The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1910-11-18
SAVING OF MILLIONS
WHAT COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM
OF WATERWAYS IMPROVE
MENT MEANS TO FARMERS.
FIGURES TO SUPPORT FACTS
On Shipments Of Grain Alone the b.
rect Return Would Mean 500, 0oo,.
600, and Proportionateiy All Other
Products Would Be Affected.

: 600, and Proportionateiy All othe
7 Products Would BE Affected.
:, In former article we gave facts an
l figures to prove that, II the compr,
hensive plan OF waterway improv,
: ment advocated by the National Ri,
, ers and Harbors congress were cal
, ried out. the direct return to the farm
ers of the country. on the single tier
of grain, would certainly be 500, 900
600 a year--and probably would b
more than twice that sum.
But grain is not the only item Of
which the farmers would receive
beneit. The fact is that for the farm
ers-and everybody else. for that mat
ter-the cost Of transportation infiu
ences practically everything he buys
sells. eats. wears or uses In any wa!
whatever, except water, air and sun
shine. The average man IL inclined Il
laugh whom told that he pays out NOR,
for transportation than he does fol
taxes or because Of the tariif--but hi,
laughter does not alter the fact in thu
least .
There are three principal methods
of transportation. the wasonway, the
railway and the waterway, and there
q 20 great di6ArsncS IN tths cost ,oi
transportation by these different moth.
DDS that It II worth while to study the
matter . itttle. The .eEpsrts. OF the
good roads bureau estimate tho cost
Of hauling q ton Of freight one mile
BY horse and wagon on the average
road In the United States at rs cents,
The cost on q thoroughly good, smooth
road might be reduced to 10 cents.
Poor's Manual gives 7.s2 mills per ton
mile as the average price received by
tho railways In 1907, while the onicial
records kept at the 500 show that the
average rate on the freight carried
into and out of Lake Superior in the
same year WAS only 8 of one mill.
Facts In a Nutshell.
You can better understand what
these figures mean IL they are stated
In another way. They mean that II
you have a dollar to spend in shipping
ton of freight you can send it 4
miles on an average road. 10 miles on
a first-class road. 18TH miles on a rail-
road. and 1.250 miles on lake vessel.
1t is very easy to see that GOOD
roads are a lot better than poor roads
but that transportation by horse and
wagon Is too costly at the best to be
used except for small loads and short
distances. So far as interstate traffic
Is concerned the wagon road must be
left entirely out of consideration. 1t |
Ia just as easy to see what great
benefit would result from the building
Of railway into region where there
was none before. and that still |
greater benefit would result from 80
improving river that It 10 made |
iependably navigabls when 1t was not
10 before.
Waterways increase prosperity in
hree principal ways, viz: direct saw
NC, Indirect saving, and by what may
70 called creative effect. The direct
avtng Is that which occurs on goods
'ctually carried by water. and some
acts which Indicate how great this d.
ect saving IL, will also make more
lain the vast difference between the
est'Uf transportattona by rail- and by Il
Tater. @ a,
Through the 500 canal at the out.
II Of Lake Superior there wsre car.
led In 1907. Ss,217,214 tons of4freight.
his was carried an average distance /,
s2s.s miles at an average cost Of !
OF one mill per ton-mile. aIf this
ID been shipped by rail at the aver
80 railway rate for that year (7.s3 !
liils}. its transportation would have
'st $685., 6sS.s64 more than was paid
# Its carriage by water. -
The total freight carried on Ill 1
kes that year was. in rouad mum. !,
srs. 1oo,ooo,ooo tons. This vast ton. !,
lge was carried for $Sso.ooo. 100 isss !
AN 1t would have cost to send II ~ Z
II, and the improvements. which pros y
ICE = saving large enough to pay on !,
. national debt in less than two :,
ars. cost only sS6,o0O.o0O Il :,
Proof Of Good Results. D,
Wouldn't you call that pretty fair 81
vidend on the Investment A4A lont
y think It would pay to improve AL V
r waterways a. fast and al. far ~ Of
} can? &C., 4 n
But" says some one, what reason n
there to suppose that improved riv. 60
would give anything like a good | hs
'ults a. have been obtained on the Id
,es! That is a proper question and M
entitled to an answer. We
The only waterway In this country an
ich has been improved as whole "a
composed Of the four lakes above !;
.gara Falls. but there are many i'm ha
we'd rivers in Europe. From care di,
study of the results obtained on MI
Sc rivers the army engineers esti- to
te that when the improvement Of mi
Ohio river is finished, freight can me
carried thereon for one-half mill an
ton-mile. That means that the tor
lar which will carry a ton 127h on
90 nv rail ouJ CEn r,iloc g., ~.