Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1910-11-18


advisable after expert examination
the direct saving in cost Of transporta-
ton would be vastly increased. It
would probably be increased tenfold,
but If it were only doubled the direct
saving in a single year would be moro
than enough to pay of the national
debt.
But this is not tho end Of the bene-
fits 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 q 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
or than to San Francisco or Seattle,
although the distance Is much less, be-
cause goods can be carried to tho Pa
cit1c coast by water, around Cape
Horn, while there is no waterway Of
any kind to the inland cities named.
It is not the ocean alone that affects
railroad rates. Compare the rates on
first class merchandise to river towns
toll cSf tod
miles from st. Louis. Towns On the
upper Mississippi got q rate Of 80
cents q hundred, inland towns pay s.
cents; towns on the Ohio pay II cents,
inland towns In the same. region
pay 81.
A still more striking instance, and
one showing the direct result Of wa
terway Improvement, IL to be found
on the Columbia river. Before tho
locks at the cascades were built
freight rates on nails, and that class
Of goods, from Portland to The Dalles
were $40 per ton. Al soon a. the
looks 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 tho
river improvement is shown by tho
fact that rates were not reduced be-
yond the point to which the steam
boats could run. For instance. the
rate on salt In car load lots was $3.50
per ton to The Dapes, and 5000 per
ton to Umatilla-$1.6o per ton for the
So miles with water competition and
$3.50 per ton for the next 100 miles
without. These rates have since been
reduced az the improvement has pro-
ceeded, 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 trfbu-
tary, the Snake river, the people IN
all that region will benef1t not only
by the direct saving on goods carried
by water, but also by the indirect saw
ing through tho reduced rate on goods
carried by rail. Exactly similar re-
suits would follow the radical i'm
provement Of rivers all over the United
States.
Indirect Saving Large.
There is, however, no possible way
Of finding cut 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 the
railroads of the United States was
| 1,7e6, 1886, $50 tons. Seme Of this was
hauled q short distance, some long
distance, and some was handled by
moro than one road, but it was equal
to 2se,601,3eo,103 tons hauled ono
j., mile. II the comprehensive improve
ment of our waterways should make
, an average reduction Of one mill per
| ton-mile-the difference in the rates
on salt given above IL 70 times a.
much, or seven cents per ton m1le-t
! would make saving Of over 1895 ,6oe,-
600 on the value Of business handled
! in the fiscal year. s>'s
/ At first glance, it locks a. II that
would mean disaster to the railways,
but that is the exact opposite Of the
truth. Strange as it may seem, the
surest and speediest way to enlarge
the business and increase the profits
! of the railways Of the United States
,is to improve the waterways Of the
UAiteA States. - = =. -. i. =. CO. -
Etspsl o.