The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1910-11-18
ALL ARE CONCERNED
IMPROVEMENT or NATIONS VA
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 Al
Over the Country.

You may not know it-you probably
dOn't-but 1t is matter Of Importance
to you whether the waterways of tEs
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. II
may be that you are farmer and you
tell me that 1t 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
fr.sn any river which II navigabls now
o. ever will be.
Well, l admit that It II not ~ easy
t. see rs the grain elevator down at
vUur railway station, but the bsneht
n there just the same--a real, sure
enough, dollars-and-cents benefit. Wa
serways have already been OF tremeu-
dous advantage to the farmers Of the
country and their further improve.
ment will put more money into your
pockets and those Of your neigh bors.
Taks grain for an illustration. A
large part of the grain raised In the
country Is shipped away from the
place where 1t IL grown, some for use
In the eastern states and some for OK.
port to Europe. Under these cOndi-
items the price Of grain is not fixed
at the nearest railway station. Your
wheat, for instance, is worth just what
1t will bring in Liverpool-less tho
cos, Of getting 1t there. You can see
at"ence that 1t makes whole lot Of
difference to you how much 1t costs
to Sind your grain to New York or
Liverpool-and there's where the
waterway comes in.
Where Economy Comes In.
In 1928 the average cost of carrying
wheat from Chicago to Buffalo by lake
was one cent a bushel, while the cost
by rail- u New York was III cents
almost twelve times as much, although
the distance is the same. But grain
which is to go 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
\ bushel, little over half as much
Us by rail. For the twenty years end.
lag with 1908 the water rate, on the
acreage, was lower than the rail rate
b, 6.2 cents a bushel. On the ship
meAts from Lake Superior the differ
ence was greater still, since Duluth 10
less than 100 miles farther from Kew
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 transpor.
tation, are not confined to the grain
shipped from cities Oh the lakes. but
extend to practically all the grain
produced. The total production Of
the Ave principal cereals wheat,
corn, oats, barley and rye-during the
past 40 years, was over 120.000, 000, 900
bushels. II the average addition to
the value of this vast volume of grain
was five cents bushel, and that
seems a moderate figure in view of
the facts stated above, the total 10
more than $4,000, 900 ,000-nearly all Of
which has gone into the pockets Of tho
farmers.
But while the beneficial effect of the
waterways extends to surprising dis.
lance, waterway close by exerts q
very much more direct and powerful
influence than one long way of. II
the Great Lakes and the Erie canal
have increased the value of grain all
over the west, what do you suppose
would happen II 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.
ment of the rivers, harbors and water.
ways in all parts of the United States.
Alexander of the rivers and
harbors committee, says that $339,000,.
300 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,-
700, 900 bushels, has been steadily in
and will probably continue
% increase for some time to come.
The complete Improvement Of all
,ur waterways would increase the
value of every bushel OF grain pro-
luced by at least i've cents-my own
opinion Is that 1t would be more than
hat. 4
But Jet us be on the safe side. Sup
bose we spend billion dollars on
instead Of half-billion;
'upy Sc that the production of grain
'emains as 1t is instead Of Increasing; |