The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1920-08-27

telegraph, telephone ana cGDle
lines were turned over to the
government during the war.
While serving as Chairman
of this Committee l discovered
that the lack of growth of the
commerce of the Southern
ports in comparison with the
Eastern and Northern ports
was not due to natural causes
but to the discrimination of the
railroads in their rates to the
various ports and the discrimi-
nation of the government in
the matter of appropriations
for dry docks and harbor
improvements since the Civil
War. The country does not
realize that the government in
the last so years has expended
for naval stations and harbor
Improvements north Of Halter
as, a distance of roughly $50
miles, nearly s700,000,000,
while south cf Hatteras, dis
tance of over 1000 miles, only
s70,0O0,000.
The North Atlantic has 18
dry docks; the South Atlantic
and Gulf has one, a small one,
at Charleston. During the past
session of Congress, two bills
were introduced by Republican
Senators which would discon-
tinue the appropriation for the
deepening of the channel at
Charleston, and the construc-
ton of a tremendous dry dock
at that place. It was by my
efforts in the Senate that these
bills were not pressed and the
work in Charleston is now go
ing on.
While I was Chairman of the
Interstate Commerce Commit
tee and the railroads were un-
der the control Of the govern
ment, I instituted and led the
fight with ether Southern Sena-
tors for an equalization of i'm
port, export and domestic rates
with other sections of the coun-
try. I was successful in this
fight.
Since the roads have been re-
turned to private ownership
they have sought to re-establish
the old discriminatory rates
against Southern ports. in
tend to keep on with the fight
to prevent this and at the DEM
ocratic National Convention /
wrote and had Incorporated in
the platform that plank which
pledges the party to stand for
equality of rates, both import
and export, for the ports of the
country, to the end that there
might be adequate and fair IA
cilities and rates for the mobil-
ization Of the products of the
country offered for shipment.
+, The equalization of freight
rates, import, export and do
mestic, and equal harbor facili-
ties mean more than anything
else in the rejuvenation and
expansion of the direct foreign
trade of Southern manufactur-
ers and Southern products
through Southern ports. I have
. taken a leading part, in secur-
ing the ALLEGATION of ships by
the Shipping Board to South
ern ports and have had con-
siderable success.
With the increase in our
foreign trade, the South will be
able to take advantage of the
opportunities offered, with it's
consequent prosperity. It is
not generally known that most
of the larger cities of the Mid
die West are closer to the port
of Charleston and other South
ern ports than to the port Of
New York.
In this connection, while dis
cussing transportation, I might
say that while ranking member
of the Postofice and Post
Roads Committee, l collaborat-
ed and fought through with
Senator Bankhead and others
the Good Roads Act which ap-
propriated s200,Oo0,000 for
the government to cooperate
with the States in the construc-
tion of good roads. The con-
struction of good roads is one
of the greatest needs which
confront the people of this
State as we'll as the country at
large, and l pledge myself for
the future as in the past, to
fight for any. proper measure
which will lead to the construc-
tion of better roads.
One of the very many evils
that resulted from the Civil
War was our financial condition
under the Banking and Cur
rency Act of 1868. This sys-
tenn was in effect up to the time
of the present Democratic Ad-
ministration. Panics were fire.
quent and the victims of these
panics were the weak and un-
befriended. In 1913 was pass
ed the Federal Reserve Act, the
greatest constructive piece OF
legislation enacted since the
Civil War. This Act, together
II ~