Bismarck daily tribune., 1908-11-26

elevators Du1lt along the river banks
as they are along the railroad tracks
and made it just as convenient for
the farmer to get his money for his
wheat and unload it, and they were
enabled to overcome the long haul
necessary to get it to market by a
lesser transportation rate, you would
have marketed their wheat for some
thing like s56,7S0 in transportation
charges and $227,12O would have
stayed in the counties which border
on the Missouri river.
Railroads Cannot Handle the Busi-
ness. f&,s
The tonnage is up there in Mon
tana and it is here in North Dako-
ia. The two states have the long
est haul to the sea of any states
which compete or will compete in a
few years for the foreign grain trade.
You cannot overcome your disad-
vantge by looking to the railroads.
Mr.. Hill says as soon as confidence
is restored-and we believe it is now
the railroads cannot haul the pro-
ducts of the farm and bring in sup
plies, and that he favors waterways.
Let us believe what he says about
the coming congestion if we do feel
skeptical about his favoring water
competition for his railroads.
tsAs near as I can estimate it from
the sworn reports of the railroads,
made to your state commission, the
unit of transportation charges-the
rate per ton per mile--is 9.2 mills in
North Dakota and you are getting off
easy. Over in Montana it is from IL
mills on certain classes to 1875 mills
on the average, but the average in
the United States for rail transpor-
tation is 7.S. The rate on the water
per ton per mile, as shown by the
seasons business through the 500
canal and on the lakes and rivers
now navigable is something like
eight tenths of one mill, which bears
out the statement of James j. Hill,
made several years ago, that he
could haul as much freight on one
of his lake boats for one dollar as
the best equipped railroad in the
United States can for $26.
F'Since then railroads have been
getting more and better brains be-
hind them, while the rivers simply
have no brains behind them at all,
and outside of Captain Bakers pack
ct line, the Missouri river commerce
is limited to the farms, forests and
city parks which it deyours and the
railroad piling and track with
which it picks its teeth.
The Association is An Incubator.
AS to the work Of the association.
1t is primarily the incubator and
broader of sentiment favoring the
economical improvement of the Mis-
souri, river. Public men have been
and are guided by public sentiment
Not long ago letter written by
President Roosevelt in reply to a er.
quest for setting aside a forest re.
serve in California, was answered
by the president in his expressing {
desire to act, but he wanted peti
/ tion or a collection of resolutions
pasesd by representative bodies o.
citizens. that he might act in accor
dance with public sentiment tha
part of the state. So even Presiden
Roosevelt is guided by public senti
ment.
! From what I have known of you
North Dakota public men, few, If an.
of them, have been making fgh
for permanent or sensible river i'm
| provement. It is because their con
stituents were not agitating legisla
tion looking to such ends.
Will Keep the Matter Live Issue
@ rs = 10
4 "To quote from an expression Q
Mr.. Taft's on the subject, the presi
dent elect has said: Such associa
tions as there are the utmost bene
/ fit because they subject all legisls
tive action in this matter to the clos
est scrutiny, and will not prevent th
Temporary fears and short sighte
political consideration of the men
bers Of either legislative body
interfere with the rapid constructio
of these needed waterways by metl
DDS of real economy.
Bismarck has already got benin
this movement, and more should 6,
behind it and under it and push
along, sending delegates to the ne,
congress at Yankton, and bringin
it to Bismarck the next year, If yc
can get it, and + believe 1t can
brought up against the current of Il
Missouri river just as easy as 1t CO
be floated down, if enough of yc
!, get hold of the tow line"