Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-01-28
REAR ADMIRAL BOWLES HAS
A BRIEF FOR THE PORT

THE Rear Admiral Francis r Bowcs
whose appointment as assistant gen.
eral manager of the Emergency Fleet
Corporation is announced, and who will
take hold of the situation at Hog Island
and the other Government yards" is the
+. r. Bowles who ON Friday testified he.
fore the House Committee on Merchant
Marine and Fisheries. An important part
of the Rear Admirals testimony dealt with
the failure of the nation properly to utilize
the facilities at the port of Philadelphia.
"The trouble has been" SO the report of
his testimony goes, that a group of rich
4 men have sought to make the port of New
York the greatest in the world" The re-
mark was incidental to a general discus
sion of the housing bill carrying an appro-
priation of S5O,OOO,OO0.
The Pennsylvania Railroad calls the
attention of this newspaper to a letter
sent to the president of the Chamber Of
Commerce. under date of January -, by
Robert c. Wright, traffic manager. in
which the latter expresses regret "at the
..,- .,,..,.,,,,,,,,,, ,,,i,t, .,.,u ,,.,-
seehiiHS HilSuhuei s'tiul"S "'i'''' ''l'i P'e-
walls as to the supposed power of railroad
companies to influence, divert or otherwise
control the course" of export traffic. lie
goes on to eXplain
The first and most important thing TO he
CLEARLY undcrstood is thar traffic is not
"A
=, g. oonsi.,aI 60 tho dostiuntion tbot tbr
o,,.a, s,o,s N,,,d ,ho ,,oilrood v,hich IL -,
sa.,sa.',s -. ,,aroi,. at,,,s a,.,,ore
1, ~, - 80 v,oa,t trar,n ,,,d,, NON.
r -, '',;t;. -, trnIa tha .rirT,a,ts ,,i,
,,,,S MI, Ia oosi,rrad t th' nnt ,.tor,
..i - -. sa'l,tt,. a,.ai1,t,Ia Co.., a..
VESSELS are I'io.t ieh'''f a. ,''.'e s io' '
Seeai' uailspoi ,,, 'atou, "lo 60 ~ '''
iewese "orus p'SSip,e' tNu.a'l'S WHY >"
many exporters pay tuc tuul'4o'.'i I"''Ioau
treisnt 10 sehu 'ne'' SupneH'N I" Nt"
YORK instead OF cohsighins 'hehl 10 'he
nearer port OF nhuaosiphla' II alsp en-
even with the Delaware River at their
doors sometimes sSnu tneir products
tion abroad. The ships are there and cargo
Shn, e" Dp "'o,' mG y i -, S,,i,.1o, L",
phas own best interest that it should be
,,i,' ba, %,,, ,-,,r -, ,,,.on,,.r
number of regularly established steamship
freonencv of saii,nps bnt IL il thc hoad.
quarters of many aggressive shipping firms
goes and Charter Vessels for the trans.
atlantic trade. Therefore II Philadelphia
her location and port and railroad fac-
n,erobants IN nroyidc Tho tonnsee thot u,iI,
warrant the establishment of steamer lines,
business of soliciting and accommodating
cargoes for chartered vessels.
tnues there is no doubt that the port of
philadelphla WIN be ut,,izea more freely
and return to ordinary commercial con-
ness interests of Philadelphia how much
nort as after that time the railroads viii
again simply be means of transportation
/. freight.
II would be useless to enter into a dis
cusslon of the historic reasons for the
collapse of such an energetic shining
firm AZ, Peter Wright & Sons, which
once flourished in this city. The mos. ar.
eressiye member of that firm was never in
doubt as TO the reason for its downfall
He used to talk about discrimination by
the railroads and other maleyolent prac-
{ tices. and it was his habit to back his
assertions. we believe, with statistical data
that pointed to irrefutable conclusions.