The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-09-23
RAILROADS AND WATERWAYS

RAILROADS AND WATERWAYS
 The letter on this page from MT. w.. H. Cowles, publisher of the Spokane Spokesman Review, calls attention anew to the unfortunate and costly results of the application of the long and short haul clause of the transportation act. Under the interpretation of this clause allowed by the Interstate Commerce Commission, this commission is authoriz- ing the railroads to pursue a policy de- Hberately calculated to irjure and de- stroy inland waterway and coastwise traffic. No more astounding situation has ever developed in the administration of federal authority by a commission. It sometimes appears that the Interstate Commerce Commission actually regards itself as the champion of tke railroads against an alleged encroac..n1e.Et on the part of the waterways; instead of being, as intended by congress, body to pro- tect the public welfare againss the un- mistakable aggression of the railroads.
 The importance of this question to the entire country, from coast to coast, is thus stressed by MT. Cowles:
 We have spent S1 200, 100000 in de-
 velopment Of rivers and harbors in or
 der to extend our water transportation
 system; but we are realizing little bene-
 fit from 1t because we have permitted
 growth of a vicious system of rate dis
 crimination by the railroads that has
 practically destroyed water shipping up-
 on the very waterways we have spent so
 much money to develop. The Inter-
 state Commerce Commission has con
 tributed to this discrimination by estab-
 fishing an artificial structure of freight rates designed to keep water competition
 at minimum, or annihilate it entirely.
 By means of the violations of the long
 and short haul, the railro. ds have made
 extremely low rates between water
 points, recouping their losses on that
 traffic by charging exorbitantly high rates to intermediate towns and cities,
 and yet the water points have not been
 benefited, as they would have enjoyed as
 low or lower rates if the boats had been
 allowed to carry the volume of freight
 belonging to them.
 
 long run to pursue such policy. If, as is alleged, the railroads lose money on the hauls made at low competitive rates to seaboard, the roads would be better off to let the watercraft have the ton- mage they thus haul at loss. Besides, it is quite we'll demonstrated that wa terways create more tonnage than they carry. That being the cause, the water ways are an actual an indispensable asset to the railroads. Although the Western roads are mak ng interior Vest ern points pay for their walfa"c ,- the coastwise traffic through the Panama Canal, yet they are using ton of dyna- mite to kill an ant For, according to MT. Cowles:
 A comparison of the business of the
 Western transcontinental railroads and
 that of the Panama Canal boats last
 year proves that if the railroads took
 all the freight now passing through the
 Panama Canal, they would increase their
 own volume only two and One-quarter
 per cent In 1923 the Panama Canal
 
 from the East to the Pacific coast. Their
 total tonnage, exclusive of oil, was 5,600,- GOO tons During the same period the rail
 roads reaching the Pacific coast carried
 24S.000,000 tons, which was an increase
 of 25,600,000 tons over their total for
 1922
 Thus the tonnage increase alone for the Western roads was in one year equal to five times the total tonnage for the Panama Canal for the same period. This enmity to the canal and to the barge line is unreasonable. It is hysterical. But the people have to pay doubly for this hysteria. They pay once in the in- creased rates on short hauls to recoup the roads for losses on competitive low rates; and they pay again in the revenue they contribute to the waterways and barge lines from which they do not get the full benefit intended. It is time that this monstlous situation be put an end to. and that the railroads be brought into line with the national purpose of develop ing the inland and coastwise water car riers to serve the nation to the utmost. The whole country is being aroused to this aggressive effort of the railroads, and it will be resisted until the roads are compelled to cooperate where now they impede.
 MARKING ALABAMA HIGHWAYS.
 The state highway commission will be