The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-06-01
Forum Of The People
Southern Offers Defense fer Its Se.psrt

It nus lOHk Occn k0ONn IBAI I0e CDul1- erns chief seaport interest on the Gulf is at New Orleans, where it has it's principal ter minals. It has long been the Southern s policy to divert tonnage to New Orleans whenever feasible and profitable for it to do so, regardless of any other consideration"
 The SOuthern's chief interest on the Gulf is not the port of New Orleans. nor dees It have it's principal terminals at that port 1t has never been, nor is it now, the South erns policy to divert business to the port of New Orleans. regardless of any other consideration; nor has it the power to make such diversion.
 The New Orleans & Northeastern Rail- road, since the beginning of it's operation, has been the most important Southern con nection of the Mobile & Ohio, and its only connection for traffic. both domestic and foreign, via New Orleans 1t has enabled the Mobile X Ohio RailrOSd to compete with 'he Illinois Central and other New Orleans lines for traffic to and from the North and Northwest. which the Mobile & Ohio Rail- road could not otherwise enjoy. The Mobile & Ohio would obtain q larger revenue could it haul all this traffic to Mobile. It IS not in the power of the Mobile & Ohio to divert this traffic from New Orleans to Mobile.
 The chief export traffic through New Or leans consists of grain and grain products There are public elevators at New Orleans to accommodate this grain traffic Barring export grain and grain products. secured in competition with other New Orleans roads. both east and west of the Mississippi river. the Mobile & Ohio's export traffic through Mobile has been. and now is. larger than through the port of New Orleans
 The Mobile X Ohio Railroad delivers the New Orleans & Northeastern Railroad a larger tonnage for movement via New Or l. AL~ Anls~ ky fhn nnfh mrI way.
 The Southern Railway acquired control, and took over operation of the New Orleans & Northeastern Railroad in January. 1917, nearly twenty years after it had obtained access to the port of Mobile over its own roals through the Mobile & Birmingham Rail- road. It has handled throughout this period. and now handles. greater export traffic to Mobile than that delivered by the New Orleans & Northeastern Railroad for move ment to the port of New Orleans.
 A very small portion of the export traffic moving into New Orleans over the New Or leans & Northeastern Railroad is delivered southern Railway port terminals at that port.
 r,yery regular steamship line added since 1898 to the fleet of ships operating from Mobile has been brought to that port at the instance or through the cooperation. of the Southern Railway and Mobile < Ohio Rail- road, which afford free berth space to all these ships. It is due to the aggressive and continuous efforts of the Southern Railway and Mobile & Ohio Railroad traffic orean- izations that the export-import traffic of the port of Mobile has, in the main, been devel- Oped.
 If the Southern influence is to dominate the rnutinx of Mobile & Ohio tonnage, then as a matter of course the port of New Or leans will gain at the expense of the port of Mobile Discrimination in favor of one port at the expense of another is contrary to the public interest and to the formal policy of this government. The routing of goods by the most direct and feasible route to seaboard is a policy that goes directly counter to the plan to group the Mobile & Ohio with the Southern"
 The Southern Railway does not now, nor has it at any time undertaken to, dominate the policy of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad with respect to the routing of traffic What ever it's management, the Mobile & Ohio must take such traffic as it can obtain via the hort of New Orleans or forego that traffic altogether.
 The routing of, export commerce is not in the control of the railways. Railways do not make sales contracts or contracts with steamships for ocean tonnage except in some cases at the instance of shippers. Steam ships seek the port where cargo is available. and contract for tonnage to be delivered at such port. Obviously the railway cannot divert the traffic to any other port
 The Southern Railway serves directly seven of the South Atlantic and Gulf ports. It may not discriminate between them. Its interest is best served by a maximum flow of traffic through each.
 Imere is d territory from which, through long established policy, the Mobile & Ohio maintains the same rates to Mobile as 10
 Or'eanS. There is another territory chiefly in the South, from which rates to ,...... a.e lower than to New Orleans and from this territory the Southern Railway has maintained the policy of preserving this re.atIve adjustment. There are occasions when traffic will move from this territory through New Orleans at higher rate than to AIOUIle, because the ship is docked at New Orleans for it's principal cargo and cannot afford to shift to Mobile for relatively small amount of traffic, even 10 save the diff ference in freight charges. There have been numerous occasions when the placement ot particular vessels at Mobile have attracted cargo from other ports. even where the rates to Mobile were higher than to the other ports.
 
 Partly because of the favors it has en- joyed at the hands of the railroads the port of New Orleans has thrived. To be sure, the enterprise of the people of New Orleans has been alert and aggressive to win new busi- ness from every possible source. Because of that energetic policy, the port has become second in the country.
 New Orleans is served by a number of trunk line railroads which have no interest in the development of the port of Mobile, and these railroads bring no export traffic to the port of Mobile. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad and Southern Railway alone serve both ports-but no railroad can haul traffic to any port except some shipping interest provides the traffic.
 Your statement that The enterprise of the people of New Orleans has been alert and aggressive to win new business from every possible source. Because of that ener- getic policy. the port has become second in the country" presents the main reason why the export and import traffic through New Orleans has been greatly increased. The az gressiveness of the people of that port has been supplemented by railway efforts. but ra ilways do not create commerce; they mere