The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-01-18
THE ONE IMPORTANT LINK.

THE UNF lMFUhlhNl LANA'
Are not the railroad men buting thclrheads
against stone wall in the attempt to dry up
1.-The Illinois river and canal. Have they
Hooked at the map Of the United States ana
contemplated the importance of the Ink the
Illinois river and canal constitute in the water
Transportation of the country start at en-
cago, follow the lakes around to Buffalo, the
Eric canal and Hudson river to New York,
thence by the Delaware and Rartan canal to
Chesapeake bay, and thence by inland water
WAYS inside the coast line they will find cheap
barge and tug transportation all the way to
Florida, and on the completion of short ca
nal across Florida, already Begin, the line is
completed to New Orleans. Thence by tugs
and bargcs the line asccnds the Mississippi
river to the Illinois, and by that stream and
the canal the circuit is completed to Chicago,
Inside and outside feeders to the nam circuit
lradate in thousands of miles tapping all the
states to their center inside of the circuit and
west, southwest and northwest by rivers from
the Rio Grande and the Rocky Mountains
north to Wlnnepcg.
Do the railroads know what barge and tug
Transportation is? The system is as yet in It's
infancy. 1t is understood only on the Hudson
and Ohio rivers On the latter river, connected
with the Mississippi, heavy freights are carried
1000 miles at Sl.7j a ton, which is about one
third the cost Of ocean frcights, supposed to-
be the cheapest in the world. Complete the
improvement of the Illinois river and the tug
and barge system Will carry wheat and corn
from Omaha, or anywhere in the Northwest
to Buffalo for cents "A bushel Can the rail.
roads, which are obliged to lug three tons of
rolling stock TO carry one ton of freight cX-I
pect to compete with such system:
The railroads are not adapted to carry heavy
treghts Grain, coal, stone and lumber con
sumo themselves in n thousand miles CariagcI
on any railroad that ever was built. Let the.
railroads attend 10 their own legitimate BUSH
ness of carrying the lighter and more valuable
frclghts and passengers, and let the water lines
take care of the rest.
The railroads are now engaged in ii gigantic
SCHcinc Ol llllup up lllt la NCSt ny 'hliSI"-
ton They offer millions Of acres Of Nebraska,
Kansas and Texas lands for sale at low rates
and on easy terms and by system OF low
fares and free passes are Turing cmigrants byI
the million into those distant regions to open
farms and raise wheat, corn and cotton. For
Il few years owners of these new farms find a.
ready market for all they raise. Soon, however,
they will have an enormous surplus, and tol
get it to market they must have cheap water
transportation. But by that time the present
dream of the railroads is, that water tranSpor
tation will have been dried up. What then =
VIII the farmers whom they have lured into
those distant regions be left to burn their corn
and wheat for fuel? Would it not be infinite
ly wiser tor the railroads to encourage the
opening of cheap water ways to enable these
farmers to get their produce to market and lett
the railroads transport the dry goods and
lighter stuilis they need and carry them rs pas
sengers, than to ruin themselves and their vic
timzcd farmers by their insane and rapacious
greed for eXorbitant treights? Railroad
managers in general are keen, sharp men tot
grasp the dollar in sight, but they lack breadth
Of cw-statcsmanship, so to speak-tO look
IA triile ahead