Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1925-02-07
Agricultural Depression Ascribed
In Part To The Passing Away Of
Water transportation In u. S.
Location Of Leading Marts Of The World Near Water
ways Proves Value Of This Means Of Marketing.
Efforts Of Congress To Restore Shipping

the country who lament the passing
Of the river traffic. The whistle of the
steamer as it made it's bi-weekly
trips up the Pocomoke, was a well
come sound; and the docking of the
boat was an important incident in the
life of the community.
The withdrawal of the river lines
has about severed commercial rela-
lions between the ashore" and Balti-
more, Notwithstanding strenuous eff
forts of the Monumental City mer-
chants to retain it.
Navigation on The Pocomokc river
is practically thing of the past, and
it's passing has seriously affected
what was once thriving business in
Pocomoke City - shipbuilding, and
when any one phase of commercial
life is menaced, this is bound to re-
act upon every branch of trade.
In way the closing of the River
tc traffic has contributed to the de-
preston along agricultural lines, and
the National Rivers and Harbors Con-
gress, in it's first bulletin issued for
1925 has emphasized the Importance
of opening up every possible outlet to
the larger bodies of water; and while
the matter contained in the above
mentioned bulletin, is directed toward
conditions in the West, still a very
liberal application of it could be made
t. the local situation.
In connection with the farming, the
bulletin has the following, which it
offers for the permanent relief of ag-
riculture:
"No one will deny that everything
possible should be done to meet the
present emergency, but attention
should also be given to plans for the
permanent relief of agricultural de-
preston. The first step toward a
remedy is to find the cause.
"Other causes have contributed, of
course, but the basic reason for the
plight in which the farmer has found
himself of late, the fundamental fac
TOR in the disastrous depression which
has afflicted agriculture in the West.
is distance-the distance from the
fields where his products are raised
to the markets, both domestic and for
eign, in which they must be sold.
This distance is really much greater
than it appears to be on the map, for,
as an English writer has well said,
at is not mileage, but cost of trans
portation, that constitutes the true
commercial measure of distance"
1t is evident that distance from
tidewater is serious handicap. 1t
is, Of course, out of the question to
bring the ocean any nearer to the
farming regions of the West, so far
as mileage is concerned, but it is
worth while to find out whether-and,
if so, how-the Commercial distance"
may be reduced.
In an address delivered before the
Twentieth Convention of the National
Rivers and Harbors Congress, Wash
ington, D. c., December 10, 1924,
Hon. E. E. Frizell, CT Larncd, Kansas,
who is a farmer, a cattle raiser and a
member of the State Senate, said:
eve have learned that the Federal
Barge Line between St. Louis and the
Gulf has made a substantial reduction
in the freight rate on wheat shipped
from Kansas for export, The rate
from Kansas to New Orleans, all rail,
301a cents per 100 pounds, while the
rail and barge rate is rs cents, u saw
ing of 51s cents per 100 pounds
something over 3 cents per bushel
saved by shipping our wheat from
Kansas to either st. Louis or Cairo
to reach the northern terminus of the
Federal Barge Line. | have it on
good authority, in fact from experts,
that with the Missouri river properly
improved to Kansas City, Kansas, a
saving of another. 3 cents per bushel
could be made to the farmers of Kan
sas.
"Since the farmer, in effect, pays
the freight on all of his wheat to Liv-
erpool (since that market fixes the
price of all wheat whether the
wheat is actually exported or not)
when We compute the value of Mis-
souri, river navigation to the Kansas
wheat farmer, we cannot merely cal
culate the saving on the wheat actual
ly shipped to Liverpool. We must Of
necessity figure the saving on the en-
tire Kansas crop, because, if you rais'
the price of the export wheat 3 cent
per bushel by reducing the cost o
the freight to Liverpool by 3 cents
you automatically raise the price o
all the wheat crOp i'm Kansas,