The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1919-01-27
National Rivers And
Harbors Congress

Ne u6UdttS anu ulSSSSS DIT lliS
Fourteenth Convention of the Nj
tional Rivers and Harbors Congress.
which is to be held in Washington OH
February 5, 6 and Z, will cover the
whole field of transportation, inciud-
ing highways. railways, waterways
and airways.
One whole session, and al extra
one at night, if necessary, will BE-
given over to q discussion OF the giles
ton What shall be dcne with the
railways? Shall We have Govern
ment ownership, return to corporate
control, as before the war, or some
intermediate plan?" The opposing
views on this question will be pre-
sented in three prepared addresses,
after which the subject will be
thrown open For general discussion
by the delegates present. Unless ali
signs fail, this will result IN an ex
ceedingiy animated debate. The re-
plies to a referendum sent out by the
Congress show that good many
people strongly favor Government ow
nership and operation, others are vio-
lently opposed to this and in favor
of turning the roads back to the COM
panies, and still others favor some
other plan, but with a wide differ
ence of opinion as to what that plan
should be.
Another session will be devoted to
discussing how far the railroads
should be permitted to go in reduc
ing rates to meet water competition
while maintaining higher rates to in
land points. The railways strenu-
ously insist that unless they are al
lowed to meet the water rates the
boats would carry all the traffic be-
tween competing points, and the wa
terway people say that it is cut
throat competition by railways which
has driven the boat lines out of bust
ness. Also there are people in in
land towns who say, I'VE pay taxes
LII th6 Wv OlhShI VI "tttSA " els .
which We cannot personally use, and
then pay the railroads from five to
fifteen times as much per ton per
mile as they charge the people who
live on those waterways. Where is
the justice in that?" There seems to
be plenty of room for debate on that
question, too.
Some time ago, in report made
by a board of Army Engineers, it
was recommended that waterways as
well as railways should be placed un-
der control of the Interstate Com
merce Commission, which should
have power to fix both maximum and
minimum rates. When it was pro-
posed that the Shipping Board should
be given a control of water transpor-
tation similar to that exercised over
railways by the Interstate Commerce
commission the steamboat men made
such vigorous fight that the mea
sure was defeated. Il is safe to say
that lot of them will be on hand at
the Convention to oppose the present
proposition. This question will be
brought before the Convention in an
address by Maj. Gen. VIM. NJ. Black,
Chief of Engineers.
Hon. Peter G. Ten EycK. OF Al
bany, N. Y, Regional Chairman Area
No. 2, Highway Transport Commit
tee, Council of National Defense, will
speak on 1.-THE Correlation of High
ways and Waterways" and Fourth
Assistant Postmaster General Blaks-
lee will present plan which he be-
ieves would give us a great national
system of good roads which will pay
for themselves not only in benefits,
but in actual dollars and cents.
For some years the highway, rail-
way and waterway have been referr-
ed to as the Transportation Trinity,
but it looks now as if the trio is to
become quartette, for traffic shows
a strong tendency to go up in the
air." What we may expect in this
line will be told by Mr. Alan R. Haw-
ley, President of the Aero Club of
America, in an address on Future
Air Traffic and Necessary Regulations