The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-05-18
SUCCESS FOR THE BARGE LINES


 The house approval of the plan to operate the Mississippi Warrior barge lines, by means of a government corporation headed by Col onef T. c. Ashburn and the transfer of the enterprise from the war to the commerce department, has one outstanding significance it means that congress is in a mood to commit itself anew to waterway develop ment Undoubtedly, under proper manage meflt and with full government support, the barge lines can be efficiently operated no matter what the formal method of organizing it's operative and administrative forces. It is also believed that the present method has been handicapped by many obstacles of an official and routine nature. Department red tape has been the villain in more than one national undertaking, and it's oppressive in- fluence has not been absent from the water way administration.
 It is believed that, with the transfer to the commerce department, and with a congress sional mandate directly from congress to the administrative head much of the artificial impediment to efficient management of the barge lines will be done away with. Inas. much as inland waterway transportation be- comes each year more necessary to our in- dustrial economy, and inasmuch as the Mis- sissippi- Warrior project is the great govern ment experiment by the results of which other waterway developments will be guided, it is especially important that the experiment be made successful. Although the federal in- vestment amounts to fifteen or twenty mil lion dollars, the greatest stake for the public lies in the enormous saving to shippers in transportation costs. While the benefit to the consumer of products may not be at once apparent in reduced levels, there is no doubt that in the long run, and with a balanced waterway development throughout the coun- try, the economic benefit will be enormous and incalculable.
 It is shown by official figures that the per ton saving on shipments by the barge lines average $1.4O. In 1923 the total saving to shippers by Mississippi-W Warrior barges was almost one million dollars. This saving can be increased to an indefinite extent by in- creasing the tonnage carried by the barges. At present this tonnage is limited by the inadequate barge equipment. The present barge capacity is continually taxed to it's limit. Time and again it has been shown by incontrovertible evidence that more liberal barge appropriation is essential to full pub lie enjoyment of the service, but the funds have not been forthcoming. With a definite corporation specifically charged with barge line administration, perhaps congress will in future respond more promptly to such repre- sentation in the barges behalf as may be made from time to time.
 When computing the public advantage de- rived from barge-line operation one must take into account the fact that the barge-line rates compete not with normal rail rates, but with special low competitive rail rates. All ship pers and consignees within the scope of this reduced rail-rate influence thus enjoy a defi- nite saving in freight charges which is prop erly to be credited to the barge-line influ- ence, even though the shipments travel en- tirely by rail. It is quite easily probable that this saving amounts, not to one million, but to several millions annually. As the area served by barge lines widens, so the indirect saving will increase more rapidly than the direct saving This increase will also mount in direct ratio with the nationally increasing there is no way in which the American pub lie can lose, even though the barge lines themselves should never come to show more than an operating profit.
 But it is held by those who have given close study to the barge lines that they can be made to pay a good profit on the invest ment if they are given adequate modern equipment and are accorded an equitable di- vision of revenues derived from joint rail and waterway hauls. At present the railroads have much the best of this transaction, as the Interstate Commerce Commission has made only partial adjustment of the discrepancies which the commission itself has detected and acknowledged With the government more formally committed to barge-line success than ever before, it is believed that the commis- sion will eventually grant further adjust ments until the waterways are reasonably remunerated for their portion of the joint hauls. Added efficiency in carriers and ter minals will add also to the economy of barge operation, thus providing a further margin for the pecuniary success of the venture. Now that it appears that there'will develop in congress no serious opposition to the more systematic administration of the waterways the prospect for the complete realization of the waterway benefit is in sight.
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 TREES