The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1919-06-28
Plan to Pool Railroads
with Merchant Marine

IL ne Cnlted StdteS SnlpplnS boarC
and the chairmen of the Congress
! sional Committees dealing with rail
way and merchant marine are con
sidering an ambitious plan to hell
carry American trade more cheaply
and rapidly than in the past. Thi:
plan involves the uniting of the rail
road systems Of the country with
theh merchant marine. 1t is hoped
also to coordinate overseas ship
ping with American railway route:
! under the leadership Of general
national authority that a system OF
unified routing will be established &c
facilitate American trade all over
the world.
Senator Cummins, Of Iowa, Chair.
man of the Committee on Interstate
Commerce has been considering the
plan with Senator Jones of Wash
ington, Chairman of the Committee
on Commerce. An outline of the
plan was issued yesterday by Sen
ator Cummins which reads in part as
follows:
Assuming that American ships
can be operated in competition with
those of other countries it is pro.
posed to link the railroad systems
and the merchant marine in such
! fashion as to provide routes cover.
ing the commercial world, just as our
railroad system covers the entire
country. After good deal of dis
cussion with Mr.. Rossiter (Chief OF
the Division Of Operations of the
Shipping Board) l am convinced OF
its feasibility"
The plan, Senator Cummins said
further. would involve the organiza-
tion of the merchant marine under a
shipping board. This shipping board
he said, would bear the same rela-
ton to. our merchant marine that our
Interstate Commerce Commission
bears to the railroads of the country.
Thus" Senator Cummins said fur
ther, ut is now proposed to group
the railways in number of great
systems. and the plan we have con-
sidered would apply that plan to
maritime shipping. Companies would
be formed to handle particular routes
and ports, and each company would
have monopoly in its own region
For illustration-and it must be
understood as merely an illustration
suppose that survey of the whole
shipping situation would lead to the
conclusion that the pool shipping
should all be handled through the
port of Boston; that for northern
continental Europe through New
York, and that for Mediterranean
countries through the Hampton
Roads terminals Then the railroad
system of the whole country would
be connected with the oceangoing
lines handling these different classes
of business. Freight offered any
where in the country. for, say Liver
pool. would be received billed
through, handled under the system
directly by the Government con-
trolled agencies, assured regular and
direct service and kept under the
same general government regulation
that it now has in rail transporta-
ton"
| While it seems evident, IRON the
statement above quoted, that the de-
tails of the plan have been only par
italy and imperfectly worked out,
the suggestion as a whole seems
worthy of carefully consideration.
The danger to be guarded against is
that of placing too much power and
responsibility in the matter with the
Federal Government. The fact must
not be lost sight of that our Federal
Government is efficient only as to
purely governmental matters. Neither
its machinery, its methods, nor its
lpersonnel are adapted to handle sat-
isfactorily any large matters calling
for efficient business management.
VI course it is conceivable that con-
ditions might be changed in this re-
spect, but such change would require
much time and expense; would in
lvoive many new laws and modifica-
tons of departmental practice; and
It is very questionable whether, in
any event, it would be worth while.
1t is undoubtedly important that
there shall be close cooperation be-
tween our railway systems and
steamship lines It is also desirable
tnat our laws shall be modified so
as to permit such cooperation. Then
TOO it might be we'll to establish !
Commission. in connection with our
Washington Government, for the
Purpose Of dealing with government
Y matters arising in oenaAetioa wifh