The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1910-11-04
IMPROVEMENT OF WATERWAYS
WILL DEVELOP RESOURCES
OF EVERY SECTION.
FREIGHT CARRIED cAEAPLY
Make a Direct Saving In Cost Of Trans
portatlon by the Water Routes, and
Indirectly Serve to Lower Railway
Carrying Rates.

than the railways 90 or can, and tina
they compel the railways to carr.
, freight more cheaply than they other
wise would. making saving of hun
dreds Of millions Of dollars ayear, ever
: under present conditions. and indicat
ing vast increase in that saving II al
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 States. The best guide to the
future Is the experience Of the past
90 lot US see what has actually hap
pened to railways when waterways
have bsen improved. Y
That the improvements III the chan.
nels and harbors Of the lakes have
besn Of great benefit both to the rail-
ways which parallel their shores and
to those which run from lake cities to
the interior, IL fact 30 plain that
II needs no argument to support It.
There are no more prosperous and
profitable roads in the country than
those that serve the 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
10 wish to study the effect Of river
improvement. either on railway reve-
MUGS or national development, we
must 80 to Europe. "a
s9sss> Results in Bohemia. So
During the fifteen years that i'm.
provements were under way soh the
Elbe river, In Bohemia, the river traf-
fic, as q natural result OF the better
channel, Increased fiyefold. But traf-
fic on the competing railways III
creased still more largely and the div-
idends on the main line. from Teplitz
to Aussig. rose to is per cent per
annum.
Similar results followed the canal.
cation of the River Main, from May.
ence, on the Rhine, to Frankfort,
which was finished in the latter part
Of 1886. The river trafic, which |
amounted to only 10000 tons In that |
year, began to grow and has kept on
growing, being 1.273,OOO tons In 1902.
There are two railroads between !
Frankfort and Mayence, one on each
side OF the river. What happened to
them? Did their business show Sc
rious falling of? Or were they forced
into the hands of receiver? On the
contrary their traffic, which was s11,-
900 tons In 1886, also began to grow,
and by 1902 had reached 1905, 900
tons, or more than double what 1t was
when the railroads had a practical
Of the business of Frank.
Tort ~ r
The mere statement Of the in
creased tonnage does not ten the
whole truth Of the matter, for the
.onnage was not only more than
doubled In quantity, but greatly
'aised In grade. SO that 1t could pay,
Ind did pay, much higher rate per
on per mile. s
~ Fine German Waterway
Practically all the railways Of Ger.
many are state owned and state oper-
ted Out of Total of $4,000 miles.
n round numbers. only about $500
niles are operated by private com: I
anies: Germany also has one Of the {
nest systems Of waterways In the {
'orld, and a study of the balance {
heet of the German railway system e
hows that the results which followed r
he Improvement of the River Main
re not an exception. mere coinci =
ence. but are the natural o,itworlring :
principle Of general application. 9
the calendar year 1907, after paying G
" operation, maintenance. repairs, n
new equipment. interest on N
oRds, contribution to the sinking
md. and every other item which the
lost careful bookkeeping required to
charged up, the German railways +
lrned $164,ooo,e0o Of absolutely net CT
venues into the treasures Of the Il
arious states. This was $5,05o per
lie Of line operated, while the CORE.
'onding figure on United States rail. q
avs for the fiscal year 1906-7 was =
lily 1861 little over one-third as 3
UGH.
Much the greater part of the total
venue Of the German states is de- f.
we'd from their railways, II cents out
every dollar received by Prussia In
OF being. so obtained Yet German
atesmen keep on, year after year.
ending money earned by their rail.
lys in building and improving water.
lys to compete with those same rail.
lys, on which they depend an the
incipal source of national income.
the light Of the facts given above a.
will not do to say that these Ger ho
IN statesmen do not know what they A.
? about. On the contrary, they are nc
ing, as has been we'll said, in fur he
france Of policy the wisdom OF An
Itch time and experience have fully On
lfirmed." -,
llWAyS and eyeryWhere tho res,tIt | "a.