The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-04-03
MORE TONNAGE FOR GULF PORTS

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 MORE TONNAGE FOR GULF PORTS The legislation governing the development of Alabama's seaport at Mobile requires that the facilities established by the expenditure of the first five million dollars shall earn return of five per cent. on the investment before the additional five million may be ex- pended. It is doubtless with this limitation in mind that General Sibert stipulates that, as a preliminary to docks construction, the railroads entering Mobile shall make such con nections with carriers in the Midwest and Northwest as will insure additional tonnage for the port. The tonnage of Alabama and contiguous territory that now naturally flows to Mobile will not furnish sufficient guarantee of the specified earning. There is plenty of tonnage in the North and West, however, which now goes to the Atlantic Sea board at great cost and at unnecessary burden upon transportation capacity, which along the shorter routes to the Gulf ports. Mobile properly comes in for a fair share of this tonnage, and that share would insure the stipulated earnings at the state termi- nals.
 The railroads serving Mobile may well cooperate with the port in obtaining this tonnage, for it is directly to their interest to do so. There appears to be fundamental obstacle to this undertaking, however, which only the Interstate Commerce Commission can remove, and which the United States Shipping Board some weeks ago called se riously to the commissions attention. The riously to the commissions attention. That is the absence of rates to seaboard based more uniformly on distance.
 And there in short is evidence that the great Eastern ports and trunk lines are specially favored to the disadvantage, not only of the Southern ports, but also to the even greater disadvantage of shippers in the Midwest and. Northwest The Interstate Commerce Commission has the authority to remedy this situation so prejudicial to a wide area of this nation and to at least twenty-five per cent. of the American people. The situation is of an importance we'll de- serving of thslcommissions prompt attention. through export rates based on continuous bills of ladihg from originating interior points to foreign ports by way of American steamship lines, as provided in the merchant l..- I. the cooperation of the railroads and the Interstate Commerce Commission, in order that tonnage through Southern ports may be of volume sufficient to enable Gulf steam ship lines to meet the rates of lines serving the Eastern ports. The through bills of lading and the export rates would naturally be based on distance, so that the Gulf ports would automatically inherit the tonnage that has been travelling to the more distant At lantic ports. The policy of the shipping board has brought much more tonnage south ward than formerly, and has raised Mobile from sixteenth to eighth place among the ports. That policy now needs to be supple mented by internal route adjustments, and by the application of the further provisions of national legislation.
 All the Gulf ports; all the traffic bureaus of Alabama; all the railroads serving South ern ports and. all the great interior produc- ing centers which would enjoy a cash benefit from this program can and should unite in one irresistible demand and campaign for adequate, legitimate and long overdue recog- milton of the Gulf ports and of the public right of interior points tto enjoy the cash benefits of their proximity to the Gulf sea- board. For the entire people of Alabama is it especially urgent that this source of ton mage for their seaport should be developed without delay as the assurance of the fullest euooa.s of nnrt 4a~uo;nal dovaIonnoont