have in the past maintained seperate commercial of- fices in Pine Bluff Arkansas. Ord CTS have been received to close both these offices by April 30th.
 "We agree there is no necessity for both offices. but ask privilege of laying before you many reasons pro- wing the necessity of one consolidat ed office.
 "Economy and efficiency of both transportation lines and shipper; will be greatly effected if both Con- mercial offices abolished. Letter follows explaining local sltuation.'
 'In support of the above we here with submit; that Pine Bluff, Ark ansas is a city of approximately twenty-five thousand population ser- ved by the St. Louis Southwestern Railway company, and tho Missouri ; Pacific Railway company.
 -'That Pine Bluff is not only a large manufacturing point but hand l les more lumber and lumber pro- ducts, and more cotton than any city in Arkansas. Little Rock eX cepted.
 Eight wood working plants. sever- al of which manufacture products necessary to the government in time of war. are working day and night. Three cotton seed product mills, manufacturing cotton seed oil, cake meal, etc.
 Three large grain milling plants, six wholesale grocery houses, two drug firms, wholesale. Tho above constitute some of the industries of Pine Bluff. The shops of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway com rany are located here. "The greatest active business factor in the cotton business. Forty l five cotton factors and buyers han dlc one hundred and fifty thousand bales G5000O) bales Of cotton aol- nually thru two congresses, and warehouses. and two railroads
 "rhe commercial offices are loca- ted in the same building with the cotton exchange. and the offices of the two cotton congresses and warehouses. Since the establish ment of these commercial offices an immense cotton busi'.ess has been transacted thru them. Each office has a clerk. much of whose time is devoted to the cotton business.
 "rhc commercial offices have been inva luahle in the past having taken a great burden off of the local frciaht offices, who as you are aware arc generally overworkcd and have no time to properly de3l with the shipping public.
 "rne shippers being located in i ,,.I offices have used them in many ways. such as the sienin" Of bills of ladns. the quotation of ratos tho tracing of freight, the cXnlaia ing of cmbareocs. and in general they look after the best iuctrests of both the railroads andshippers.
 The shippers have not only be- come accustomed to usinG the co0i- mercial offices but it has been pro ven conclusicely tha their main tenancc is long step toward econ omy and efficiency of both rail roads and shippers. and should both offices be abolished we can see a return to the confusion that form erly existed before their stahlish- mnt
 "Surcly the transportation busi- ness conducted at Pine Bluff is large enough to convince you of the nee essity of an uptown office, main tained in the interest of transpoIta- ton efficiency, which efficiency we know is essential to the srccess of the nation.
 "We believe that wc should he | privileged 10 express ourselves as above, knowing the local conditions } as we do, and having only the wei fare of our local government in mind.
 May we. therefore ask that such orders be given as will cor. tinue in operation an uptown office