The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-04-20
WATER TRANSFORMATION |.


 Plainly there is now taking place what we suppose might be properly called a renaissance of water transpor- tation in all sections of the country. The time when railroads were curiosi- ties is not so remote that many do not remember 1t. Then steamboats and barges on all naviga.ble streams carried both passengers and freights. slowly. perhaps. but that was not fast age of the world. Then railroads country and water transportation lost much of its popularity. The rail route was quicker. and people were learn ing to hurry through life. so the boats were gradually pushed aside wherever it was possible to get a railway.
 But of late the tide is again turn ing and rivers and canals are coming into their own. Much of this Is doubt less due to the fact that the rail- roads, numerous as they are, have not been able to keep up with the demands upon them. Congestion of freight all over the country, perishable crops rot ting because they could not be ship ped. merchandise delayed, and various other evidences of railroad inability to do the work required of them have combined to turn attention back to water routes. Not only are natural streams being utilized but inland ca nals are being constructed and pro jected on a large scale in various sec tions. Speaking of the change The Boston Globe says:
 As navigable rivers are public highways. the federal government which owns them. should improve them. Many of them could be so i'm proved in a few years as to be util- ized for commercial purposes long before new railroads could be built. The aid they would be to commerce is
 The coming renaissance of inland waterways in the United States is reminder that Germany. France, Holland and Belgium depend upon considerable freight without breaking hulk in any of those four countries. Germany owes her industrial prosperi- ty to canals. Canals are paying in- vestment. as rule, and they are now a necessity in the United States.
 While there can be little doubt that the government has frequently been held up and footed in the way of ap- propriations for streams that could never be made navigable. it Is no less true that much money can be wisely and judiciously expended on many of the large streams which are natural waterways, and that therein can be found relief from many of the evils of insufficient railroad facilities
 It is significant in this connection to note that a renewed impetus has been lately given to the subject of ca- nal construction in the United States and what The Globe says about Ger many is evidence that canals are a paying investment. It is possible that some of the dreams of great inter-con- tinental waterways may never mate rialize, or may be for future genera moderate scale they are going to be constructed wherever possible, and the sooner the better. MT. J. J. Hill, who Is certainly an authority on the subject recently stated that the country should have nearly or quite 75,O miles of new railroads in order to relieve congestion. and he estimated this would require more than five bil- lions of dollars.
 This is an immense sum, and we suppose no one can imagine that it can be raised or the roads built within any reasonably short period. Then. If demand for freight and passenger traffic continues to grow and the railroads cannot be built fast enough to supply that demand. 1t is plain that congestion of transportation will in crease, and no one can foresee the limit. Plainly the remedy lies in the improvement of the natural waterways and the opening up of artificial ones It is the only way now apparent and even the railroads themselves should not object.