The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-05-16
ASHbURN ADVISES AGAINST FORC N G| ISSUE WITH ROADS.
Inland Waterways Head Ex- plains Action In Placing
 Warrior Embargo
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which would absolutely kill 1t com- mercially, although the differential on export grain from St. Louis to New Orleans was in favor sf New Orleans. At the same time, they con- tended that there should be no dif- ferential on export grain from St. Louis or Cairo to Mobile and New Orleans. Certainly, one of these two positions is illogical. The factors that govern export rates by water are entirely different from the factors that govern articles for domestic consumption.
 Now Losing Money.
 The truth of the matter is that the grain rate we put on the Mis- sisippi river recently at mills per ton mile. was put on because of the fact that otherwise the barge line would have gotten an inconsidera ble amount of grain to ship down the had to meet the competition through Chicago and Duluth, thence via lake, to Montreal or New York.
 Now the law provides that the Mississippi7W arrior service shall be operated, and under the present con- ditions the Warrior service is a tre mendous monthly loser. It will per haps be astonishing to some of the advocates of the Warrior line to know that the more tonnage we carry on the Warrior river, the greater are our losses. In order to finance the Warrior river success fully, we must make big earnings or the Mississippi, and we must cut down the losses on the Warrior. The average revenue on the Warrior at the present time is only $1.65 a ton, and on the Mississippi 1t runs as high as SS.50 a ton. Now. by careful and paintaking operation. we have discovered that the most economical method for the government or private transportation agency to run the Warrior at the preseN time under the present conditions, is to take the two self-propelled barges and keep them in constant service. carrying coal downstream and ore upstream. and keeping them out of the packet service; to cut down the towboats to minimum of two oil- burners, if possible, carrying six barges each way and filling them with through freight which gives us the longest water haul and conse- quently, greater revenue.
 Losses Cut Down.
 By doing this. we actually sue ceeded in cutting down the losses on the Warrior river from approximate ly $50,000 in March to S2S,000 in April.
 Movement is the heart of trans portation. The self-propelled barges must keep moving or they will be a dismal failure: the towboats must be kept moving, unless there is suf- ficient equipment to drop off barges as freight train would drop off main tow gets long haul.
 q think the implication that the Warrior service has gotten into snarl and a tangle is unjust. 1t is operating on a much more efficient financial basis today than ever be- fore. The cost of operation is lower; the movements are much more rapid, and we are using only those boats which do not require a tremendous amount of maintenance. The only coal burning towboat which we have on the river burnt 359 tons of coal from Mobile to Birmingham on it's last trip. and the cost was greater than the entire revenue accruing from the cargo after the railroads had received their division. At the present average revenue per ton 1t
 
 out of service.
 at Stake.
 "Now it must be borne in mind that the whole future of waterway is at stake. upon the success of the Warrior river. This question of success hinges upon two Of them is proper and sufficient equipment ana the other is fair division of revenue accruing from joint hauls by rail ana water.
 Tt is no matter of small import ance tC negotiate successfully with the railroads and to bring them to realization of the fact that the barge line must have a living revenue. It is true that an appeal can be taken to the interstate commerce commis- ion, but it must be borne in mind tha: the last appeal which we made October l. 1920, was never passed passed it resulted only in the enun- citation of certain defined principles upon which the service was directed to enter into negotiations with the railr pads. These negotiations are be- ing conducted and with fairly satis- factory results. The initial agree ment with the Southern towards the rates proposed through Demopolis, Tuscaloosa and Cordova was a dis tinct step to the advantage of the Warrior system. The fact that our original proposal 10 the Southern for proper division via Bir- mingham was not acquiesced in Is not fatal set back The traffic manager of the Southern railroad and the traffic manager of the barge line are carrying on fur ther negotiations along this line and we hope the result will be mu- tua1ly advantageous.
 Certainly the demanding of spe- cial privileges from the barge line, which are uneconomical in principle and disastrous in practical opera tion, is not going to advance the case of the Warrior or the Mississippi rivers.
 Explains Embargo.
 Finally, my conclusion is this that it was in the interest of econ- omy to place this temporary em- bargo upon certain Warrior river cities It was in the interest of economy to reduce the operating fleet to a minimum, and the fleet having ben reduced to minimum. is another cause for the temporary em- bargo. The negotiations now pend- ing between the railroads and this service should be allowed to prog ress to such point that the con- terding parties may come to an agreement or have definite DaSlS upon which to prepare an appeal to the interstate commerce commission. In the latter case the offices of the shippers would be enlisted in the support of the contention of the barge line.
 At the same time proper repre- sentation of the attitude of the ship pers towards the discrimination made against the barge line might well and profitably be brought to the att tention of the rail lines in question.
 My judgment is that any other nasty action might result in the ere ation of conditions which would null