The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-07-29
THE THREAT TO THE WARRIOR

Although it is apparent that the best interests of the Warrior barge line, of the territory and industries served by it., and of Alabama's seaport at Mobile, with it's prospective million-dollar investment of the peoples money, de- Finand the separation of the Warrior man. lagement from the management of the Mississippi, with it's tendency to favor New Orleans at tDe expense of the water way and of the Port of Mobile, yet there exists a secretive purpose to block this separation, if possible. It is suspected by those who have the Warriors success at heart that one of those most active in opposition to separate management of the Warrior is a man whose record shows him diligent in favoring the port of New Orleans as against the Port of Mobile and who is doubtless chagrined to find himself about to be shorn of an authority little short of autocratic and which he has used automatically. This mansis Theodore Brent, manager of the
  voritfsm for the Port of New Orleans has called forth the repeated protests from friends and supporters of the War rior.i
 That the federal government would permit itself to be in any degree swayed by the representations of one selfishly interested in course directly opposite to that recognized as publicly beneficial is not believed by the people of Ala bafna. It is believed that both Secretary Weeks and Colonel Ashburn are thor oughly convinced that the separate man. agement of the Warrior barge line is im- perative to the success of the govern ment's Warrior experiment, and that they will withstand spacious argument against that separation. Nevertheless, it is known that MT. Brent has received some Encouragement from Birmingham interests whose private. purpose is also served by the Brent policy. Therefore, the friends of the Warrior should bend every earnest and conscientious effort to thwart the attempt to block the War rior separation.
 The people of Alabama should be ap- prised of any attempt in Birmingham or elsewhere by exporting interests to make the Warrior subsidiary to policy of ex- port from New Orleans; especially inas- much as the Warrior is properly con- tributive to the tonnage of Mobile whose port the people of Alabama are under taking to develop at an expenditure of ten million dollars. The argument that there is not sufficient miscellaneous ton mage at Mobile is spacious and without foundation. If the tonnage in the War rior territory is carried down to Mobile for export, all kinds of tonnage, both export and import, will automatically grow. The way to build port is to patfonize it. No port ever expanded without a certain degree of deliberate patronage. In fact, the port of New Orleans now receives by way of the Warrior and Mobile tonnage that would not follow such routing were it not for deliberate policy based on private pro- gram and not founded on any balanced system of transportation efficiency.
 For any interests engaged in the de- velopment of resources in Alabama to consult only an immediate private ad- vantage and to recognize no public duty to assist in the rounded development of all the states opportunities to the best general advantage is for such interests to deny an inaienable obligation to the commonwealth they derive their wealth and their opportunity For federal off cial to seek to bend the welfare of a commonwealth to his own desire to hold lucrative and pivotal job is for that official to forfeit all right and title to his position.
 The public welfare and the success of the Warrior. enterprise, with its in- vestment of millions of public money, counsel the carrying out of the plan of operating the Warrior separately with an eye single to the welfare of the War rfor, of the territory it serves, and of the seaport of Alabama. There is sound reason for believing that the war de- partment and Director Ashburn are com mitted to the new policy, and every eff fort should be made to sustain their hands in this period of postponement when the secretive efforts to block sep alation are to make themselvessmahifest