Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-09-10
Numerous Reasons Why Shippers
Prefer Sending Goods South by
River Instead of Rail.
THE OLD WAY is THE FASTEST.
Freight Sure of Getting to Cincinnati by
Water in About Three Days, Way
Ahead of the Roads.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FREE WATERWAYS
Advantages That Would Accrue to Pittsburg Through
the Ship Canal

Local Government Engineer John Arras
calls atten ton to the growth of river freight
traffic at the expense of the railways. This
is rot taking into account the river coal
trade, but general freight carrying. The
latter part of 1888, all of the winter of
1SS990 and q considerable portion of this
summer there has been water in the Ohio
sufficient to do all the freighting required
between this city and all river towns, in
cluding the large cities of Cincinnati,
Louisville, st. Louis and New Orleans, and
ahost ofsmaller cities far up theMissourI and
Mississippi and their tributaries, and, what
is more-mile for mile-steamboats carry
freight more quickly than railways do, un-
less it be that high-class freight, on which
almost express rates are charged.
For instance" says Mr.. Arras, 'fyou
want to send freight to Cincinnati. You
ship on packet leaving this port on Mon
day, and your freight is almost certain to be
on hand in Cincinnati on Thursday, if there
be sufficient stage of water. Should you
ship by rail, you may get your freight three
or four DAYS later than that, provided it
isn't lost, so that a tracer must be sent after
it.
SLOwNESS OF FREIGHT TRAINS.
Ordinary freight trains rarely run over
IS miles an hour, and they are side-tracked
a considerable portion of their time, even on
double-track roads, so you see that not only
will a steamboat reach more river ports
sooner than freight train, but the differ
ence in freight amounts, in some kinds of
goods, to a trade profit for the handler.
II think tnat in the next % years those
who live will see a revolution in freight
carrying. The cost of carriage has become
an item so important in the sharp competi-
ton of commerce that an immense impetus
will be given the improvement of water
ways, and if the railway interest does NOT
secure absolute control OF Legislation, We
will get back in 4 considerable measure, to
canal digging"
This remark led to the discussion of the
proposed ship canal between the Ohio river
and Lake Erie. Mr. Arras has no doubt of
the feasibility of its construction, nor of its
success as paying venture. In this Mr..
Arras agrees with Mr.. John S. Scully, of
the Diamond National Bank, that it would
paw Pittsburg to build it first and then fight
to make the Government pay for it after
ward. Coal is yet king in this vicinity,
even though natural gas has invaded its
home territory, and, as Mr.. Arras remarks,
were there a canal to Lake Erie. the great
bulk OF Pittsburg's freight, which keeps its
mills in operation, would be carried at a
rate that would amount in saving to good
profit on many kinds of manufacture.
VALUE OF THE RIVER.
1t may be held by some that Mr.. Arras'
connection with river improvement may
bias him in that direction, but anyone who
will take the trouble TO tabulate the amount
of freight carriage during the last two
years of wetness and absence of ice will be |
convinced that the question of cheap ireights |
is as vital as that of natural gas or cheap |
fuel of any kind. Some years ago the river
channel had almost ceased to be considered |
Of moment, except as vehicle for the car
rying away OF coal and the sewage |
OF cities, but, though many thousands |
have not appreciated the fact, it has |
nevertheless been a very consider |
able factor in the prosperity of |
the last two wears, the most exuberant this |
city has ever experienced. As a river man |
remarked the other day, regular packet |
lines to lower ports seem to have been put |
on to stay, and although, owing to the almost |
uninterrupted boating stage of last year. the |
coal trade seemed sluggish, vet there were |
moved out by degrees IL, 100000 bushels, |
and by means of locks and dams and unin- |
terrupted navigation for nine months of the |
wear, prosperity would be assured to |
many thousands who in wears of |
low water live from hand to mouth |
and are never able to form definite |
projects on account CT their inability |
TO calculate with any tolerable degree of GER
tainty on employment. No matter whether
the system OF locks and dams or that of stor-
age reservoirs at hesdwaters in the noun
Iains be adopted, the result would be much |
the same The latter would in many re-
spects be the best, but as its advantages have
been fully pointed out in these columns by
Colonel T. j. Roberts, it is not necessary to
enlarge on them now.
ADVANTAGES FOR FRAGILE GOODS.
Any transient passenger along the Mo-
nongahela wharf of late must have noticed
the increasing volume of merchandise being
shipped for transportation. Shippers of the
more fragile goods, such as glass and earth
enware, give the preference to the boats.
Captain Henderson said yesterday that glass
manufacturers were patronizing the boats
more and more every day. A large ship
Inent OF glassware from Jeanette was sent
to New Orleans on Monday bv the Keystone
State, and he found a continually increas-
ing trade growing up from among the glass
men.
The disposition to ship by river, he added,
was daily finding enlargement. Merchants
could always reckon on having goods
shipped by river delivered by certain
time. 1t was not so by rail. where accidents
and the rush of traffic might keep goods
for days at time. With an
open river, there would be more boats, of
quicker speed, put on, with the result of
getting still more of the railroad business.