Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-07-02
THE MoUSETRAP THEORY
is FATAL TO EXPANSION
The Port VIII Not Grow Unless we
Go After Business With
Determination to Get u

4 Nj 1 lNl 10 - ullSht coy ''''' Wv
" of the committee Of the Southwest
crn Millers' League to this city illus
tratps the truth Of the famous saying
about the man who invcnts n mouse
tran and the path which the world Will
make to his door.
The southwestern millers are seeking
an Atlantic port with adequate facill-
ties for shipping -four.
If we had the facilities the mousetrap
saving might be admitted as proved this
week.
Rut we have not the facilities. and
the best that Mr.. Sproule. of the Dc
partmcnt of Wharvcs. Docks and Fer
rics. could say about the matter is that
il the millprs will guarantee to send
their -four hero he will provide the
loading machinery.
The man with faith in Philadelphia.
however, can get some comfort out Of
tho fact that the fame Of the port has
spread as far as the great Southwest
and that business men from that part of
tbo country have thought II worth while
to come here to see what we nave TO
offer.
The visiting business men must nave
hccn impressed with the number Of rep
rcscntatives of committees who met
! thom. There were the Charmen OF the
/ Mayors committees on the alteration
Of more ships to this port. for tn" dc
vclormcnt of the Belt Lin" Railroai
and for the perfection of port facilities
besides the head of the transportation
! bureau of the Chamber Of Commerce
and the head of the chambers indus
trial committee. and the chairman o.
the -four committee Of the Commcrclal
Exchange and the members OF tn" port
DEVELOPMENT committee of the Flour
Club. as we'll as representatives oil
banks and cargo handling companies.
The visitors must have been i'm
nresscd by this array Of men engaged
in tho work of port boosting. But
they must have been more deeply i'm :
pressed by the extent of our wnter 'front.'
and by the number of modern piers
couippcd for handling cargoes OF Ger
tain kinds. We can lOnd coal and grain
as ouicily as it can hr loaded any
whore but il was discovered that our
facilities for handling package freight
are not adequate to the demands which
the millers would like to make upon
thcm. They will have To bc made ade-
innate before We can get the business.
The millers will not send their flour TO
PHILADELPHIA merely because ocean =
going ships can dock here Boston,
New York and Baltimore aro also ocean
ports and they arc also looking for more
! business. even though New York Is
overcrowded at the present time.
The business Of the port will not eX
pand as it should until we decide that
the mousetrap theory is applicable only
where there Is no competition. And II
will not expand very much, either SO
long as we content ourselves with ap-
pOinting committees to talk about the
subject. What We need Is action on
definite. well thought out program.
If the head Of a large private cor
noration scoking to enlarge his business
should follow the tactics which nave
prevailed in port plans here, the dircc
tors of the company would ask for his
resignation in short order. We need
the application of live business methods
to the problem.
If this port were a private enter
prise its manager would study the
manufacturing industries Of the arpn
which can be made tributary to it. Hc
would find out how many thousand tons
Of freight were shipped abroad every
vcar from that area. He would learr
thn character OF the freight and the
kind Of devices necessary for its eco
nomicol handling. He would learn tt
what foreign ports it was destined, anC
no would also discover how many pas
scngprs sailed every year from the citie'
in the tributary area. Then he would
set out to equip the port to handle
cyorv kind Of business, and when it wa'
couinped he would enter on systematic
romnaign to bring that business here
lie would get the business, too, be
cause he would offer facilities which
could not be found elsewhere.
The Baldwin Locomotive Compan!
does not wait for orders. Its prcRidcn
goes TO Europe TO sell the products o
his company, and he offers such term
| OF payment uh lIlt Dul'ho'''' 'N''
Mr.. Schwab goes to Europe to sell M
products OF his steel mills, and he sell
them. The managers Of scores OF othe
great corporations follow the sam
course. and succeed against the com
petition OF the whole world.
Philadelphia has only three other At
lantic ports to compete against. New
York it's chief competitor, is handi
capped by the necessity of lightering
large part of the freight delivered thcr
by rail. Freight can be loaded her
directly from the railroad car to tn
ship at the pier with a single handling
1t Is not necessary to enumerate tn
physical advantages of this port. The,
are 10 we'll known that to mention then
is like repeating the alphabet to
high school class. The listener usual,
asks why he Is bored by having hi
attention called to what he learned lon
ago. But the high school pupils us
the alphabet every day in their lessons
while the city appoI6>S committees T.
see what use can h DIE of the por
facilities. ~
y - u =.