Omaha daily bee., 1921-07-27
By VICTOR B. SMITH.

IliSll Aost VI IdHspoi tiHS iSiSHl Wy ram od'
is only one part OF the burden placed upor
producer and consumer by present trmsporta
ton methods. Equally important in many in
stances, particularly in the case of exports
through New York, is the cost of getting
freight through congested terminals.
The fact hardly seems credible, but it is fac
nevertheless that the cost of getting freight
from railroad car to ocean vessel at Atlantic
seaports frequently equals or exceeds the cost
of the rail haul from points as far distant as
Chicago. If the Great Lakes were open to
ocean steamers, this would be eliminated.
Most of the freight passing through the
port of New York must be lightered, i E., car
ried by ferry or barge from railroad treminal to
| merce commission Investigations indicate that the
| present cost of this service is about 500 car,
or 10 cents a hundred pounds. While this
charge is not necessary at some of the other
steamship piers, yet the railroads add at least
part of the charge to their rates to these other
| ports i'll order to maintain equal rates from in
land points to all north Atlantic ports. The
charge made necessary by New Yorks peculiar
geography thus becomes drag upon commerce
| in all north Atlantic ports.
| A second terminal charge is that for steve
| doring. The cost of loading and unloading
both cars and vessels has increased very largely
in recent years. Available data indicates wide
variations, but MacElwee and Ritter estimate
! the general cost of loading or unloading ton
| of general package freight in New York at 81
ton, or cents hundred pounds.
In addition to these two items, terminal costs
| include the pilotage, towage and dockage of the
vessels under normal conditions and, further,
the storage, demurrage or carriage made neces-
sary in case of port congestion, which delays the
transfer of shipments from car to steamer.
These charges all figure in the total cost of
transportation, In cases where the market price
abroad is fixed by competition with other ports
or other countries-as in the of grain
this cost of transportation is reflected to the
producer, who receives less for his product be-
cause of the cost of reaching the market In
other cases the cost may be borne by he con-
sumer, or shared by him.
What is true of the port OF New York is
true in lesser degree of other ports and of con-
gested inland terminals such as Chicago, Inter-
state Commerce Commissioner Wooiley recently
said:
At New York it was found that the ex-
pense of handling a from the time it
landed within the terminal limits of Jersey
City until it was delivered to destination in
Brooklyn or Manhattan, including lghterage,
was approximately $685. At Chicago it was
found the cost of handling the same within
the terminal limits was $lo:35. At Bingham
ton, N. Y, the cost was $l.80. San Fran
CISCO with municipality controlled terminal,
has fiat charge Of $3.50 per car for handling
within terminal limits.
Shipment in vessels which can load at Great
Lakes ports and carry through to destination
whether that be Europe, South America or
Atlantic coast ports-means the avoidance OF
such charges. Lake ports such as Chicago
Duluth, Milwaukee, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland
and the like transfer cargoes from car to
vessel vastly cheaper than any of the congested
Atlantic seaports. Once aboard, if the ST.
Lawrence improvement is carried out >the cargo
can be carried without transfer or delay to
destination.
MacElwee and Ritter have figured out costs
on the basis of typical vessels, operating under
normal conditions. They say:
"The figures show that cargo can be carried
between lake ports and Liverpool and
9th, other torelgn ports at =, rates :. which
cessfu competition with Atlantic coast ports.
Reducing all cargo to grain for purposes of
comparison, it IS found that the actual cost per
bushel, assuming full cargoes, on the New
York-Liverpool route for the 8,800-ton vessel
is IFS cents and on the Duluth-Liverpool route
grain could be taken from Duluth to New York
and there placed upon the ocean carrier for less
than SO cents per bushel, the New York route
would have the advantage SO far as grain is
of getting grain to the Atlantic seaboard
ranges between IS and 20 cents.
1T is on general cargo that the greatest
ings will result because OF the higher rail rate
and the higher costs of handling such cargo.
With the recent increase in rail rates. the average
ton-mile rate is now about LIS cents. This rep
resents charge of $l140 per ton from Chicago
to New York and S5.52 per ton from Buffalo
to New York. AS matter Of fact, rates from
Chicago to New York freight of the charac-
ter referred to are from $3.50 to $50 and more
per ton. The first case involves one or more
transfers at New York, costing at low esti-
mate 81 per ton in addition to charges absorbed
in the rate, or total of $780, while the latter
involves two transfers, at Buffalo at about
$l.20 per ton and one at New York at 81 per
ton, plus the lake haul from Chicago to Buff
falo, costing about $2.35 per ton, or a total of
$l107"
The additional cost of the Liverpool-Du-
luth all-water route over the Liverpool-New
York route being $13l per cargo ton, it ap-
pears that the possible saving involved by the
use of the latter route amounts to $o76 per
ton on general cargo and from to IL cents
per bushel on grain These savings, or the
smaller savings attainable from carrying less
than full cargoes. are so substantial as to in
dicate that deep waterway penetrating the
Great Lakes will be not only desirable but in
dispensable to the future prosperity OF the
northwest"
The St. Lawrence waterway saving on grain
alone as compared with rail shipping of export
stuff. is figured here at from to IL cents per
tended for export but practically all that pro-
duced in the territory tributary to the Great
Lakes, for the price of all is based on the price
of the exportable surplus. On this basis, the
increased price of grain alone, paid into the
pockets Of western farmers, will amount to
many millions of dollars more than the entire
$2s0,000.000 which the waterway improvement