The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1922-03-01
TRANSPORTATION.

We stated in u last issue that the
railroads were losing business on
short hauls of freight and passengers
on account of the fact that travellers
and shippers were finding it cheaper
and more satisfactory to use motor
driven vehicles instead of the rail-
roads. The following editorial from
the New York Herald will furnish
information that the railroads are
losing business in other ways, the
loss in every case tending to reduce
the revenues of the carriers, leaving
them with fixed burdens, and to that
extent undermining the whole sys-
tenn Of transportation in this country.
The suggestion made in the editorial
we believe to be wise, to be the re-
suit of a proper inventory of the
facts, and to be worthy of the con-
sideration of the people of the
whole country, and especially of
those who own the railroads and
those who look to those roads for
continued employment.
The conclusions of the Herald are
not different from the conclusions
reached. by thoughtful men else
where. Bnt the facts stated may be
new to many. This is what the Her
aid has to say:
"AN last year excessive railway
traffic rates were driving transconti-
mental business out Of the freight
trains and into ships using the Pana-
ma Canal route. They were driving
Europe bound shipments from the
transcontinental rail and Atlantic
water routes into the canal ships.
"The greater part Of 1920 was a
fat year for general traffic and 1921
was q lean year. Yet in the lean year
of 1921 the American coastwise car
goes passing through the Panama
Canal went up to 1885, 22 tons from
,669.0s5 tons in 1s2o-to the loss of
the railroads. Panama Canal cargoes
from the western part Of the United
States to Europe in 1920 we're only
74s,447 tons; in 1921 they went up
to 1,581,s59 tons-again to the loss
Of the railroads.
"Tiese figures mean that train
lqad after trainload Of freight form
erfy going by rail from coast to coast
or from points near n coast to
points rear another coast were shift
ed into ships because it was the
cheaper way TO deliver the goods. It
mems that .trainload after trainload
of freight formerly hauled from
Western States to the Atlantic sea-
board and put into bottoms for al
straight ruin across the ocean to Eu-
rope found a more desirable way in
being hauled to Pacific ports and put
aboard ships for the longer but
cheaper trip down the Pacific coast,
through the Panama Canal, across
the Gulf of Mexico and then up and
across the Atlantic Ocean.
"0n these two items Of coastwiss
traffic and United States Europe
traffic the Panama Canal increase
in one year was more than 1,10O,-
900 tens.
ut was oon after the close of
the war that The New York Herald
began to warn both railroad mana
gers and railroad workers that the
abnorual rail transportation rates
would inevitably drive more and
more business away from the land
CARRIERS to the water carriers as the
falling ship rates made the maritime
competition more and more of an
appeal to shippers. And The New
YorR Herald now reminds the rail
carriers that the only way they can
get hack that great tonnage loss is
with traffic rates that will win back
the business because it will pay the
9hnsinSes En- po barh A. Tho naifroads