Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-06-19
WOULD Improve ALL OF The
united STATES WATERWYS
FREIGHT RATES MORE IMPORT.
ANT THAN TARIFF SAYS S. A.
THOMPSON in ADDRESS. y
TRANSPORTATION, THEME
Effect of Navigation on the Cost of
Shipping Clearly Shown BY the
Speaker--Made Good I'M
preston on Hearers.

| preston on Hearers.
| With an earnestness in the advo-
cacy Of policy that has received his
attention for the past quarter of cen.
fury and an intensity of belief In his
theory that to say the least proved
contagious with his entire audience,
! Hon S. A. Thompson, field secretary
| for the National Rivers and Harbors
congress, last night spoke to Ottum-
wa merchants and others in the rooms
of the Ottumwa Commercial club.
With rapid fire of facts and figures
sufficient to make dizzy the ordinary
business man, the speaker told of ti,n
utilization of the waterways for trar
portation in order to reduce freight
| rates and develop the country.
So convincing were his remarks
during the hour which he spoke, and
so many were the points that he
brought out, as perhaps no other man
can, that not one of his hearers lett
the rooms unconvinced of the advisa-
bility of river navigation, but instead
| they became determined to bend their
energies to the end that at least in
| this section of the state concerted
move will be made with the object IN
view, the utilizing of the inland
streams as avenues of commerce.
Has Heart in Work.
81 believe in it as in the Divinity"
said the speaker, ''and my heart is in
the work for the past twenty-five
years, Notwithstanding that some call
me and those associated in this work,
water cranks. l find myself in the
same state of mind as the Methodist
presiding elder who in discussion as
to the advisability of writing SER
mons in advance and memorizing them
said, / do not write my sermons for
the reason that if did the devil
would know just what l was about to
say before l had an opportunity OF
saying it. So with me, gentlemen.
when l stand up before you tonight,
not even the devil himself knows what
l am going to say"
Transportation Figures.
Some of the figures of the cost
of transportation are greatly differ
ent,' said Mr.. Thompson. Wagon
haul in the United States cost % cents
per ton per mile; in England it is 5
cents. By railroad the cost is cents
and .S2 mills; by the Erie canal mill
and by river from Pittsburg to New
Orleans it is but one-third of a mill
Thus you can see where difference
| in freight rates can be made that will
justify expanding sums for the river
and harbor Improvements The
speaker then proceeded to illustrate
how freight rates were fixed, saying
that the charge all depends on the
means used for transportation. "The
500 CANAL said he, carried in
year 5S,217,214 tons of freight The
United States government has appro-
priated for 1t since it's opening $780,
100000, and it has saved S5O0O0O,OO0
in transportation cost"
River versus Rail.
AS an instance of the effect of river
transportation on freight rates the
speaker cited the building of the Cas-
cade locks on the Columbia river near
Portland, Ore, saying before the locks
were constructed the freight rate on
nails in Portland was $40 per ton,
but Immediately upon the opening of
the locks, the rate on the same pro-
duct fell to 50 or less than one-third
of the former cost. The speaker was
not without fund of quaint humor
and relieved what would ordinarily
have been dry subject by witty and
humorous flashes at intervals. In al
luding to manufacturers and large
shippers here, he said it had came 10
his notice that a number of kickers
were to be found in Iowa who object
ed to freight rates. $50 long" said he,
las you continue to be a railroad
point and let the river at your door
flow peacefully on undisturbed by
commerce, you will have nothing 70
kick about, but when you wake up to
the fact that the river can and should
be devoted to commerce instead IF
lying idle, you will find things differ
ent and kicking on rates will stop.
When that begins to appeal to you in
its practicability the railroad rates
and not the tariff will be the concern
Of your representatives in congress.
Foreigners Take Advantage.
UNLESS we set about making our
waterways navigable and reducing
the freight rates from the interior to
the coasts, the Panama canal will
prove more of menace than bene-
fit to the American people," declared
S. A. Thompson.
"By the aid of the canal, German
and Japanese merchants will be able
to bring their goods to the. east coast
of South America and place them on
the markets at rate that cannot be
duplicated by American merchants"
let me write the freight rates and
don't care who writes the tariff" he
said. "The development Of our water
resources is thousand times more
important than revision of the tariff,
and our weakness on that one point is
doing more to retard our commercial
growth than any other five factors
Because Of their advancement in this
particular, all of the European coun-
tries are gradually forging ahead of
the United States as purveyors to
Asiatic and South American coun-
tries.
Results of Freight Rates.
AS an instance of the difference be-
tween rail and water rates, Mr..
Thompson cited the rate on oranges
THE rate on ton of oranges from
Italy is $500, the duty on ton is $780,
making in all cost of s23 per ton for