Evening journal., 1920-01-10
rnorrsr Ae,Nsr pIscmMINAnoN.

1r,uN1NGToNs Chamber OF Commerce should Join
w with The New York Chamber Of Commerce ana
other kindred bodies in protesting against Feuerei
freight rate discrimination against North Atlantic ports
including Wilmington.
That the port of New York and all North Atlantic
Territory are being most unusty Disseminated against
In export freight rates by the Government authorities
through their control Of the railroads and OF ocean snip
ping lines Is the charge made in report adopted today
at the monthly meeting Of the Chamber Of Commerce
of the State Of New York.
The report states that recent publication OF tarius
by the United states Railroad Administration covering
the rates on freight for export through the South
Atlantic and Gulf Ports from territory roughly described
as east Of the Mississippi north Of the Ohio ana west
Of Buffalo and Pittsburgh dsregards all hitherto recos-
nlzed rules Of rate making. The new tariffs put the Sou
Atlantic and Gulf ports a parity with Norh Atlantic
ports on all export rac Fhs Is done in the race oil 'e
fact that the originating territory is naturally tributary
TO the North Atlantic ports from standpoint OF distance
Of direct rail service by main trunk lines ana natuFal
trend Of all tranlc.
The New York Chamber declares that the action
on The part Of the Railroad Administration is most
unjust discrimination Many concrete examples are given
one Of these is the iron and steel articles from
Youngstown to New York which IS " cents per hundred
pounds The distance is 49i miles. BY the new tariffs
the same rae applies from Youngstown 70 New orleans
where the distance is 1874 miles, in other words the same
rate applies to a haul which is 637 miles longer.
The new rates doubly penalze the railroads 1t forces
the south bound roads TO carry freight many hundred
miles farther for the charge prevails for the
much shorter haul the logical route for the fresh
Al the same time tho must return from the South
mostly empty.
It is pointed out that the new tariffs were hled on
one days notice under special permission of the l. C. o.
thus arording no opportunity for protest OF puDllc
hearing Il is claimed this showed the plain intention OF
the United States Railroad Administration to give no
opportunity for protest II opportunity had been given
the rates could not have become effective, under he
Interstate Commerce Act without suspension as protest
would have been made under the provisions OF the law
The reasons for the new and discriminating freight
rates are that the United States Shipping Board has been
aocang TO all Southern ports whether such ports nave
an established foreign trade not, steamship tonnage
that evidently cannot be ned from the territory naturally
tributary to such ports The Chamber states that ths
is plainly an effort on the part Of the United states snip
pnq Board IN conjunction with the United states al-
road Administration that inland rates be esaDhsheu 70
force business from producing territory hat does not
geographically belong TO of the ports thus served
scb action ~ economically unsound and creates an add-
ona burden on transportation which cannot be jusuneu
upon any busless basis or national expedlency
Certainly there should be no lack OF co-operauoh DE
any civic body in Wilmington in the matter oi rshns
any wrongs from which any North Atlantic Tort suffers