Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Closing of Old Dominion Steamship Co. Will Hurt N.C. Fishermen, Farmers, April 9, 1919

From The Independent, Elizabeth City N.C., Friday, April 9, 1919

Old Dominion Failure Hurts Elizabeth City, Too. . . Discontinuance of Steamers Between Norfolk and New York Will Embarrass Many Shippers

The Old Dominion Steamship Co., for years the principal carrier of fish and truck from Norfolk Va., to New York City, has been sold out and the service practically abandoned. The announcement to this effect is as deeply regretted by Elizabeth City and section as by the city of Norfolk itself. It was via Old Dominion steamers that most of our fish, potatoes and other produce moved to the New York markets, usually enabling local shippers to put their goods on the New York market a day earlier than by rail freight.

President H.B. Walker of the Old Dominion line met with the Chamber of Commerce of Norfolk Monday of this week and admitted to that body that his company was “down and out,” having operated at a loss for many months, its surplus wiped out. “There is nothing for us to do but to dissolve,” declared President Walker. The Norfolkians appointed a committee to see what could be done toward relieving the serious situation which confronts the truck growers of that section, since the Old Dominion will no longer serve those important interests.

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