The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-10-20

ter points, and rates to the interior so high as to recoup the railroads from losses on the former. As a matter of fact, the subnormal rates do pay something above the Out-of- pocket costs and were made. for the benefit of shippers not in position to use water in com petition. For example, we have made rates from Birmingham to Savannah to enable manufacturers at the former point to meet the competition of eastern shippers using vessels to Savannah. So far as l, know, the Southern carriers have never attempted to compete for pOrt-to-port traffic, as, for ex- ample, New York to Savannah, as they can not do so at any reasonable rates. And all interior rates have to stand, and will al- ways continue to stand, the tests prescribed by law, based on their individual merits Hence it is not possible (tO use your expres- sion) "to tax interior shippers, with an exces- sive charge for freight
 You go on to say, in the same respect, that you have seen in Alabama the same thing in the low rail rates to the seaboayds in: order that the railroads may discriminate against the barge lines. Long prior to the inception of the Mississippi Warrior River Barge SerV- ice, the railroads attempted to secure share of the traffic from the central west to lower Mississippi river cities against boats on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and, at the same time, the policy was to give Alabama's port MobiIe-the same rates as New Orleans might have been able to procure. In addition ship pers not in position to use the rivers, de- siring to compete at said water competitive, places, had rates to both ports sufficiently low to enable them to compete on reasonable terms with those using coastwiSe service and the rivers. If normal rates had been observed to these water-competitive cities, the rail lines would not have procured any substantial business thereto and yet the discrimination would have existed just the same against fn- terior cities, although not of rail carrier cause; that is to say, New Orleans, Vicks- burg, Memphis, Mobile, etc., would have been able to procure low rates by water irrespec- tive of the rail lines, whereas the interior cities, such as Meridian and Birmingham would have had to depend upon the rail car riers. Also, under such condition, the water side cities would have had restricted terri= tories from which to draw supplies, as they would, naturally, have had to depend upon other waterside shipping points from which the low all-water applied.
 The policy of the rail carriers was not, under such circumstances, injurious to the inland cities, and it was helpful to the water side cities in that other manufacturers and producers not capable of competing with those having water facilities were put in posi-
 
 would have been confined to St. Louis, Chi cago and the East for supplies of manufac- tured iron. The carrier policy permitted Bir- mingham, which could not use water carriers, to compete for the sale of the same cQmmodi ties at New Orleans as against those other markets. ..e
 However, as have stated in the beginning of this letter, this condition, insofar as in terstate rates are concerned to Mobile, New Orleans, etc., has been done away with, and the rates, now, from the central vest, etc., to the interior cities of the Mississippi Valley are on a parity, distance. considered, with these waterside places. An exception is cer- tain intrastate rates from Alabama places to the port of Mobile, where there still exists some discriminations in favor of intrastate as against interstate shippers. We hope ulti- mately to have the cooperation of the state commission in removing this exception.
 I regret the necessity for writing you at such length, but am actuated by the desire to make the situation perfectly clear to you, so that you, in turn, might be in position, through the columns of your paper, to correct the false impression which has been created. W. l.. MAPOTHER, President, Louisville < Nashville Railroad Go.
 Louisville, Ky, Oct, 9, 1924.