The Cairo bulletin., 1909-08-18
The TAXPAYERS
MONEY WASTED
GOVERNMENT GOES AT WATER.
WAY IMPROVEMENT IN
WRONG MANNER.
B. F. YOAkUM SPEAKS
before Farmers Union Of Oklahoma
on Value Of Waterways Property
Promuigated--Wort
as They Are.

!
shawnee, Okla, aug. i7.-Depre.
eating the growing expenditures which
the United States is :lcurring in cor
nection with the maintenance OF the
army and navy. and declaring the
grain and cotton fields of the Missis-
sippi valley and the west are stronger
military defenses than warships. b. F.
foakum, chairman of the executiv.
committee of the Rock Island Frisco
lines, delivered an address here today
before the Farmers Union of Okla
homa
Yoakums subject was The Farmer
and the Railroad" :" He strongly adyo-
Gated good roads as a means of bring.
ing the carrier and the producer closer
/ together fIo said In part
The splendid railroad system Of the
United States, superior. as it is. to
any in the world speaks for its If.
but how about water transportation,
for which the government is response.
bic:
Herbert Knox Smith OF the depart
ment of commerce and labor, in re-
cent report says that this government
has built about 1900 miles of canal.
and that more than half, costing over
S60,O00,000, has been abandoned. This
means $S0,000,000 of wasted money.
The Unit d States government. 10
y ars ago, commenced the construc.
ton OF the Illinois and Mississippi
canal. Its longth is rs miles and Il
has cost to date, with interest at 3
por cent, over $9,00OO00. $4,000 per
m.,a
To maintain this canal in its pfcs.
ent useless condition costs the coun.
try's taxpayers $4,000 a year. exclu.
sive of interest on the investment. A
freight boat has never passed through
4.
Il mention this to illustrate on un
dertaking of the many which, through
the lack of system or intelligent plan
ming in advance of the construction Of
our inland waterways, make up the
SS0,000,000 that are referred to by
The government has expended ap
proximately 1925 100000 on tn i'm,
provement of the Mississippi river and
its tributaries. The tonnage handl sd
over tho waters of the Mississippi last
year was one-third less than it was
20 years ago. Professional politicians
IN their public utterances, proclaim. in
their efforts to prejudice the public
against the railroads, that grain. coal
and other commodities can be handled
from St Louis and other Mississippi
and Ohio river points to New Orleans
for one dollar per ton, but they do not
tell YOU that. figuring interest on the
S225, 100000 of tax money expended.
each ton of last years shipment by the
Mississippi river and its tributaries
cost the taxpayers SO cents a ton In
interest, in addition to the freight
charges,
II have on several occasions urged
the improvement of the Mississippi
river and am not now talking against
1t, but only illustrating the unbusiness-
like and slIpshod manner in which the
government is carrying on its entet-
prises in handling the business of It's
stockholders, who are the taxpayers.
Il favor Improvements OF our water
ways to aid in the development of the
country but | favor them only when
Systematically and properly planned
and built In such a manner that they
viii perform the service for which the
money is expended. Otherwise the ex-
ponditure will be waste, not invest
noa,
Canal construction and operation
are as simple as the construction and
operation of railroads. when prop riv
located and operated in an economical
manner. When railroad construction
Is planned, every detail of cost AMI
revenue is investigated before capital
can be had for its construction. The
government should use the same fore
sight in planning systems OF water
ways.
Il believe with Thomas Jefferson 'fu
A governm Mt frugal aud simple. ap-
plying all possible saving Of the pub
lie revenue to the discharge OF the
national debt and not to the muitip'i-
,atiou of Offices and salaries
This theory was promulgated m
1901. WHOM the expenses Of the gov-
,rnment were s9590oo.01e annually.
-ast year they were more than $3.50
ig0.0e0. The money received for al
he cotton grown by all the farmers TN
he United states last year vas not
uhicient TO pay the operating ex-
lenscs Of the government
This extravaganza is the result u
Increasingly expensive political ma
hinery Il is not directly chsrgeahle
D any one. There Is no direct respOl-
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