Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-13
Washington Ticker
BY CLINTON COFFIN
Associated Press Financial Writer

Associated PRESS financial Writer,
Within about 80 days, considering
the progress now being made by rail-
road traffic departments, there will be
actual rail-and-water schedules offered
to shippers, which will link steam car
rier service with the inland waterways
operations of the Government in trans
porting freight throughout the mid
section of the continent.
Nearly year ago, acting in accord
ance with congressional edict, the In
terstate Commerce Commission ordered
the rail lines to make up the schedules,
SO that the barge lines on the MisSis-
Sippi and its tributaries and on the
Warrior River might be in shape to
participate in general traffic to an from
very large portion of the countryS
area. Though the application of the
schedules has been postponed several
times because of the complexity of the
task of constructing them, the latest
poStponement will expire about May,
and 1t Is unlikely that additional delays
will be entailed.
the Army and president of the Inland
waterways Corporation, has expressed
the situation in recent SpeecheS-and
his view Is orthodox with those of all
the vast number of people who hope
for substantial development of river
traffic in the United States-this rate
cooperation with railroads is the first
step toward the goal at which waterway
interests aim. He lists the provision
OF terminals, the balance of freight, the
regular interchange between land and
water carriers and the proper division
OF accruing revenues as the other
necessary factors which also must be
adjusted.
The new rates which the carriers are
constructing go on the principle of max
ing the freight charge to the shipper
using the combined route equal 80 per
cent of the cost of all-rail service for
that part of the distance the shipment
moves by barges. For the rest of the
apply. The joint schedules will mean
the provision for shippers of freight
rates, applying through the rail-and-
water combination, which will be in
practice slightly less than all-raiI
charges, though movement on them will
probably be trif1e slower than on the
all-rail shipments because of inter-
change delay and slower movement on
water
Whatever may be said about the
economic ACCESSIBILITY of creating navi-
gable streams and of building canals.
the fact remains that nearly a billion
collars has been spent by the public
ior Such purposes, and the only way
IN which some practicable advantage
can pc reaped from such vast expendi-
lure is to put these avenues of COM
merce to practical use by transporting
freight upon Them" Gen. Ashburn saws.
Wnen 1t Is considered that out of this
vast investment the results in the wav
Oh completely satisfactory navipable
streams have been small, and the utili-
ZaClOn OF such projects as have hoey
completed largely confined to private
and contract carriers, q normal olIes-
ton arises. 1"SS-
snail we carry through to compile
lion project that has already cost a
Dillon dollars and can be Completed
1or quarter billion more, which. upon
completion, will enable us to receive
lalr return on investment, or shall we
strike the investment off our ledger and
charge it to profit and loss?"
Thus the joint rate schedules now
being completed represent lust one of
several adjustments which the river
services will require. It is probable
that their application will be followed
by further demand, in and out of Con-
gress, for the additional provisions
needed, before volume traffic will return
TO the waterways. There are, however,
some exceptions to this rule, as on the
Monongahela River, where a tremen-
douS bituminous coal tonnage is NOV
ing by barge from coal mining regions
down to the steel centerS in the Pitts
burgh area.
Since January l there has been a
succession of small bank failures over
the United States, causes for which
have somewhat puzzled regulating au-