The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-09-01
WHAT coMPREHENslvE SYSTEM
or WATERWAYS IMPROVE
MENT MEANS TO FARMERS.
FIGURES TO sufRoRt''FAcrs
On Shipments Of Grain Alone the Dl-
rect Return Would Mean 100000
900, and Proportlonately All Other
Products Would Be Affected.

henslye plan OF waterway improve
ment advocated by the National Rlv.
ers aud Harbors congress were car
ried out, the direct return to the farm
ers OF the country on the single item
of grain, would certainly be 100000
900 a year--and probably would be
more than twice that sum.
But grain is not the only item on
which the farmers would receive
benefit The fact is that for the farm.
ers-And everybody else. for that mat
ter--the cost OF transportation ipfu.
ences practically everything he buys,
sells. eats. wears or uses In any way
whatever, except water, air, and sun.
shine. The average man is inclined TO
laugh when told that he pays out more
for transportation than he does for
taxes or because OF the tariff but his
laughter does not alter the fact In the
least.
There are three principal methods
NJ transportation, the wagonway. the
railway and the waterway, and there
is so great difference In the cost Of
transportation by these different meth
ods that 1t Is worth while TO study the
matter little, The experts Of the
good roads bureau estimate the cost
OF hauling a ton OF freight one mile
by horse and wagon on the average
road IN the United States at % cents
The cost on thoroughly good smooth
road might be reduced TO 10 cents.
Poor's Manual gives 7.s2 mills per ton.
mile ms the average price received by
the railways In 1907. while the official
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 s OF one mill.
Facts In 4 Nutshell.
You AN better understand what
these figures mean II they are stated
In another way. They mean that II
you have dollar to spend In shipping
ton OF freight you can send 1t 4
miles on an average road. 10 miles on
first.class road. 127h miles on a rail-
road. and 1850 miles on lake vessel.
II 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. II
Is Just as easy TO see what a great
benefit would result from the building
OF railway into region where there
was none before. and that a still
greater benefit would result from so
improving river that II is made
dependablya nayigable when 1t was not
so before.
Waterways Increase prosperity in
three principal ways viz: direct saw
Ing, indirect saving. and by whar may
be called creative effect The direct
saving is that which occurs on goods
actually carried by wafer and some
facts which indicate how great this d.
rect saving is, will also make more
plain the vast difference between the
cost OF transportation by rail and by
water
Through the 500 canal at the out
let OF Lake Superior there were car.
ried in 1907. 5s.217.214 tons OF freight.
This was carried an average distance
Of s2S.3 miles at an average cost OF
& Of one mill per ton-mile II this
had been shipped BY rail at the aver
age railway rate for that year (7.S2
Mills. its transportation would have
cost sS3s,633, 1864 more than was paid
for It's carriage by water.
The total freight carried on all
lakes that year was, in round num-
hers. 100,O00,000 tons. This vast ton.
mage was carried for $3.50 100000 less
than II would have cost to send II by
rail and the improvements. which pro
ducs saving large enough TO pay on
the national debt In less than two
years, cost only ss5,00000o.
Proof Of Good Results.
Wouldn't you call that pretty fair
dividend on the investment And don't
you think il would pay TO improve all
our waterways as fast and as far as
we cam
But" SAYS some one, what reason
Is there 10 suppose that improved riv-
ers would give anything like as good
results as have been obtained on the
lakes?' That II proper question and
Is entitled to an answer
The only waterway In this country
which has been improved as a whole
is composed OF the four lakes above
Niagara Falls. hut there are many i'm.
proved rivers IN Europe. From care.
fui study OF the results obtained on
these rivers the army engineers esti.
mate that when the Improvement OF
the Ohio river is finished. freight can
be carried thereon for one-half mill
per ton.mile, That means that the
dollar which will carrv ton f27ls
miles by rail- and .250 miles by lake,
willtcarry Il 2O0o miles fby river. a3isl
81 uosE OF transportation will vary on
diffefeht rivers With saepth. width.
swiftness OF current etc, but the es-
timsted cost on completely improved
Ohio river can be increased by 60 per
cent. before II will equal the average