Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1920-02-06
SGvannah's Groq0img Exports
And Georgia's Stake in Them
m Georgia, or for That MaLIeT VHe en

"A TT, Georgia, or for that maLtef lie eli
"A t;ro ccuntrv has reason to be inter-
A ested IN the waxing export commerce
Of Savannah During the last seven nouns On tl,
there have steamed out OF that haFpor snlps
laden with goods to the value OF one hunureo
- a;v+vfour million dollars. For the Whole
asca1 wear. it is now indicated, the sum WIZ
aI,.roximate three hundred mllllo1is' LIT
tbara were a shadow Of reasonable douoV
that This mort is of substantial ana ever We. N
creasing worth not to one resloIt &c e,lres
the nations common INTERESTS 'A0''o
assnredly would give answer
To- tho rising tides of trade mere eSA-
dancad scatter their benefits all the way
from the Georgia coast TO the 4 49,,
ing stron gholds of the Mlddle. "eSU. 80 80
that latter district, indeed co lne9 'of
nortion of the hundreds OF mllllohS ~
Foroion commerce which is finding an out
lat nv vav of Savannah; and II the equl1d-
lilo railroad rates now obtaining from tne
Middle West to Southern ports felhain' Cne ny
present trend will become more anu llole
pronounced. This Will mean t" +.,i+orv
chants and manufacturers IN that terlltoly
who formerly had to send thelr eApolI
business over the long rail hauls anu
through the congested ports OF Inc NJ ~
Atlantic will continue to ENJOY tue auV an
tages of the more convenient ana ecohoL!i IL,
cal route through SoutneEh p olt ,ona
mean, moreover; that the country along
This route will come into its righttul ana
natural heritage as a highway OF Worlo
commerce. That is to say, all~IeoIs ga 90
well as Savannah and the entire South DIS
we'll as the port cities will snare the en-
richment. Nor will the beneficial effects
nause at regional bounds. Every broad
visioned student of the situation declares
that national interests demand a better pal
anced distribution of export commerce imam
we have had hitherto. and, to that emu, d
more vigorous development Of ocean gate
+1,o IL.
Such has been the repeated counsel OF the
head of the Federal Railroad Admlnlstra-
ton the head of the United States Snip
ping Board and the directors OF great COM
mercial associations who could speak from
standpoint of general rather than partle-
ular and selfish interests.
IT is a matter of national regret, there
fore. that certain shipping powers OF the
East should have undertaken to overturn
the equitable freight rates and to take away
the rightful tonnage which have been al
lowed the ports of the South. Savannah, as
the Morning News we'll observes, sis rob
bling no other port of its legitimate COM
merce" Nor is Brunswick nor Jackson
Vile nor Charleston, nor Wilmington nor
any of their sisters of the Southern coast.
Of them each may be said, to a measur-
able degree, what is said of Savannah:
She is merely getting what is her
due what she should have as re-
suit of her location on the South At
1antic, her fresh water port her rail
road connections with the Middle West
her facilities. The better her port, the
greater will be her commerce, and the y
better will she serve the American peo-
pie. To develop this harbor is a pa
triotic duty the part of the Amer1-
can people; its improvement will mean
money in the pockets of the inlanders
whether they farm or operate factories,
whether they employ or are employed.
Savannah in the past has made good
her promise that her commerce would
show gains more than commensurate
with the improvement of her harbor.
She looks upon that promise as con-
tinually in existence. She believes that
the further improvement of the harbor
will mean the greater growth of her
commerce. The past has seen the prom
Use fulfilled; and there is even more
reason now for saying that the prom
Use will be made good in the future.
| These are the words of reason and fair
ness. And it is against those very prin-
ciples that the monopolistic and jealous
Eastern interests to which we have re-
ferred would array themselves in their
effort to deprive Southern ports of the
| rates, the tonnage and the business to
which the latter are entitled. 1t is a chal-
lenge to the plainest rights of Southern
commerce. a bold and sinister challenge
| which must be met with united loyalty.