Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1867-02-19

The labor OF turninsa furrow ofthc poor
est is the same as thc lsbor 81 turning
furrow o. the richest soil ever TILED. 4hc
lnbor CT planting is the same, but the bar
vest. how different Who coubis but ihe
agricultural labor Of the United states, Up
ii Cd iudiciousy, that no part oil the a.
should be expended upon Inferior fo'i N'l'c
the rich sl.uvium accumulated, perhaps TOT
,housands of centuries, lies Idie--I say, Mr..
p,s.iaen, Who doubts, but that the pro>
duo, Of that labor thus apil lied would be
double its present amount. III some calani.
~ should deprive the nation u one>hAlf OF
he product Of Its agricultural labor for one
YEAR. would We not stand aghast at the mis-
fortune, and mourn il - scourge Of God
And yet, Nj. President, although no Stats
tics are at hand 10 prove the estimate cor
rect, still every person present, who hss
observed the application Of that industry IN
these United States, and 10 acquainted with
the wealth of virgin soil that lies idle in the
Mississippi Valley, will bear me witness,
thu, the loss sustained by the nation from
the misapplied energies in this department
alone. are more than equal TO such loss
everv year And why Is this, Mr.. Pfesi'
drnty Il II that this labor lacks inteii>
I rEnre.lb tlSiilEtiasi
80 o,a unprodnc.ivencss, between loss
a,d ,rof,, o. ia it not because the imper-
fect means OF transit render profitable
chanee in its application difficult and some
times impossible. Who settled the Mis-
sissippi valiey2 Not the humble husband
man. that occupies the soil, bot Robert
Fulton. who, in a commercial sense, turned
the currcn. OF all the rivers on the globe up
stream, George Stevenson, VITO GIVE
iron muscle 10 loconotion-they and
their successors, whose energy
knows no obstacles but % overcome
them, whose generous breasts hatbor no
local chickering's and Jealousy, whose homes
ere bounded by the horizon OF a continent,
and the sphere Of their enterprise by the
limits Of the habitable globe--tho steam-
boa, and railroad men, ~ they are termed
they, and they alone, are the founders OF
ths mighty industrial empire of the Mssis
sppi Valley. And, who Mr.. P:esident,
that contrasts the social condition of the
inhabitants of that Valley with the condi
t.ons Of the communities from which they
have been drawn, sees their granaries over
loaded with a surplus Of five hundred tnil'
lion bushels Of cereals per annum; their
cellars expanding from year 10 year to re-
ceivo the generous juice Of the native grape;
their mines pouring forth the raw material
10 the workshop rs of less favored commun-
tiles REQ the absolute abundance Of all tn
means TO supply the physical necessities
Of man; see the means Of culture and wor
ship in lull proportions; take into account
that this valley can maintain u population
in like abundance. Of two hundred millions
Of soul, and not be populated more dcnssy
than Massachusetts is to>day--who. ! say
that considers this and then reflect upon
the relation which cheap, safe aud uni
form means OF transit suslains to such ve'
, sults-,hat such results ara absolutely i'm
possible without such means, aud depend
cnt in their realization strictly upon these
means, who will not Join the aud say, in th'
, namo Of the social wcl-bciug OF men, lc
this work he done
But perhaps we are has.y. The outla,
4 may bear no ptoprtion 10 the net income
9 The considerations advanced arc general
: not tangible, not rcduccablc to dollars and
cents. Let Us turn, therefore, 10 the com
mcrcisl aspect OF the question, and consider
how tho surplus product Of one kind o
r industry il to be converted into the produc
I, ui every other kind requisite for the con
tguous products ofeach. with this least pos
. slbie loss 10 the nation. Tho necessitie
! tor this Conversion arises from the division
i OF labor, and involves in its execution
transportation OF the articles ia question
tn. the great necessity for transpOrta' lol
. springs from the different degrees u adapt
Z ton possessed 10y different localities If III
n ear,h's surface fos different pursuits No'
x since the intrinsic value Of the product
not enhanced hy transpottaticn-for bu,f
Ell Of wheat possesses no greater power {
u sustain life in London than on the bank
= Of tho Missssippi--thc answer IN gcncrI
r terms is by employing tho cheapest mod
!. Of transport alton. The modes Of trnnspoI
tai ion rank in value as follows: Ocear
lake, river, canal, railroad, axle. The COST
}, Ocean /, lake ., river y, canal ), railroa
il from l2A to l3i mills per for . ton Of aver
a ago freight. Now the employment of eithe
!. mode If transportation being relativ
u waste. and only compcnatcs a. the superic
Q adoption of . specific locality over other l.
cali,cs, for given purpo,c, the use of An ii
- fcricr when q superior mode is available, il
/, absolute loss. Thus the transportation
fifteen million bushels of wheat which
o round numbers will he ,he amount shippe
c in the wear 1867 from he river towns o
"a the Upper Mississippi "a New YORK At
cast ii .Nc. Ter buShcl when The sarl
Y might he shipped TO the sane point for 30
per bush |, il an absolute loss to the natiol
OF three millions, or one-hlth OF the entii
amount, counting the value at one dolla
per bushel For the unnecessary labor cx
:. pended in the transportation AID here eN
pressed hy 20,. per buShcl, find, no con
penSa,ion in the aggregate. but is simply
tf..t
ISIS in the given case in celebrity, prompt
ness and safety
Here, then in the wheat trenspoitatio
= :. alone of the Upper Mississippi loss of tire
: million dollars annually on tho basis Of e.
:, l. ting facilities; but this bass itself is falls
: cious, Tor the Northern Line Packet Com
pnny, doing little more than onc.half tn
y transportation on the Upper Mississippi
:. expended 10 less than Ell 900 in the yea
:. 1856 in consequence Of defects in cxistin
' facilities--as lightage on the rapids. Est
mating the expenditures on this account Il
the entire transit in the locality at $3.50
!. 600 annually, we have dead capital at 81
- per cent. OF &5,ss3, 3s337A. This, adds
y to the three million dollars lost bv whe,
. Transactions, swells the sum to the enor
nous figures Of <55, $3.50, 1884. cxclusiv
J.. of an amount OF loss at the same ratio, o
ll,243 tons Of general produce, 1902 kee
I. Of high wines, lS,lll pigs OF lead, ga. II
:, head Of hogs, and 2l,oSs head Of CATTLE
= which, At . very moderate estimate, incrsaa
: the annual loss equal to the interest ct al
!, per cent, on sixty million of dollars. Thi
|. loss results partly from the employment
|. an inferior mode Of transportation where
:, superior exists, and partly from defects
!. the latter itself.
!" Now il il can be shown that both Of thes
. sources OF loss can be removed by the cS
!. penditures Of sum less than sixty million
: OF dollars, then Of course there is no rcaso
I on the score II economy Why this wor
!. should not b denc. What, then, arc Il
: estimates OF the cost Of this work
4 Mr. President, l am almost ashamed |
:, mention them, they arc not sixty, nor iiftl
!" nor forty, nor twenty, nor ten, nor i've :
: but TO the eternal reproach Of American c,
= terprise, be 1t said they IRE three million
- of dollars. And upon these three millior
!" OF dollars Tho nation pays annually, in pr
!, dic,ive industry, $3.50, 600 Of interest, G.
elusive Of the loss ON general freight, Il
ge,hcr with the social and political advan
tages resulting, which far out balance a
: such paltry calculations.
!. Here, then, we have tangible result,