Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-02-14

oraker OF Ohio. The Germans passed
beyond that and they came to the
period of control by statute and
board and commissions. They passed
through that and then they came to
government ownership or railroads
and they gave that experiment up and
when they had gone the whole round
and experimental with the whole
question, Germany turned to her
waterways and began the develop
ment of her magnificent system Of
rivers and canals. They are devoting
the energies of their people, the wis
dom of their statesmen and the treas
ury of their empire to the develop
ment of the peoples highways to
commerce.
And what Germany has been doing
France his done. France has an erea
of a little less, think than the two
Dakotas, about 100000 square miles
that is the area of France. How
much has France put into her water
ways, her, rivers and canals? More
than one billion dollars; put it in
since 1872, two thirds of it; more than
twice that of our great country Of
more than 3,0OO,OOO square miles; we
put in about half billion. That is
the example of France and Germany
before us, and what is the result
over there?
But must not spend too much time
because want to get down to the
Missouri river before the ice goes
OUTPUT want to say to- you that
the little factories in the remote in
terror of German If there is such a
term as remote interior since rid
ing two thousand miles doubt If
there is remote interior, one is apt
but you can put the manufactured
products anywhere in the interior of
German, put it on a boat and from
that transfer it to river boat and
then to an ocean steamer and take it,
to the markets of the world and it
will never be affected one cent by
railroad rates until it gets to the
point of distribution. That is what
Germany can do today, and let me
throw out just this suggestion that
with Germany with that kind of an
internal waterways system, we have
got to compete If we go into the
markets Of the world. So we look
abroad to the experience Of other and
older nations and find full demon
stration of the wisdom of the develop
ment of our waterways as the solu-
tion of our transpo problem
Our Past Experience.
But we have had some experience
ourselves, and it is worth while tore
fer to that. 1t has been the kind of
experience we want to continue. We
have been in the past developing
waterways in spots. It is good deal
like the lecturer heard some years
ago. Fourth Of July orator, where
he eulogized on America and Central
Kansas and he figured Il; out that
Kansas was of course the garden
spot in the United States, that Kan
sas was the finest state and that
county was Of course the center.
remember when he referred to Cali
fornia. He had been travelling in
California some years ago. He said
California is beautiful, beautiful in
spots, and the rich men have got all
the spots" Now, we have been de-
veloping the waterways IN spots and
to very large extent the great in
dustrial interests have been enjoying
the benefits Of the spots, but We have
gone far enough to learn some very
useful lessons, for instance, in re-
Spouse to the pressure upon congress,
that was unremitted, we have improv-
ed the connecting channels and the
harbors, of the Great Lakes. There
never. has been session of congress
down there for twenty years or more
when there was any doubt about what
the Great Lakes wanted. they were
always at the committee room door
ready to inform the committee on
rivers and harbors of what they need
ed, and so the last ten or twenty
L -. r. + "
years, possibly since 1884, we have
put into the Great Lakes something
like eighty million dollars in round
numbers. None Of this has been
wasted. al IN s,.,se,..-s
What l25.O OO, 900 Tons Freight Means.
i amlnot complaining we have lost
anything and do mot want to, give
such an impression. OIL wish that It
had been more. What has been the
result? q Why, we have demonstrated
TOT theofwoflde the, utility OF internal
improvement of waterways. II II
shouldssayt to you what freights went
through thea Soc locks, during this
laSteyears nrObahly from aixtv fn civ.