The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1909-07-19
RIVERS AND CANALS
SHOW GENERAL DECLINE
Railroads Getting Increased
Share Of Business, Commits
SiOneT Smith Points Out
(By Associated Press)

dShlhslOn. u, {. July l9-O00p
eration between railways and water
ways seems absolutely necessary 10
insure 2 reasonable ana efficient us
of the inland watercourses of this
country.
This conclusion is reached i'm -
report of Herbert Knox Smith. com.
missioner Of corporations. in part II
Of his discussion of the subject OF
transportation by water. which his
bureau has been investigating for
many months. The second part of tho
report Was transmitted TO President
Taft odGy Il deals with traffic by
water. and portions Of it are particul
arly suggestive and significant.
Il is pointed out by Commissioner
Smith tlat lit is a public evil thai
he entire transportation system Of
The United States should be. as now
at cd with itself through dostuc
tive competition, while the transpOr
tation needs of The public suffer
Traffic i'm itself" the report con.
inues. rs "A necessity fer the proper
development of a waterway; state and
Federal work must be supplements
by private initiative. especially in
terminals and equipment, and private
initiative will cOme in only when
there is reasonable chance of enough
traffic Ia make it profitable One Of
the greet questions. therefore. is the
question Of how 10 secure for the in
land riers and canals a reasonable
share of the country's traffic
In the body Of the report. Commia
sioner Smith points ont the prelom
nance of bulk traffic by water. and
HE rea ions therefor Then he ou
lines the practical results to be oh
tanned from a thorough system of wa
tenways The entire transportation
system of the country is divided into
three great classes:
First Rail
Second Deep water that is, coast
Mise and Great Lakes
Third Rivers and canals.
An enormous increase has been
shown in the rail traffic There also
has been an increase in the cOastwiac
traffic ON the other hand, the river
and canal traffic shows a marked Dc
crease Discussing this situation
Commissioner Smith, in his report
says:
The great mass Of the coast and
}reat skes traffic is bulk. The
enormous development Of the Great
Lakes business is largely due TO the
vast ore and grain trade moving east
ward and the coal trade moving west
ward. About 4.OO00O0 tons Of ore
We're transported in 1907 eastward.
and about 17O00.000 tons of coal were
moved westward in 1906 Those great
freights. being all bulk and of uni
form character received ami deliy-
cred at a few central ports, have pro
luced there q very highly organized
system of transportation and termn-
ais, and consequent low transpora-
tion cost
The river and canal system, on the
other haad. has been losing steadily.
The New York canlls and the Missis-
sippi river system illustrate this. W
to 1855 tine traffic on the New York
canals 1as more than twice that Of
the railroads crossing New York state
II is now less than three per cent Of
that total. The situation on the Mis-
sissippi is illustrated in the traffic
history of ST. Louis. River shipmen's
there i'm 1890 were over 100000 tons
in 1906. $4,000 Rail shipments. on the
other hand increased from 100000
tons in 1890 to 100000 tons in 1906
"The ccal traffic downstream from
the vicinity Of Pitisburg, over So per
cent of the entire vessel traffic on
the Mississippi spstem, is the one
striking exception to the general de-
cline on thai system It's success is
due to the great deposits of coal prac-
ficallv on the banks, and correspond
ing demand for II along the river But
even tins traffic is practically confin-
ed to the hanks of he rivers, and good
neither inland nor along the Gulf
coast for my considerable distance.
THE situation of water transports
tion in the Mississippi Valley is signi-
ficant and serious. 1t shows best both
the limitations and the possibilities
involved in the present waterway
problem There is no lack of freight
In that valley. and there has been at
lines extreme traffic congestion there
and yet the river is getting only an
insignificant and decreasing share OF
that traffic. II is true that physical
conditions. such as extreme changes
ir water level and enormous deposi $
Of sediment, affect transportation ser
iously But probably more serious Is