Memorandum of rail carload versus bargeload rates on sugar from New Orleans, La., to Evansville, Ind. Rail carload rate, minimum 80,000 pounds, effective Nov. 30, 1955, 61 cents' per hundredweight, plus 3 percent transportation tax, or 62.83 cents per hundredweight-less 2 percent cash discount, or 61.57 cents per hundredweight_-_ Bargeload rate f. o. b. barge at origin to in rail car or on dock at Evansville, Ind., minimum 500 net tons.... Plus ex parte 175 increase 15 percent-- Total Plus 3 percent Federal transportation tax.... -- $7,820 Cost per net ton $12.314 8.993 .270 Total.. 9.263 Barge loading charge assessed by refineries direct to consignee (not assessed on rail traffic) – 1.00 Total rate_ 10. 263 Local switching charge at Evansville, Ind.3: From river terminal to consignee on single line switch: $14.25 plus percent transportation tax or $14.68 per car, minimum 40 net tons__ Cost per net ton via barge--- 367 10. 630 Barge differential per net ton---. 1.684 1 Not subject to ex parte 175 increase. Where consignee on double line switch add 1 switching charge and decrease differential proportionately. Prepared by Mead Johnson Terminal Corp., Evansville, Ind., November 8, 1955. MEAD JOHNSON TERMINAL CORP., EVANSVILLE, IND. Serving industry and shippers in the heart of the Nation, where waterway, railway, highway meet-river-rail-truck terminal, warehousing, pool-car distribution, open-yard storage THE MOST MODERN AND COMPLETE RIVER, RAIL, TRUCK TERMINAL AND WAREHOUSE IN THE UNITED STATES, 75 MILES FROM THE CENTER OF POPULATION The 600-mile radius about Evansville, Ind., encompasses a rich market of some 75 million people-nearly half the population of the Nation. This area, representing a predominant mass of your market, is placed within quick and economical access from Evansville through the Mead Johnson Terminal Corp. facilities. At this favorably located spot, Mead Johnson Terminal Corp., under one roof and under one management, provides a fully coordinated river-rail-truck terminal, warehouse, and open-yard storage complete facilities for all stages of distribution. The river-rail terminal is a building 285 feet long by 110 feet wide all under canopy for complete protection of operations. The warehouse, directly connecting with the terminal, is a brick, steel, and concrete structure containing 100,000 square feet of floor space. All are completely equipped for efficient handling of commodities of every description. The varying services required by businesses and industries are quickly and efficiently performed by supervisory and plant personnel thoroughly trained and experienced in all phases of distribution. Hundreds of the Nation's industries and businesses-large and small alike utilize this unique combined operation for more effective and economical distribution of their products. FACTS ABOUT MEAD JOHNSON TERMINAL Established in 1930. Complete facilities located directly on the Ohio River at Evansville, Ind., right in the heart of the Nation. More than 9 acres of ground area devoted exclusively to terminal and warehouse distribution services. Served by all barge lines operating on the Ohio River. Direct connections with C. & E. I. and L. & N. Railroads, with reciprocal switching between all carriers serving Evansville. Completely equipped for efficient and speedy handling of all commodities. Daily perpetual inventories maintained for all accounts, available at a moment's notice. Experienced personnel exercise utmost care in the handling of every kind of merchandise. HIGHLIGHTS FOR SHIPPERS Served directly by C. & E. I. and L. & N. Railroads. Reciprocal switching between all carriers serving Evansville. Three switch tracks-64 car spottings. Served by all barge lines operating on the Ohio River. Tug service and mooring space for more than 20 barges. Canopy protection at all loading-unloading points. Two 10-ton overhead electric cranes. One-hundred-thousand-square-foot steel, brick, and concrete warehouse. No floor load limit. Average ceiling height-20 feet. 250 foot truck docks under canopy. Fork lift truck fleet, completely palletized. Fully sprinklered. Autocall waterflow alarm. ADT supervised watch service. ADT manual fire-alarm system. Insurance-11.4 cents per $100 value per annum. United States port of entry. Custom bonded storage. Distribution to all points by major trucklines. RIVER-RAIL TERMINAL This modern and complete 285-foot-long river-rail terminal is completely covered by a cantilevered canopy which provides cover for 2 barge slips, 2 switch tracks, and 18,000 square feet of dock space. This permits simultaneous barge loading and unloading-with a continuous flow to and from the terminal, switch tracks, warehouse, truck docks, and open-yard storage area. The 2 barge slips are served by 2 traveling overhead electric cranes, each equipped with two 5-ton hoists. These 10-ton capacity cranes each run on separate tracks the full 285-foot length of the building from barge slips to rail sidings and to the warehouse. The 2 switch tracks serving the river-rail terminal supply working space for 35 rail cars, 6 of which can be accommodated at the same time under the canopy. The terminal is