Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-04-17
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS OF
THE WORLD,

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS OF
THE WORLD.
The development of the systems Of
transportation which now place the
producer in the Interior Of one CONT
nent in direct communication with the
consumer in the interior Of another
continent is a product Of a compare
lively few years Within the lifetime
of men and women now living the
world had not single mile of railway,
or single steamship crossing the
ocean. Today the world has on land
$4,000 miles Of railway, and on the
ocean 100000 tons of sail-carrying
power and 1s,0O0,000 net tons Of steam
carrying power. At the beginning of
the last century the sail-carrying pow
er aggregated 100000 tons; steam
carrying power on the ocean did not
exist, nor did railways on land exist.
BY the middle of the century sail-car-
rying power on the ocean was more
ing power on the ocean was less than
100000 tons, and the railways on
land were but $4,000 miles. BY 1880
sail power on the ocean had reached
14.500,000 tons, steam power about
100000 tons, and railways on land
225,000 miles From that time for
ward steam power on the ocean so
rapidly took the place Of the sail that
in 1905 sailing vessels on the ocean
aggregated but 100000 tons carrying
power, while steam vessels had an ag.
gregate tonnage Of 18,500,000 tons and
railways an aggregate of $4,000
miles in length, Of which 217 miles, or
two f1fths of the total, are in the Uni.
ted States.
The development Of railways has
been, up to the present time, chiefly
centered in the temperate zone, partic-
ularly Europe, and the United States,
Mexico and Canada in America. though
Japan in the Orient and India in the
! Tropics are now fairly we'll supplied
with facilities for land transportation.
The great trans-Siberian railway is the
sole transcontinental line between
Europe and the Far East, while Aus
tralia's railways are confined chiefly
, to line skirting the southern and
eastern coasts and half dozen short
lines tapping the interior. In Africa
the British colonies at the south are
fairly well equipped with railways,
while the proposed Cape to Cairo
transcontinental line is making sub
stantial progress from Cairo, it's ter.
minus at the north, and Cape Town,
its southern terminus, considerably
more than one-half of the road being
now completed and in operation. South
America Is still without any great rail.
way system, her facilities being con.
fined chiefly to eastern Brazil, north.
ern Argentine, Chile, Paraguay and
Uruguay.
The United States leads the world,
both in the present mileage and the
recent growth Of its railways, accord.
Ing to statistics published in mono
graph just issued by the Department
of Commerce and Labor through its
Bureau of Statistics. OF the total rail.
way mileage of the world, aggregating
$4,000 miles for 1904. 211,074 miles
were in the United States, 35,323 miles
in European Russia, 32,967 miles in
Germany, 2S,1O2 miles in France, 26,-
$50 miles in India, 24,12O miles In Aus.
tria-H Hungary, 1854 miles in the Unit.
ed Kingdom, 1851 miles in Canada,
1850 miles in Africa, 14,113 miles in
Australia, 1869 miles in Argentina.
1896 miles in Mexico, 1851 miles in
Italy, 1888 miles in Brazil, 1857 miles
in Sweden, 1922 miles in Siberia,
Manchuria, and other Asiatic posses.
sions Of Russia, 4,495 miles in Japan,
and 1,176 miles In China. It was not
until 1885 that the number of railways
in operation in the United States first
reached as much as 1000 miles, being
in that year 1908 miles; by 1850 the
total had grown to 9,O21 miles: by
1860 to 3o,s2s miles; fiji 1865, 35,0s5
miles. In the decade from 1866 to 1875
the mileage more than doubled, the
total for the last year named being ~.
096; the total for 1885 was 128,32o
miles. that for 1895 1S1, lis miles, for
1900, 194,262 miles, and for 1905 217,-
32s miles, their aggregate cost being
estimated by Poor's Manual for 1905 at
the enormous sum of 1856, 900, 900
out OF an aggregate cost Of $37, 900, 0O0,-
900 for the entire world.
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