The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-13
For the Good of
 the Community

EXPORT and import rates through the gulf and
 south Atlantic ports, against which the ship ping and commercial bodies of New York and the trunk railway lines centering at that city have protested, are live issue among southern and central western shipping interests just now
 Under the existing tariffs Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati and other cities in the central west and all southern cities are able to deliver ship ments intended for export at the gulf and south Atlantic ports at freight rates comparable to the rates to New York and other north Atlantic ports.
 During and since the war New Orleans, Mobile. Pensacola, Savannah, Jacksonville, Tampa and other coast cities in the south have come in for considerable portion of the foreign trade and this IS now growing at such a rapid rate as to cause alarm among the eastern railway managers and the commercial bodies of the cities on the north Atlantic coast
 Having monopoly, through their control of the money of the country, and through this the railroads, New York and Philadelphia and Boston have been able in the past to direct exporters and importers how and through what ports to route their shipments.
 The congested conditions at New York during the war opened the eyes of the United States ship ping board to the necessity of utilizing the other ports of the country and orders to this effect were published. Ships were allocated to ports along the south Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, and with bottoms made available, foreign trade at these places took on new life. They are now in the way of developing large foreign trade and New York and the eastern railway managers are not pleased with the prospect
 Mobile, Alabama's only port reports both the unexpected and unprecedented growth of foreign trade during the first three months of this year, and additional ships to handle the growing busi- ness are promised during the summer
 Birmingham steel for shipment to Rotterdam is now being loaded onto steamship built at Mo- bile of Birmingham steel, and it is announced that it will start on its maiden voyage about the 2Otn of this month.
 Birmingham cast iron pipe ard soil pipe, in large demand on the Pacific coast can be shipped through Mobile at less cost than through any other port
 California canned goods are shipped by steamer from the Pacific coast to New York, thence by rail to distributing centers in the norh central west and the south Rail shipments are also made the goods going to New York and then back to the interior points, making two freight charges It costs about twice as much to deliver these goods at interior points as at New York, al- though they are much nearer the Pacific coast.
 By shipping these goods through one of the gulf ports, thence by rail to St. Louis, Chicago, Cincinnati and other cities in that section of the country, it is claimed, the freight charges would be cut almost in half.
 Last December the railroad administration can celled the export rates on lumber from gulf ports east of the Mississippi river but allowed them to remain in effect from ports west of the Mississip- pi. The lumber rate committee of the Southern Pine Association is meeting in New Orleans this week to take steps looking to the restoration of these rates.
 : The commercial organizations in all southern cities are directly interested in the export and i'm port rates, Their members. import and export goods The gulf and south Atlantic ports are nearer them and the rates through these ports are, or chn,,ld he corresnondirplv lower The matter