served jointly by the C. & E. I. and L. & N. Railroads with free reciprocal switching between all rail carriers serving Evansville. The river-rail terminal, with space for 20 barges, provides stevedoring and tug services. WAREHOUSING AND OPEN-YARD STORAGE The 100,000-square-foot, brick, steel, and concrete building is a 1-story structure with no floor-load limit. The warehouse rail siding accommodates 14 car spottings. The 650-foot loading dock serving this siding, has 8 entrances into the warehouse and is completely covered by a canopy for maximum protection. Two hundred and fifty feet of motortruck docks under canopy are served by 20 doors from the warehouse. Careful, speedy, economical handling is assured by the two 10-ton overhead electric cranes and a fleet of modern 1,000- to 10,000-pound-capacity forklift trucks. The Mead Johnson Terminal Corp. warehouse is fully sprinklered and is heated by thermostatically controlled blower-type unit heaters. An Autocall waterflow alarm, ADT watch service, ADT manual fire-alarm system combine to give a low insurance rate of 11.4 cents per $100 value per annum. United States custom bonded storage permits making duty payments on imported merchandise as goods are withdrawn. Four acres of open yard storage space are readily accessible to river, rail, and truck transportation. The area is served by several switch tracks with a total spotting capacity of 15 cars. The ready availability of the open-yard storage area to all modes of shipping-plus a 25-ton crane provides quick and efficient receipt or delivery of materials. POOL CAR DISTRIBUTION Pool car and pool truck distribution for a broad geographic area is a major activity of the Mead Johnson Terminal Corp. Every facility for careful handling and expediting of shipments is available. Adequate working space is maintained for swift and efficient distribution. Large doors to the extended truck docks, under canopy, for cargo protection, speed up handling. Numerous trucks can be loaded simultaneously. Daily service to all overnight points in a 300-mile radius assures prompt delivery. In addition, the Mead Johnson Terminal Corp. provides such supplementary services as accounting, stenciling, marking, reporting marked weights, recoopering and reconditioning. Handling, storage, and transportation charges can be rendered in one bill, if desired. Mr. JONES. Mr. Hudson Biery, executive vice president of the Ohio Valley Improvement Association. STATEMENT OF HUDSON BIERY, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, OHIO VALLEY IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION, INC., CINCINNATI, OHIO Mr. BIERY. Mr. Chairman, my statement is not as formidable as it looks. I have several exhibits. My name is Hudson Biery. I am the executive vice president of the Ohio Valley Improvement Association, Inc., an organization that has been interested in navigation, flood control, and water conservation since 1895. Mr. SCHERER. And may I say, one of Cincinnati's outstanding citizens, and an authority on rivers, river pollution, and transportation. Mr. JONES. Mr. Biery, you are qualified. You may proceed. Mr. BIERY. Our offices are located in Cincinnati. I am also a commissioner for the State of Ohio in the Ohio River Valley water sanitation compact, which is composed of eight States-New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Indiana, and Illinois. I am appearing today in behalf of the first-named organization. I am filing a list of the officers and trustees of the association I represent, identified as "Exhibit A." Proposals for tolls on inland waterways seem to arise from two principal sources, (1) those who honestly believe tolls would be a proper factor in our economy as a means of raising revenue for the Government. They think the beneficiaries of the navigation facilities should pay for their use, presumably on the theory that these facilities are not of value to the whole Nation, and (2) those who would weaken and destroy the navigation facilities for the purpose of advancing the selfish interest of competing forms of transportation. My remarks will be directed toward the first category. Other witnesses will cover the lack of understanding and the inaccuracies of the task force and the Hoover Commission with respect to the imposition of tolls on an economy that has flourished for 150 years without them. Many of the recommendations of the Hoover Commission are sound. It is most regrettable that one phase of the report, the tolls recommendations, should necessitate opposition to that part of the Hoover report and possibly hurt some of the good things recommended in it. It is like a basket of fine apples. I operate an orchard, and I know how easy it is to pack a bushel of top-grade apples and then find 1 or 2 rotten ones in the basket a few days later. It is a matter of human judgment. You think they all look good when you put them in but, if your judgment is faulty, 1 or 2 will certainly turn bad with the test of time. The Hoover Commission picked at lot of good apples. It could hardly be right about them all. Now, let's go back to those who think tolls should be imposed on river traffic as a source of