The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-02-07
For the Good. of
 the Community

ID ENDING before the railroad admins A tratlon is the question of export freight rates through Gulf and South Att lantic ports. The matter has been pre- sented before the administration by ship pers and traffic men and argument made in support of their plea for fair treatment of these ports and southern shippers.
 Northern railroads terminating at New York, Baltimore and other North Atlan- ltic ports are united in opposition.
 The South's interests are in the hands of committee of traffic men and ship pers, with A. c. T. Moore, of New Or leans, traffic manager of the Southern Pine Association, as chairman.
 This committee has joined forces with the Midwest -Gulf-South Atlantic foreign trade and transportation committee, rep resenting number of commercial organ lzations in states of the South and West
 Both committees are determined to see to it that the south Atlantic and gulf ports and through them the great southern and western interior part of the country, get square deal in the matter of freight rates. The southern and western traffic and shippers representatives realize that New ork and other great eastern ports of America are congested and they declare that if the enormous export trade of the country is to be handled prop erly and if the new American merchant marine is to be developed to the greatest extent the ports of the south must be fully utilized
 The railroad administration appeared to re- allze this some time ago when it equalized freight rates on goods for export from the interior to the south Atlantic and gulf ports That is it reduced the rates on goods to these ports for export to an equality with the rates on goods to New York for export"
 The Baltimore and Ohio and other roads in the North are seeking to have this equality done away with
 "The southern traffic interests want not only to hold the equality their ports have gained with eastern ports, but they are also fighting to obtain restoration of export rates on shipments from the interior to south Atlantic and gulf ports The rail- road administration, >by general order No. 28, abolished these export rates. Local rates are now charged on traffic to the southern ports that is intended for export. The local rates are higher than the former export rates.
 z The government has spent millions of dollars in seeking to expand the foreign trade of the United States said MT. Moore, today. Our southern ports have been developed to handle large share of the foreign trade. Billions have been spent by the government for building ships to carry Americas foreign trade. The people of the country are entitled to get the best service. The business interests of the south and west de- mand it. The farmers, the manufacturers, the producers in all lines insist upon adequate trans portation and non-discrminatory rates for the products of the soil, the mine and the factory"
 It is argued in support of the southern ports movement that exporting and i'm porting through them not only will re- lieve the congestion at eastern ports but it will be economy. The haul from St. Louis Louisville and to any of the Gulf ports is shorter than to New York, from St. Louis it is considerably shorter, and the railroads for the most part pass through comparatively a level country, whereas to reach the Atlantic SeabOard