The Evening standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1910-1913, 1910-09-03
GOOD FOR COUNTRY
IMPROVEMENT OF WATERWAYS
WILL DEVELOP RESOURCES
OF EVERY SECTION.
FREIGHT CARRIED CHEAPLY
Make Direct Saving In Cost Of Trans
portatlon by the Water Routes, and
Indirectly Serve to Lower Railway
Carrying Rates

given to support the claim-that wa
terways carry freight more cheaply
than the railways do OF can. and that
they compel tho railways to carry
freight more cheaply than thoy other
wise would. making q saving OF hun
dreds OF millions OF dollars year. even
under present conditions. and indicat-
Ing vast Increase In that saving II all
waterways should be improved And
then the surprising assertion was
made that the surest way To enlarge
the business and increase the profits
OF the railroads OF the United States
Is to improve the waterways of the
United Stntes- The best guide to the
future Is the experience of the past.
so let us see what has actually hap
pened to railways when waterways
have been improved.
That the improvements In the chan
nels and harbors Of the lakes have
been OF great benefit both to the rail
ways which parallel their shores and
to those which run from lake cities to
the interior. is a fact 80 plain that
1t needs no argument to support II
There are no more prosperous and
profitable roads In tho country than
those that serve tho region tributary
to the lakes But no one questions
the wisdom Of continuing the improve
ment of the lakes, or OF our ocean
harbors. The real question is as TO
the Improvement OF our rivers, and II
we wish to study the effect of river
Improvement, either on railway reve-
nues or national development, we
must go to Europe
Results In Bohemia.
During the fifteen yenrs that I'm,
provements were under way on the
Elbe river. In Bohemia, the river traf
lc, as a natural result OF the better
channel, increased fvefold But traf-
&c on the competing railways In
creased still more largely and the div
ideDds on the main line, from TeplitZ
to Aussig. rose TO 16 per cent per
annum
Similar results followed the caneli-
zauon of the River Main, from May
ence. on the Rhine, TO Frankfort
which was finished In the latter part
of 1886. The river traffic. which
amounted to only l56 900 tons in that
year, began to grow and has kept on
growing. being 1.2T3.oo0 tons in 1902
There are two railroads between
Frankfort and Mayence, one on each
eide OF the river. What happened to
them? Did their business show Sc
rious falling OF? Or wore they forced
into the hands OF q receiver? On the
contrary their traflc, which was 9l1..
600 tons In 1886. also began to grow
and by 1902 had reached 100000
tons, or more than double what It was
whom tho railroads had q practical
monopoly of tho business of Frank
fort
The mere statement OF the In
creased tonnage does not tell tho
whole truth OF the matter for the
tonnage was not only more than
doubled In quantity, but greatly
raised In grade. so that 1t could pay,
and did pay. much higher rate per
ton per mile,
Fine German Waterways.
Practically all the railways of Ger
many are state owned and state oper-
ated Out OF a total Of $4,000 miles.
in rcHnd numbers, only about $500
miles are operated by private com.
panles. Germany also has one of the
finest systoms OF waterways In the
world, and a study OF the balance
sheet of the German railway system
shows that the results which followed
the Improvement of the River Main
are not an exception, n mere coiDcl-
dence. but are the natural out~orking
of a principle OF general application.
In the calendar year 1907, after paying
for operation, maintenance, repairs.
renewals. new equipment. interest on
bonds. contribution TO the sinking
fund, and every other item which the
most careful bookkeeping required to
be charged up. the German railways
turned $164 100000 OF absolutely net
revenues into the treasures OF the
various states This was S5,05O per
Iulle OIL llu6 OpGldNt0s " ulle lnf
spending figure on United States rail
ways for the fiscal year 1s06-7 was
only Sl.e67-a little over one-third as
much
Much the greater part of the total
revenue of the German states Is de
rived from their railways. II cents out
OF every dollar received by Prussia In
1907 being so obtained Yet German
statesmen keep on. year aftor year.
spending money earned by their rail-
ways in building and improving water
ways to compete with those same rail-
ways. on which they depend ns the
principal source OF national income
In the light OF the facts given above
Il will not do TO say that these Ger
mau statesmen do not know what they
arc about. On the contrary. they are
acting. as has been well said. I'm fur.
therance OF policy the wisdom or
which time and experience have fully
confirmed"
Always and everywhere the result
is the same-the improvement OF a
waterway is benefit TO competing
railways. For this result. as for any
other. there is q good and sufficient
reason but Il must be left for another
A.. - .ou ryhaf that reason ic