revenue. We start with the original capital investment made by the Federal Government in Ohio River locks and dams since 1824. It adds up to almost exactly $150 million spread over 125 years. That is about one and a quarter million a year. We turn now to another important figure. During the past 5 years, industrial expansion of the Ohio Valley has amounted to somewhere between 8 and 10 billion dollars. We file exhibit B tabulation showing the names of firms and cities in which they are located, totaling $7,600,000. These are the firms of which we have fairly accurate records. We know the list is not complete, and the real total may be much nearer $10 billion. That is the figure used by the Federal Reserve bank. Why did these industries locate in the Ohio Valley? The answers all start out the same way. "We wanted to be near the Ohio River," or, "We had to be on the river," or, "We wanted to have the benefits of being near a great river." There were two principal reasons why most of these firms wanted to be near the Ohio River. In this valley, navigation facilities influence low basic transportation rates of all forms; river, rail, pipeline, and highway. Second, the river provides a bountiful and dependable supply of water, available in farge volume partly because of the year-round 9-foot stage and the possibility of still more capacity with high-level dams. Of course, there are several other good reasons, but these are the most important. Before going thoroughly into the revenue facts, we projected some imaginary figures on the probable tax-producing capacity of the Ohio Valley. We said, "Suppose this $8 billion of industrial expansion paid a property tax of just 1 percent into the Federal Treasury. This would produce $80 million a year, or more in 2 years than the total capital investment made by the Government in Ohio River locks and dams during 125 years." This was a nice comparison but it was just a figment of imagination. What were the real facts? They were not hard to find and the Internal Revenue Department, through the Department of Commerce supplied them. Remember now, we are discussing tolls as a means of producing revenue. I am going to show you that the Government is producing far more revenue without tolls than it could ever hope to produce with them. We have added up the corporation taxes paid into the Treasury by Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. We have then calculated that portion of these taxes which have flowed into the Treasury from the Ohio Valley portions of these States. On the basis of area, the percentage is 58 percent, but this might not be fair, so we tried it on a basis of population. That figures 45 percent, so we will use that. Translated into dollars, we found that the flow of corporation taxes from the Ohio Valley into Federal Treasury for 1 year, 1954, amounted to $2,585,700,000. When the navigation system was just about complete in 1927, the total tax flow from Ohio Valley corporations was only $137,238,750. By 1949, it had grown to the fabulous figure of $1,481,767,550. Let us remind you again that the capital costs of the navigation facilities up to 1950 was only $150 million spread over 125 years. Would it be wise to upset this booming Ohio Valley economy with an unpredictable adventure that would certainly disturb its whole basic rate structure and possibly jeopardize the priceless water supply that has contributed so largely to its development? Does anyone believe that rate structures would not be revised? That competition between little business and big business would not undergo readjustment? Does anyone think that rate adjustments on coal or steel or chemicals or oil or freight rates would be downward with the imposition of tolls! Can we pluck the tail feathers from the noble goose that lays these golden eggs for the Treasury and expect her to maintain an even keel in such troubled waters? When our forefathers wrote the ordinance that carved the States from the Northwest Territory they said the Ohio River should be an open highway-forever free. Are we wiser than they when we seek to change the rules on our $8 billion worth of new industry established since 1950? Just a few more thoughts and I will close. We have a fearless press that says what it thinks. What does it say about tolls? Here is what it thinks, and it has never seen the tax presentation I have given this committee. On October 8, 1955, the Cincinnati Enquirer said: The real threat of river tolls is to the whole economy of the Ohio Valley. If their raw materials must cost more because of higher transportation charges, they must charge more for their product, and that means not only the Ohio Valley but people throughout the country would be paying higher prices. A few days later, the Times-Star said: But once the free use of the river terminates, the delicate balance between various forms of transportation would be upset and industry would suffer drastically. Said the Post-Dispatch of St. Louis, on October 6, 1955: Rate discrimination which in effect is what the railroads are asking permission to practice-historically has been used, not just to meet competition but to destroy it. |