The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1910-09-16
ALL ARE CONCERNED
IMPROVEMENT OF NATIONS WA.
TERWAYs OF INTEREST TO
EVERY CITIZEN.
VITAL FACTS ARE PRESENTED
Cost of Getting Grain to Market Mate
rally Reduced Through Shipment
by Water-Benefits Distributed All
Over the Country.

by Water-6enefits Distributed All
Over the Country.
lou may not know it-you probably
don't-but it is a matter of Importance
to o whether the waterways of the
United States are improved or not
and this is true no matter who you
are, what your business is, or what
part of the country you live in. 1t
may be that you are a farmer and you
tell me that it is nonsense to say
that 1t can make any difference to
you whether the waterways Of the
country are improved or not, because
you live away out west, miles away
from any river which is navigable now
or eve will be.
Well, I admit that it is not as easy
to see as the grain elevator down at
your railway station, bat the benefit
Is there just the samoa real, sure
enough, dollars-and-cents benefit. Wa
terways have already been Of tremen-
dous advantage to the farmers of the
country and their further improve.
ment will put more money into your
pockets and those of your neighbors.
Take grain for an illustration. A
large part Of the grain raised in the
country is shipped away from the
place where it is grown, some for use
In the eastern states and some for eX-
port to Europe. Under these condi.
tions the price Of grain is not fixed
at the nearest railway station. Your
wheat, for instance, is worth just what
It will bring in Liverpool-less the
cost OF getting it there. You can see
at one that it makes a whole lot OF
difference to you how much it costs
to send your grain to New York or
L~iverpool-and there's where the
waterway zones in.
Where Economy Comes In.
In 1908 the average cost of carrying
wheat from Chicago to Buffalo by lake
was one cent a bushel, while the cost
by rail to New York was ILL., cents
almost twelve times as much, although
the distance is the anne. But grain
which is to 60 all the way by water
must be transferred to canal boats at
Buffalo. Little canal boats drawn by
mules cannot carry stuff as cheaply
as big ships driven by steam, so the
through rate by water was six cents
q bushel, a little yer half as much
as by rail. For the twenty years end.
ing with 1908 the water rate, on the
average, was lower than the rail rate
by 6.2 cents a bushel. On the ship.
ments from Lake Superior the differ.
-ence was greater still, since Duluth is
less than 100 miles farther from New
York than Chicago is by water and
nearly 500 miles farther by rail, but
no comparative rates are published.
The beneficial effects of the water.
way, through lowered cost of t%ranspor.
tation, are not confined to the grain
shipped from cities on the lakes, but
extend to practically all the grain
produced. The total production Of
the five principal cereals-wheat,
corn, oats, barley and rye-during the
past 40 years, was over 100000 10000 Dol
bushels. If the average addition to
the value of this vast volume of grain
was five cents a bushel, and that
seems a moderate figure in view of
the facts stated above, the total Is
more than 5000, 00O, 0O0-nearly all of
which has gone into the pockets of the
farmers.
But while the beneficial effect of the
waterways extends to a surprising dis.
tance, a waterway close by exerts a
very much more direct and powerful
influence than one a long way off. II
the Great Lakes and the Erie canal
have increased the value of grain all
over the west, what do you suppose
would happen if the Mississippi, Mis-
souri,, Arkansas and Red rivers were
SO improved that boats could run ev-
cry day in the year unless hindered
by ice?
Money Needed for Work.
The National Rivers and Harbors
congress is working for the improve.
ways in all parts of the United States.
Chairman Alexander of the rivers and
harbors committee, says that 1899, 600.
900 will complete every project which
has been begun or has been recon
mended by the army engineers. Five
hundred million dollars would prob
ably finish up all of these and all the
new projects which will be surveyed
and adopted within the next few years.
The average annual production Of
the five principal cereals, which dur.
ing the last ten years has been 4,151,.
600. 600 bushels, has been steadily in.
creasing and will probably continue
to increase for some time to come.
The complete improvement of all
our nwaterways would increase the
vald3 of every bushel of grain pro-
duced by at least five cents-my own
opinion is that 1t would be more than
that.
But let us be on the safe side. Sup
pose we spend a billion dollars on
waterways instead of a half-billion;