The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-19
RAILROADS AND RIVERS. The chattanooga Times says:


 The chattanooga Times says:
 J; ,. Hili, the great railway operator w.li De rsmemSsred. that lt Ssoai would take s money for the raiiroads to catch up in of ish the tes sounsrys pao ducttveness. He thought. therefore, that the utilization of waterways must os tas section p aS ns ss or contiguous to a navfgable stream or one that by moderate expense could be made so.
 It Is not the usual thing, we be- lieve. for railroad magnates to look with appreciation, or even with toler- ance. to increased water transportation facilities. but Mir Hill is thoroughly correct Many of us can remember when railroads in Alabama were con spicuous by their absence, and when steamboats and rafts did most of the carrying business that was not done by wagons Then the railroads multi the country and water transportation almost ceased. It was considered too slow for modern progress and develop nient.
 But within the last few years another change has been taking place. and 1t looks as if the pendulum may swing back to the water. as It were. Espe- ciaily was great impetus given to the demand for water transportation by the events and conditions existing in many portions of the country last summer and fall. and extending far into the winter. The immense crops of fruit. grain and vegetables could not be moved as desired, and millions of dollars were lost to the growers be- cause 1t was impossible to get per ishable crops to market in time to save them. Added to this was an un- usual demand for coal-cars. and for cars to ship the great corn and wheat crops of the West. and of the North west. The extent and duration of freight congestion but few months ago is stin fresh in the remembrance of all. Fruits and vegetables routed at the depots. there was shortage of cars everywhere, and the roads. in many instances. were almost totally blocked, while from all parts of the country there was clamor for more cars and complaint against the rail- roads because they were unable to do all that was desired.
 All this made 1t plain that the de- mand for transportation was much greater than the facilities for supply ing it.. It was also plain to be seen that what happened last year may happen in this or in any future year. Tn short, as Mir. Hill plainly intimates. 1t Is becoming impossible for the rail- roads to catch up and keep up with the increasing productiveness and output of the soil and the mines. This produc- tiveness is certain. in the nature of things, to multiply as the demand in- creases, and the railroads cannot keep pace with it.
 Plainly, then. the only relief is to bring back and encourage water trans portation. No city should be. locked up or paraIyzed for lack of shipping facilities if it is situated on navigab1e stream, or on one that can be made SC by a reasonable sum spent in improve menta This. be in understood. not to injure the railroads, but to help them. If the roads cannot supply the de- mands on them 1t follows as a matter of course that there will be complaints and criticisms. and the railroads will ha 4nr Anep alI ho4 e p0- Quired of them. The obvious remedy is to help the roads to get rid of the burden by taking some of it off them and the only way to do 1t that we car see Is to open the rivers and keep them open.
 It Is doubtless true that much public money is spent on streams that nature failed to make suitable for navigation and man cannot do it. To some extent this may be due to the desire of one section of the country to get as much from the treasury as any other section gets, and 1t is at least possible that Congressman sometimes go on tho ''You-help-me-and-P I'll u-help-you" idea those are matters that should not bt allowed to stand in the way of giving the country water transportation when. ever it can be done. There are riverl in the country on which boats could b. run all the year round if some obstruc- tions were removed, and, in our 5udg' ment, Congress can do few things oi more importance to the country thar by Judicious appropriations for th' rivers and harbors in all the country Such expenditure will be good for the people. good for the country at large and really good for the railroads in th' end.