Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-04-20
IS COMING power
Dr.. MCGEE Predicts That Gas
Will Eventually Take
Place of Steam.
ALSO URGES INLAND CANAL
Declares Railroads Have Reached Their
Limit of Capacity With Steam
Locomotives.

Substitution of gas for stearl as a
universal motive power of railroad ana |
marine transportation was predicted |
| by DR.. w. J. McGce of St Louis in Il
talk before the members of the City
| club says the Chicago Tribune.
DR.. McGee, who is Il member Of the
national waterways commission APP
pointed by President Roosevelt and one
of the leading biologists OF the country,
| spoke on the Control OF our Inland
| Waterways" He declared that the
railroads of the country have reached
| their capacity and that the coal supply
is being rapidly depleted as Il result of
| the tremendous demand for fuel III
modern industry.
The substitution of gas for steam. he
! said. will work an enormous saving of
coal III that one ton of coal viii pro
ducc as much energy for Il gas engine
as three tons of coal will produce used
az fuel in the production OF steam.
He also urged the construction of
complete SYSTEM of inland waterways
commercial interests Of the interior of
the country might have adequate trans
portation facilities for the annually in
creasing products.
Hitherto the Atlantic and the Pa
cilic sraboards have controlled the
policy of this country" said Dr. Me
Gee. 1T i now up to the people of the
| interior To demand their share of i'm
prOvemcntS. This must consist in the
Improvement OF the great iulLnd water
ways.
The Mississippi valley is the great
est empire III the world and contains
half of the people of this nation. They
are dependent upon transportation FOR
) the success or failure of their bust
ness"
In speaking Of the substitution Of
gas for steam as motive power, Dr.
McGer said that Lewis Nixon. one OF
the leading shipbuildcrs of the country.
now is building IN ocean liner at
Elizabeth. y. J.sdesi@ncd 10 cross the
! Atlantic in four days. with gas as the
propciling power. The new liner. he
: said. will carry only 40 per cent of the
| cCal needed on Il steam propelled liner.
. The railroads have reached their
capacity with Stcam," continued DIR.
> MCGee. ALSO there is not enough iron
/ mined in the Juite1 States To supply
tie rails needed for adequate railroad
transportation. Neither is there enough
5 labor TO mine the iron needed
Vast Quantity Needed.
Ten tons of rails are required TO tie
> nile. ana when we know that there are
Approximately 200.o00 miles OF road
in the United States we can begin ia
: form some sort of an idea of the guam
. titv Of rails needed.
} There Is $4,000. OOO0GO invested in
, the railroads of this country. \ tenth
: Of that sum spent on our waterways
: would equip the finest waterways
L transportation system in the world.
e Here are twenty states with pQpu.
Il lation Of more than 40,000,000 people
/ ha!f Of the population of the nation
q absolutely dependent upon transporta-
e ton for success or failure. Our inter
$ eStS are identical. 1t is up TO us to
g stand together and demand our just
Il share of the improvements.
|. The richest agricultural land in tho
+ world is the bottom lands of the Mis-
II sisSippi valley. from the mouth of tbs
Ohio river to the gulf of Mexico. Ev
cry year there are washed 03OOO.Ont
tons Of sediment from these lands into
Il the great river, which in turn carries
u the soil wash to the gulf. That is two
/ and One-half times as much soil rs is
u to be dug out Of the Panama canal
~ "Thc days of steam as n motive pow
5 or are numbered. Gas will take Its
} place The energy in coal will he cnor
a engines both in railroad and marine
q transportation. The coal fields of tn,
+ country are rapidly being depleted by
c the demand for fuel in modern indus
le try. and the saving of coal by the us,
y of gas would he Il great economy.
y "a great saving of coal also can h,
/ made in the use of water power. There
is enough water power going to waste
- in the United States to supply powe
to half of the industries of the nation
The redemption Of swamp lands in tn,
lower Mississippi valley will raise til,
value Of the land from 500 to S40O al
acre.
THE improvements could be started
with working capital of only a few
hundred million dollars Lock tolls ant
other charges would pay for the i'm
provements or Mt least make them sci
sustaining. The work could be dom
with one tenth of the cost Of the rail
roads"
Senate GaieI HaEdeiess.
1t is an odd fact that the gavel use
10y the presiding officer Of the senat
has no handle. like that uSel by til
speaker of the house. 1t is an ivor
contrivance. modestly ornamented, {
cylindrical shane and about four imche