Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1910-11-10
SAVING Of R|LL|0,,
WHAT COMPREHENSIVE Cystic
OF WATERWAYS IMPROVE.
t.--:ssT MEANS TO FARMERS.
FIGURES 10 SUPPORT FACT
On Shipments Of Grain Alone the G.
rect Return Would Mean s1oO,ooa
COO and ProportionateIy All otho.
Products Would Be Affected.

Products Would Be Affected.
l.. 4 former article We gave facts a.
'1gnres To prove that. if the ,Hl!r
hensiye plan OF waterway 'prov
mont advocated by the Nation j r.
ers ard Iiarbors congress v.-ra c.
r!ed ott. the direct return to the far
ers of tae country. OF, the single lite
OF grain. would certainly be $1,000
o0o year-and probably would -
more than twice that sum
Bat grain is not the only item ~
WHICH tn. farmers would receive
benefit. The fact is that for the fs;'
,'rs-a:lil everybody else. for that M
ter-the cost of transportation INF
ences practically everything he buy
sells. eats. wears or uses in any We
whatever, except water. air and ST.
shine. The average man is inclined
laugh when told that he pays out mo-
for transportation than he does fer
taxes or because of the tariff-but h
laughter does not alter tie fact in the
least.
There are three principal method
OF transportation, the wagonway, tn,
railway and the waterway, and the,
is SO great a difference in the cost
transportation by these different met
DDS that it is worth while to study IT,
matter little. The experts of tn
good roads bureau estimate the cost
OF hauling ton of freight one milo
by horse and wagon on the avernso
road In the United States at Is cents.
The cost on thoroughly good, smooth
road might be reduced to 10 cents
Poor's Manual gives 1882 mills per to;.
mile as the average price received by
the railways in 1907, while the Official
records kept at the 500 show that the
average rate on the freight carrie,
Into and out Of Lake Superior In the.
same year WAS only 8 of one mill
Facts in q Nutshell.
You can better understand what
these figures mean II they are stated
IN another way. They mean that II
YOU have dollar to spend In shippinr.
ton of freight you can send it 4.
miles on an average road. 10 miles or
q f1rst-class road. 127h miles on raj.
road, and 1880 miles on lake vessel
II Is very easy to see that goo,
roads are lot better than poor road
but that transportation by horse an
wagon is too costly at the best to b.
used except for small loads and shore
distances. So far as interstate trait
Is concerned the wagon road must be
left entirely out of consideration. II
ls just as easy to see what great
benefit would result from the buildir
of railway into region where there
was none before, and that a still
greater benefit would result from 50
Improving river that 1t is mad
dependably navigable when it was not
SO before.
Waterways increase prosperity in,
three principal ways. viz: direct saT.
Ing. indirect saving, and by what ma,
be called creative effect The direct
saving is that which occurs on goo,, 4
actually carried by water, and sons
facts which Indicate how great this d..
rect saving Is. will also make more
plain the vast difference between the
cost of transportation by rail and l
water.
Through the 500 canal at the out
let of Lake Superior there were car.
ricd in 1907, 5S.2l7.214 tons OF freigi3t.
This was FRIED an average distanee
OF S2S." miles at an average cost &C
S of one mill por teH-ilile. If II
had been shipped ~ rail at the ave
age railway rate for that year (7&4
mills). Its transportation would hav5
cost 1888, c3'3,3G4 more than was paid
for Its carriage by water.
The total freight carried on q,
lakes that year was, in round nu!.l.
bers. 100,000,000 tons. This vast ton
mage was carried for s55oO00,0O0 less
than it would have cost to send 1t b.
rail and the Improvement which pro
drce saving largo enough to pay o..
the national debt In less than two
years. cost only S5.000,OOO
Proof of Good Results.
Wouldn't you call that pretty far
dividend on the Investment? And don't
You think 1t would pay to improve an
our waterways as fast and as far az
we can?
But" says some one. what reason
Is there to suppose that improved riy,
crs would give anything like as gooa
results as have been obtained on thd
lakes?' That's proper question an
is entitled to an answer.
The only waterway In this count
which has been improved as who!a
Is composed OF the four lakes abovf
Niagara Falls. but there are many In,
proved rivers in Europe. From CO..
full study of the results obtained GU
these rivers the army engineers est
mate that when the Improvement III
the Ohio river is flnished, freight ca
be carried thor IN fur rae-half nil
ner ton-mile. That ms. rs that to
dollar which will carry a ton 1o7
miles by rail and 1880 miles by la.
will carry 1t 1000 miles by river.
Cost OF transportation will vary On
different rivers with depth, widt',
sWitness Of current, etc, but the es.
tinated cost on completely improve
Ohio river can be increased by co 20
cent. before 1t will equal the averaxs
cost on the lakes in 1907, and there
is still margin Of nearly 400 per
cont. before you reach rate one-half
as high as that by rail. 1t will pay to
improve our rivers.