Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1910-11-10
MEAN LOWER RATES
EFFECT OF WATERWAY coMpEr,.
TloN ON TIE RAILWAYS OF
THE COUNTRY.
DIRECT AND INDIRECT SAVING

Conservative Estimate Is That In
Single Year u Would Be More Than
Enough to Discharge the Entire Ma
s.onai Debt.
4 was stated in a previous article
T. Waterways produce both direct
!, indirect savings in the cost OF
l.. snortation and also exert what
NJ be called creative effect As
an instance of the direct saving 1t
was shown that the 00,O00,000 tons of
freight handled on the great lakes
in 1907 were carried for $3.50 100000
less than it would have cost by rail-
III the opinion OF the United States
army engineers Is correct-and this
opinion Is based upon results actually
achieved on the rivers of Europe
We have number Of rivers on which.
when properly improved, freight can
be carried for less than on the lakes
and many rivers on which 1t can be
carried for much less Than by rail
If. therefore. the plan advocated by
the National Rivers and Harbors
congress shoi 4 be carried out-which
includes the provement of all our
rivers to ST. ..tcnt as shall be found
advisable / expert examination
the direct ing in cost OF transporta-
tion wouiA be vastly increased. 1t
would y osaoly be increased tenfold,
but If it Nerc only doubled the direct
saving in a single year would be more
than enough to pay off the national
debt.
But this is not the end OF the bene.
ATS which the general Improvement of
our waterways would bring, it is only
the beginning. Beside the direct saw
ing there is an indirect saving which
results from the effect of Waterways
on railway freight rates, for rates
are always lower on railroads which
meet water competition than on those
which do not The amount of this saw
ing Is not everywhere the same, owing
to difference in conditions, but We
can get good general idea of it from
q study of some sample instances.
Freight Rates Affected.
Freight rates from New York to
Salt Lake or Spokane are much high
er than to San Francisco or Seattle
although the distance is much less, be
cause goods can be carried to the Pa
citic coast by water. around Cape
Horn, while there is no waterway of
any kind to the inland cities named
1t is not the ocean alone that affects
railroad rates Compare tho rates ON
first class merchandise to river towns
and inland towns situated about 250
miles from st. Louis Towns on the
upper Mississippi get rate of SO
cents hundred, inland towns pay 60
cents; towns on the Ohio pay Al cents.
inland towns in the same region
pay 81.
A still more striking instance, and
one showing the direct result Of wa
terway Improvement, Ia to be found
on the Columbia river. Before the
locks at the cascades were built
freight rates on nails, and that clas.,
OF goods, from Portland to Tho Dalles
were $6.40 per ton. AS soon as the
locks were finished and the steam.
boats could get through, the railroad
rate dropped to two dollars per ton
less than one-third what it was before
That the difference was due to the
river Improvement is shown by the
fact that rates Were not reduced be
You'd tho point to which the steam
boats could run. For instance, the
rate on salt in car load lots was 81 so
per ton to The Dalles, and 5000 per
ton to Umatilla Sl.50 per ton for this
SS miles with water competition and
$50 per ton for the next 100 mile:
without. These rates have since been
reduced as the Improvement has pro
cccdcd and when the work is finished
and boats can run far up the Column,
bia river and to Lewiston and other
point in Idaho on its principal trbu
l,4ry the Snake river, the people In
all that region will benefit not only
by he direct saving ON goods carried
by water. but also by the indirect say
ing through the reduced rate on goods
carried by rail Exactly similar re
suits would follow the radical Inn
provemcnt of rivers all over the United
States.
Indirect Saving Large.
There Is, however, no possible way
OF finding out just how much this in
direct saving would be. Rates on some
freight would be reduced greatly, on
some freight slightly, on some, per.
haps. not at all But we can get some
idea OF the amount of freight which
might be influenced In the fiscal
year ending June 80. 1907, the total
amount of freight handled by tho
railroads of the United States was
1896, 33G,G59 tons. Some of this was
hauled a short distance, some long
distance. and some was handled by
more than one road, but 1t was equal
to 236, Sol ,390103 tons hauled one
mile. III the comprehensive improve
ment OF our waterways should make
an average reduction OF one mill per
ton nile--the difference In the rates
on salt given above is 70 times as
much. or seven cents per ton MILF
would make saving of over 1896, G0O,-
600 on the value of business handled
in the fiscal year.
At first glance. 1t looks as If that
would mean disaster to the railways,
but that is the exact opposite of the
truth. Grange Is 1t may seem, the
surest and speediest way to enlarge
the business and Increase the pro.:t,