The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-10-29
the DEFINITE POLICY

When the autocrat of all the Rus
sls determined on the construction of
1rans-Siberian railway be fixed upon
definite policy of construction
and appropriated the money with which
to carry it out from inception to COM
pietion. Dissatisfied with the report
of his engineers, the ablest of France
and England, he drew straight line
between the proposed terminal points
be built accordingly and set aside the
money for the purpose. 1t was not
so built, but much more nearly so
than was thought possible. The strik-
ing feature of the incident being in
the fact that having determined upon
policy was established, the money APP
propriated and the work begun and the
work completed in time that has
never been equaled in the history of
railway building.
1t is only the establishment of
definite policy that is needed in the
United States to begin and complete
the Improvement of system of water
ways not equaled in any country on
the globe. The money is at hand or
can easily be had. The foreign com
merce of the United States is vast.
The latest volume of the statistical
abstract of the United States, Volume
80, 1908, showing that the total for
eign commerce of the United States,
imports and exports, amounted to 3d.
3l5,272,503 also shows the immeasure-
ably greater value of the trade and
commerce between the states.
The same authority gives the value
of the crops for that year at figures
exceeding $7,SOO,OOO,OOO; manufactured
products, $l4,SO2, l47 ,OS7; the wool crop
at $7S,263, l65; lumber at 1921. Isl 1888;
coal, anthracite and bituminous, at
$5l3,07S,S09, with 1882, 400 tons of
pig iron produced with values not Civ
en-. The articles cited taking no note
of the numberless other products and
industries, show the tremendously
greater value of the internal over the
foreign commerce of the country.
Foreign commerce has highway at
all seasons of the year and the de-
velOpment of the internal trade of the
country could readily be guaged if,
like its foreign competitor, it had
continuous means of communication
between shipper and receiver, with the
prices to the consumer reduced from
present figures which are largely be-
cause of the inadequate means of trans
portation causing delays and added
cost to producer or freight payer.
The Upper Mississippi valley and the
northwest appreciate the situation. The
recent meeting of the Upper Mississippi
River Improvement association rightly
determined to continue it's membership
in the National Rivers and Harbors
congress, approaching the fact that
the demand for project involves de-
lay and involves criticism, with the
demand for a policy making certain
the improvement of the inland water
ways of the country on definite lines
and with continuous work, Governor
Eberhart of Minnesota was happy in
his address to the convention in which
he pointed out the magnificent results
that have come to the trade and COM
merce of France, Germany and even
Russia is through the inland waterway
improvements which, having been I'M
dertaken, are pushed to completion
without the delays caused by indefinite
plans or inadequate appropriations. 1t
is indeed the "Policy, not Project"
of the National Rivers and Harbors
congress that will ensure results.