The Washington herald., 1907-03-30
OF THE
UNITED STATE S
BY FREDERIC ]. HAsKIN.

Internal transportation in the United
States. like ancient Gaul. is divided into
thFee parts. These are country roads and
pixies canals and natural waterways. and I
railroads. TO the optimistic student OF
commercial problems each OF these meth
ods IS of equal Importance. and should /
be so regarded by a wise and benevolent /
government when It chooses TO make con-
cessions or distribute favors. But TO the
majority of people the dirt roads over
which the farmer must always wagon his 4
grain o= cotton. or the mmberman carry /
his logs. are a matter of small consider /
alton. and the canals and rivers are Of /
interest only 10 those whose territory /
they cross. Il Is the railroads that are 1
looked upon as the steel-bound depend /
ency when goods are 10 be sent. or a |
distant place visited
Yet the railroad traffic of the 2l5,000 |
miles of operated roads in the United |
States is only twice as great per ton |
mile as thar Of the internal waterways, |
including the Great Lakes. The United /
100000 tons Of domestic merchandise |
of value approximating 81. 200 100000. yet |
this tonnage is less than the amount that |
goes through the Detroit River IN the |
eight months that It is open 10 traffic: |
is hardly half as much as that carried
by the Hudson River; is less than that |
which passes down the Mississippi Valley !
and is only three times as great as that /
of the Monongahela. which is classed as |
a "slack-water" stream.
Henry Clay opposed the granting OF !
land for the opening of the Saulte Sainte !
Marie Canal, because il was beyond the |
pale of civilization" yet the cities OF
Duluth. Superior. Ishpeming, Marquette.
and Ashland exist because it is a reality. /
1t carried last year total net tonnage /
of about 1000 900. About 1900 yes
sells passed through taking eastward 20 !
090000 tons Of wheat. 30000000 tons Of
other grain, and 500.00o tons of merchan- /
disc. including copper and lumber. During /
the eight months of the year that it is /
not ice-locked, the 500 has a traffic equal
20 three times that of the Suez Canal, !
ten times that of Manchester and eight |
times that Of Kiei.
It IS claimed that if this system of
transportation were abolished, the cities
it built would Immediately die. because |
no system of railways could handle the
enormous amount Of products from the
forests, mines. and farms that depend
upon It. Even If the railways had the
necessary tracks, the price would de- !
crease the proht and the opportunities
for growth. The cost of transportation /
by canal Is only one-third of that by rail !
way. and In open water il is even less. /
1t is figured that with proper canal ia
cilities connecting the navigable inland /
streams the nation could save 66 per
cent on the present cost of transporta- !
tion. Think what such "A saving would !
mean 10 the people of this country.
When Consul General Mason investi- /
gated the question of transportation In |
Germany. he declared that under ideal !
conditions q nation would see that IT'S !
raw materials. such as coal. ores, timber /
stone, cotton. grain, and crude materials 4
were carried by waterways as haste was !
not so necessary, while the perishabies I
smaller packages, and passengers should /
be carried by railroad. He argued that
the one method OF transportation should
supplement, not supplant the other. The
value of a farm or mine or a forest is
based not only on what it viii produce
for its owners, but also on the cost of
transporting those products. the near
ness of railroads and canals figuring
largely in the estimate. Hauling over
land by teams costs, per ton, for one
mile, . cents, on railroads, ~ cents; by
canals, 81, and by lakes, less than mill
q mile The Pennsylvania Railroads
charges of Il cents per ton mile were
probably the highest We have ever had.
In comparison With this the rates by
boat are ridiculously small A train
must be loaded rapidly, and often tine
cars are not full; boat or ship is not so
pushed for time. and invariably carries
"a full cargo. A ship costs one-hfth as
much as a train of ears equal TO It's car
ryiug capacity, Il lasts longer. and its
running expenses are much less. At last
accounts the average cost of moving
freight IN the United States per ton mile
was $0522 by railway exclusive of the
cost of management. structure. &c1; by
steamer on the Great Lakes it was S0.135.
aad on the canals a trifie more than the
last. a difference that will be minimized
when steam motive power is useC. Boats
carrying 300 tons go from Duluth TO
Buffalo in three and a half days. at a
cost of Sl2J "a day, or S00l5 per ton mile.
Foreign exports and imports equal only
per cent Of our interstate commerce.
on our 1900 miles OF navigable rivers we
are carrying more than all Europe on her
S0000 miles of perfected waterways. One
steamer going from Pittsburg to New
Orleans by river takes tow of thirty
two barges of coal. holding 100000 bushels
and taking fifteen days for the trip To
DO the same work 81 is figured that 100
freight trains of sixteen cars each would
be needed, and that they would have 10
work all summer TO deliver the coal
This is said TO save IN freight $4,000.
John C. Calhoun, in a famous address,
said: Let us bind the republic together;
let US conquer space by perfect system
Of roads and canals" The partial fulfill
ment of his dream IS found IN the long
inland voyages one may make, going now
from PittsbuTg TO Western Montana by
river. distance Of 4,300 miles, equal TO
that from New York 10 St. Petersburg
From St Louis 20 New York City the
water route follows "a course that nature
first planned and man ingeniously per-
fected By means of artificial channels
From the Mississippi into the Illinois
which modern ingenuity has made to
empty at its source instead Of its mouth
through the Chicago Drainage Canal, up
Lake Michigan 70 the Straits of Macki-
nav. down Lake Huron to Detroit. across