The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1909-08-05
SO nearly as possible. Not all the sec

lloIlS are yet complete"
Including rivers, canalized rivers ant
canals, in use or soon to be opened, the
waterways mileage of the empire is
nearly 10000 miles. Rather more than
half is Of free rivers: that is, streams
which, while improved in many re-
spects. have not required to be can
allied. OF the remainder, canalized
rivers and canals are about equal In
mileage.
SIeaking Of what has happened in
Germany since its waterways system
was established, Mr.. Welliver says:
and the expense of transportation has
been reduced. Taking the fleet on the
German Rhine, for example, the official
figures are that in 1887 there were 275
steamers, a%ggregating 1900 tons BY
1897, the number of steamers has in
creased to 41S and their tonnoge to 3d.
900; in 1904 there were $50 steamers
and the tonnage showed a still further
considerable increase. But the show
ing of the barge feet in both numbers
and tonnage is much more significant.
I'm 1887 there were 1881 barges of
$4,000 tons. In h next 10 years, al
though there was increase of only
about 500 in the number of barges, the
gross tonnage had more thar doubled
in other words, the average tonnage
per barge on the Rhine had just about
doubled in this period. The increase
l ~ - w AAS mp VI lIiC III
and its MISUNDERSTANDING the
Main and the Neckar. At present there
are probably 10000 boats and barges
on the Rhine, including the German,
Dutch and Belgian fleets, and in capac-
ity they go as high as 24OO tons, draw
ing about nine feet of water. Barges
of over 1000 tons ascend the Rhine as
far as Mannheim, and in favorable sea-
sons even beyond. When the great
east and west canal is completed, which
probably will not be for som years
yet, it will accommodate barges Of 600
tons throughout"
How Germany Looks Ahead.
Mr.. Welliver says it would be bad
business to expend millions building
waterways in the United States unless
they are to be protected against as
saults of unrestricted railroad COM
petition. Says he:
Opponents of the economic policy OF
waterway development, believing water
cannot ultimately compete with rail-
roads, frequently point to the deca-
dence of traffic along the Ohio river in
the face of the fact that much money
stream. The facts suppor the con-
tention that the great Ohio seems to
have been unable to compete satisfac-
torily against the railroads. But in
no great European country, where
state control of such matters is more
III ASASs WYNN Solllp AloSO
been allowed to ruin the traffic on a
great artery like the Ohio. The state
would maintain that instead of build
ing railroads to handle traffic which
could as we'll be moved by river. 1t
would better leave this traffic and
spend its money building railroads in
regions where 1t was impossible to fur
nish any but rail transportation. Ger
mar or French policy would never have
permitted the Ohio, h Mississippi. the
Missouri, to fall into commercial deca-
dence. If these had been German pos
sessions. for instance, they would long |
ago have developed almost unlimited
carrying possibilities, and would today
be doing for this country what the
Elbe, the Oder. the Weser. the Rhine
They would be preventing car famines /
and insuring against the paralysis of
trade which follows when Transports
ton facilities become inadequate.
American Development One Sided.
European students of transportation
wonder that the United States should
have permitted so one-sided a develop |
ment of its transportation system. They
point out that. with perhaps the ex-
ception of China, nc other country has
such a magnificent system as the
United States, or so great possibilities
OF its effective utilization. Nowhere
else is there so large a proportion OF
freight which can be moved most ad-
vantageously by water. In another
place it has been suggested that if the Z
German empire controlled the worlds :
upply of a great staple, as the United
nomic policy would busy itself to bring
about the manufacture of a vastly
larger proportion Of that raw material
in Germany. And, similarly. II Ger
many, France or Austria possessed
such a rive system as that of the
United States, with possibilities of be-
ing joined to a lake system uch as
ours, these would long ago have been
made the basis Of q vast and busy
transportation system. =,
One consideration which has been
kept in mind in European development
OF water transportation is that when
a great water route is once opened its
capacity for freight movement is al
most unlimited. The possibility of
traffic movement on a single-line rail
capacity is reached the road must be
double-tracked On the other hand, a
great waterway can move increasing
amounts of freight to an almost in
definite degree with merely the provi-
sion Of additional boats and barges.
the policy of Germany and France
in recent years has been to make. i'm
portant Internal waterways as large as
practical. Originally, small canals were
supposed to be ample for all the traf-
fic likely to be offered them; but with
the development Of commerce and in
dustry they proved too small. They
have been rebuilt. shortened, channels
deepened n widened, the humble Of
locks reduced, and their capacity in
creased. The scheme of construction :;
to the future. II these great in Il
vestments in waterways had not been
made 1t would now be necessary either
to make much greater investments in
or else to suffer Industrial
AS 1t is the great water
can carry an indefinite Increase
traffic, with no further Investment
the provision OF more boats.
I'm continental countries the internal L.
system, is based almost en-
tirely on the rivers. There are no lakes !,
Of consequence. Canals are used to
the rivers, but not generally
to provide Independent routes. The
rivers of the north of Germany are be-
ing linked up in this fashion by canals.
and fhje norfhorn aveforo Go oorrao<odAl