The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-05-04
Interesting FactsFinished
by Government
NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT
Federal Investigators Show. How I'm,
Reaching and Important is the Rail-
road Influence In the Whole Dues
tson-Ttailways Need Have No Fear
of Restoration OF the Traffic.
tBy the Associated Press. }

of Restoration OF the Traffic.
tBy the Associated Press,)
washington, -. G.. May Flew peo-
pie, perhaps, realize that the traffic
movement on the lower. MissiSsipDi
river, once SO tremendous. has SO ma
tetially declined in recent years. that
the supremacy once enjoyed by that
great stream has been transferred to
the Ohio river and that, therefore,
PittSburg rather than either St. Louis
or New Orleans. is today the most i'm
portaIlt river point in America.
These and other interesting facts
are CLEANED from the Appendix" TO
h preliminary. report Of the Inland
Waterways Commission The report it
SIT was made public recently, but the
"Appendix' which has just come OH
h government printing Office presses.
was made public today. The greater
portion. of the data contained in it was
bert Knox Smith. Commissioner Of
the Bureau frCorporations.>
Why River Trade Has Dropped.
It is slleRKIf that the lower Mississ
sippi which has always been recOg~
niled as of greater coIrflnercia1Aimporr-
.snce than the upper part, still retains
this relative Importance. Among The
important factors in the decline OF
traffic on 1.-THE lower Mississippi may be
mentioned that formerly large quaint
ties of wheat. corn. and oats were sent
down the river from ST. Louis and
other" points to New Orleans, but the
building of railroads through Nebras-
ka, Arkansas and Oklahoma to the
Gulf, together with the lack OF atten-
ton to river improvements, has oper-
ssed against the shipment of grain
down the Mississippi.
This has resulted in the gradual dis
appearance in the last fifteen years Of
many finely equipped steamboats, On
the lower Mississippi as q result OF
sharp railroad competition and other
causes
nother important cause for this de-
cline in the traffic movement on that
srsat stream has been the introduction
Of the. cotton compress resulting in the
o~Verturning Of the old system oi
handling cotton by river. Formerly the
only cotton congresses were located
ut important centeIs, such az Memphis.
Vicksburg and News Orleans, but now
any town of s1ishtsinaportance@ has its
own compress which nave excellent
Facilities for receiving and shipping
BE- les of cotton by rail.
Hindered by Railroads..
The. report declares that the devel-
opment Of river traffic is hindered III
many ways by the railroads who at
some important points on the Ohio
river have gained control of much OF
the land available for terminal faelh-
LIFS. 'titc VI &kIS I dS ltiNr
Tor mes operating. On the Ohio and its
tributaries is the matter OF excessive
wharfage charges. The packet lines
charge that it is a common practice
tor little towns along<t1e river to levy
c;fargaS which in sore instances run
from O~ne-fOurth to one-third OF the
net profits Of the boats. Boat lines, as
r. rule, make lower rates than those
Of rail carriers. The loss Of p%ro-rat-
ing arrangements with the railroads
added difficulty for the river lines. Tor
instead of being bic to quote through
rates, the packet lines must now quote
their w rate to the point where Ihey
coHnect with the railroad and then
add the local tariff rate Of h rail-
road from that point to ~stlnat1on
This loss of prO-rating arrangements
has seriously affected the packet lines
and has practically ruined the traffic
in horse-sroes, cotton ties, bar iron,
wire nails, staples, etc; in PINE
to the South and West where formerly
the river freight was heavy
The Railroad Influence.
y significant feature Of the report
- that dealing with railroad controi
Of river tarfic and private canals. a
lumber. of packet ines engaged IN
business on the Mississippi and its tclp-
~utaries are mentioned az
traces of railroad Influences Sew,
era private canals are also mentioned
~ being dominated by railroad IN
f!uences.
n this connection the report strik-
fnGly shows the extent to when STATE
and private canals fY9 We been