Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-04-25

COr0luSly p1auS udfc UooA SoASAuAy
laid. The river states are preparing
to march against the states for whom
the west has been building harbors
for almost hundred years, and ask
what seems q pittance to enable
the federal government to seize the
Missouri river as one great enter
prise, and make navigation safe on
its turbulent waters, and construct
such landings and give permanency
to the channel, which will justify pri-
vate capital investing in elevators,
warehouses, docks and boat lines.
When Wheat Is Valueless.
At many points on the Missouri
River valley wheat is not worth any,
thing. It is practically worthless at
a time when the food question Is be-
coming more and more a world prob
lem.% But a commodity, raw or fin
ished, is of little or no value until 1t
has reached the place of its use.
To grow thirty-flve bushels of winter
wheat to the acre on one of the great
dry farms of the Missouri River val
ley means nothing to the farmer I'M
less it can be fed to hogs and chick
ems, and these appropriated to feed
the family. To haul one hundred
pound of wheat from this region
to the railroad costs from 800 to
81. so and then it takes 80 to As cents
more to haul it to the primary mar
ket of Duluth or Minneapolis.
Montana clips 100000 pounds
of wool from her sheep each year
and pays 100000 to haul the f1eeces
to Boston and Pniladelphia-an aver
age of 1 "a cents per pound. If to
this must be added the cost of
"freighting" the big bales of wool
from rs to $50 miles from the range,
which would be on the average OF
IL cents per pound, the sheep barons
are going to have transportation
charge of 3 IA cents against their
clips for many years to come.
Here the friends of the Missouri
river step in and say, "send your
wool to market by water. Instead of
paying 100000 annually and the
freighter's charge almost as great,
drive your flocks to the river, shear
them there, then send your wool to
market for Is cents per hundred
pounds by water and save $4,000
to the wool growers each year,
Then adds to old wool grower, "The
wool will soak up moisture II it
goes by water and weigh lot more
when It gets to Boston,
Steamboats, Aid q Little.
Already the Benton Packet COM
pany which operates a line of boats
between Bismarck, North Dakota,
and Fort Benton, Montana, is max
ing preparations to handle the wool
clip, but even this enterprising COM
pany, owned by ex-United States
Senator T. c. Power of Montana,
does not feel that it will be able to
furnish steamboat transportation at
rates much under those charged by
the railways. because of the constant
expense of maintaining landings
and the loss of time In tying up at
night when the boats should be rum
ming like freight trains, twenty-four
hours In the day.
The greatest waterway In the
United States and by far the greatest
waterway In the world Is composed
Of the great lakes. Up to the close
Of 1907. our government had ex-
pended on the harbors and connect
ing channels Of these lakes $4,000.
In round numbers. During the sea-
son Of 1907 there passed through the
500 canal 5S,217,214 tons of freight,
which was carried an average dis
lance Of 1913 miles at a cost Of $685.
457,,345, making an average cost OF
8 mills (eight-tenths of one mild
per ton per mile. If this freight had
been carried by rail at the average
railroad rate Of 7.S mills per ton per
mile It would have cost $377,090,-
709. That is to say the saving
decreased cost Of Transports
lion on the business of single lake
Tor single year amounts to $685.
10000, or nearly four times the
amount expended by the government
IN all the lakes since their improve
nent began. NJ ~ n. z.s ~ 10 ~
4 Garry this tonnage an equal dis
.ance, S23 miles, at the rate ship
,ers are paying Montana on railroads
ina it viii cost $932,363,542; carry
t the same distance at the South Da-t