The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1910-10-06
ALL ARE CONCERNED
IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONS WA
raRWAvs or INTEREST TO
EVERY CITIZEN.
VITAL FACTS ARE PRESENTED
Cost Of Getting Grain to Market Mate
Rally Reduced Through Shipment
by Water-seneft Distributed All
Over the Country.

You may not know it-you probably
don't-but It Is a matter of Importance
70 you whether the waterways OF the
United States are improved or not
and this is true no matter who you
are, what your business Is, or what
part of the country you live in. 1t
may be that you are a farmer and o
tell me that 1t Is nonsense to say
that It can make any difference to
you whether the waterways Of the
country are improved or not. because
you live away out west, miles away
from any river which Is navigable now
or ever will be.
Well, l admit that It is not as easy
TO see as the grain elevator down at
your railway station, but the benent
IL there Just the samoa real, sure
enough, dollars-and-cents benefit. Wa
terways have already been of tremen-
country and their further improve
ment will put more money into your
pockets and those OF your n%eighbors.
Take grain for an illustration. A
large part Of the grain raised In h
country is shipped away from the
place where 1t is grown. some for use
In the eastern states and some for K
port to Europe. Under these condi-
lions the price of grain is not fixed
at the nearest railway station. Your
wheat, for instance, is worth just what
It will bring in Liverpool-less the
cost of getting II there. You can see
at once that II makes a whole lot of
difference to you how much 1t costs
70 send your grain to New York or
Liverpool-and there's where the
waterway comes In.
Where Economy Comes In.
In 1908 the average cost OF carrying
wheat from Chicago to Buffalo by lake
wes one cent a bushel, while the cost
by rail to New York was III cents
almost twelve. times as much, although
the distance IS the same. But grain
which is to go all the way by water
must be transferred to canal boats at
Buffalo. Little canal boats drawn by
mules cannot carry stuff as cheaply
as big ships driven by steam, so the
through rate by water was six cents
u bushel, a little over half as much
as by rail. For the twenty years end
ing with 1908 the water rate, on the
average, was lower than the rail rate
by CO cents a bushel. On the ship
ments from Lake Superior the differ
ence was greater still. since Duluth Is
less than 100 miles farther from New
York than Chicago is by water and
nearly 500 miles farther by rail. but
no comparative rates are published.
The beneficial effects Of the water
way, through lowered cost of transpor-
tation. are not confined to the grain
shipped from cities on the lakes, but
extend to practically all the grain
produced. The total production Of
the Ave principal cereals-wheat.
corn, oats, barley and r~ye-during the
past 40 years, was over 12o, 600. 900, 900
bushels. II the average addition to
the value of this vast volume Of grain
was Ave cents a bushel, and that
seems a moderate figure, in view Of
the facts stated above, the total is
more thar SO, 000. 000, 00o-nearly all of
which has gone into the pockets of the
farmers.
But while the beneficial effect of the
waterways extends to a surprising dis
lance, a waterway close by exerts a
very much more direct and powerful
influence than m Q long way of. II
the Great Lakes and the Erie canal
have increased tho value of grain all
over the west, what do you suppose
would happen II the Mississippi, Mis-
souri,. Arkansas and Red rivers were
so improved that boats could run ev-
cry day In the year unless hindered
by ice? ..
Money Needed for Work.
The National Rivers and Harbors
congress is working for the improve
ment OF the rivers, harbors and water
ways In all parts Of the United States.
Chairman Alexander Of the rivers and
harbors committee, says that 1893 1000.
900 will complete every project which
has been begun or has been recon-.
mended by the army engineers. Five
hundred million dollars would prob
ably finish UP all OF these and all the
new projects which will be surveyed
and adopted within the next few years.
The average annual production Of
the five principal cereals, which dur.
ing the last ten years has been 4,151..
000, 900 bushels, has been steadily In.
creasing and will probably continue
Ito increase for some time to come.
The complete Improvement Of all
our waterways would increase the
value of every bushel Of grain pro.
duced by at least Ave cents-my own
opinion is that 1t would be more than
that.
But let us be on the safe side. Sup,
pose we spend a billion dollars on
waterways instead of a half-billion;
suppose that the production of grain
remains as II Is instead of increasing:
and suppose that the price of grain is
increased only 21a cents a bushel In,
stead of five.
Even so, with production stationary,
the expense doubled and the benefit
cut In half. the whole 81. 900. 000, 00o
would be returned in less than ten