The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-07-20
REPORT SUBMITTED
TO PRESIDENT TAFT
Says That Entire Transportation sys-
TEN of the United States is at ODDS
With Itself Through Destructive
Competition.-A Public Evil.

WASHINGTON, July 20.-Co-opera-
ton between railways and waterways
seems absolutely necessary to insure
a reasonable and efficient use of the
inland water-courses of this country
This conclusion is reached in the
report of Herbert Knox Smith, Com
missioner of Corporations, in Part III
of his discussion of the subject OF
transportation by Water, which his
bureau has been investigating for sew
eral months. The second part of the
report was transmitted to President
Taft today. 1t deals with traffic By
water. and portions of it are particu
larly suggestive and significant.
It is pointed out by Commissioned
Smith that 1t is a public evil that
the entire transportation system Of
the United System should be, as now
at odds with itself through destructive
competition, while the transportation
needs of the public suffer"
Traffic in ITSELF the report con
tinues. lis a necessity for the proper
development OF a waterway. State
and Federal work must be supplement-
ey by private initiative, especially in
terminals and equipment and private
initiative will come only when there
is reasonable chance of enough traffic
to make it profitable. One of the
great questions, therefore, is the
question of how to secure for the in
land rivers and canals a reasonable
share of the country's traffic" %
In the body of the report, Commits
sioner Smith points out the predom
nance of bulk traffic by water and
the reasons therefor Then he out
lines the practical results to be obtain
ed from a thorough system of water
ways. The entire transportation sys
tenn of the country is divided into
three r. soiil ssfn' classes Y.
/
2. Deep water, that is, coasSwise
and Great Lakes.
8. Rivers and canals.
An enormous increase has beer
shown in the rail traffic. There also
has been an increase in the coas
wise traffic. On the other hand iht
river and canal traffic shows mark
ed decrease. Discussing this situation
Commissioner Smith, in his report
says:
The great mass al the coast an,
Great Lakes traffic is bulk III,
enormous development OF the rea
Lakes business is largely due % th'
vast ore and grain trade moving east
ward and the coal trade moving west
ward. About 45.000000 tons of or
r were transported in 1907 eastward
/, and about 100000 tons of coal wer
, moved westward in 1906 These grea
t freights, being all bulk and of uniforr
character. received and delivered at
few central ports, have produced ther
very highly organized system c
: transportation and terminals, and col
: sequent low transportation cost.
t "The river and canal system on tn
E other hand, has been losing steadil,
: The New York canals and the Mi
: sissippi river system illustrates thi
+ Up to 1855 the traffic on the Ne
S York canals was more than twice tn;
= of the railroads crossing New Yor
d state. 1t is now, less than three p,
cent of that total The situation {
e the Mississippi is illustrated in Il
n traffic history of st. Louis. Riv,
IN shipments there in 1890 were ov
IL 100000 tons; in 1906, $4,000. RI
f. shipments. on the other hand, fncres
tContinued on Page Four.)