Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1910-09-15
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-Renefts Distributed All
Over the Country,

fou may not know it-you probably
dont-but 1t is a matter of Importance
70 you 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
msy De that you are a farmer and you
teli 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
fr'ci any river which is navigable now
o. ever will be.
Well, | admit that it is not as easy
t. see as the grain elevator down at
Four railway station, but the benefit
is there just the ne 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
III the eastern states and some for ex-
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 the
cos' of getting it there. You can see
at cnce that it makes a whole lot of
difference to you how much it costs
to send your grain to New York or
Liverpool-and there's where the
waterway ONE in.
Where Economy Comes In.
In 1898 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 1T 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
u bushel, a little over half as much
Us by rail. For the twenty years end
Ing with 1908 the water rate, on the
acreage, vas 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 com narative 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 or 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 120,000 100000
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 $4,000, GEO, 000-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
lance, a waterway close by eXerts a
very much more direct and powerful
influence than one a long way off. If
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 We're
So improved that boats could run ev-
cry day in tire year unless hindered
by ice?
Money Needed for Work.
The National Rivers and Harbora
congress is working for the improve
manl of the rivers. barb9r5 and water
ws ia all parts of the United States.
Chairman A1syander Of the rivers and
haf8ors committee saws that s339, 600.
08a ala complete every project which
hes been besua on has been recon-
maaded by tire arny engineers. Five
hundred million dollars would prob
atlY Gaish Up all of these and al the
new projects which viii be surveyed
and adopted within the next few years.
The average annual production Of
the five principal cereals, which dur
!ng The last ten years has been 4,151,
100000 bushels, has been steadily in
creasing and viii probably continue
TO increase for some time to come.
TIE complete Improvement Of all
our waterways would increase the
value of every bushel of grain pro-
duced by at least five cents-my own
opinion Is that 1t would be more than