Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1910-02-10

against lHe Sa1ltlnS opinions or the
hour and the gossip about the return
from Elba.''
| SURVEYING THE DEs MONIES.
Those who ridicule the proposed
survey of the Des Moines river, with g
view to making it an inland waterway
says the Des Moines Register and
Leader, usually refer to the neglect
into which our river traffic has fallen
where the rivers do not need deepen
ing or widening to accommodate 1t
Thus, there is but little river traffic
relatively, on the Mississippi or on the
Missouri today, less probably than
there was forty years ago. At first
the Des Moines paper admits, this is
staggering argument, for if shippers
will not use the rivers we have, what
prospect is there that river
shipment will become popular
when we have spent manv
millions of dollars upon streams that
have never been used for water
freights? An answer to this argu,
ment, however, is found in an article
written by Emory B. Johnson profes-
sor Of transportation of the University
OF Pennsylvania, and introduced in the
Congressional Record by Representa-
tive Ramsdell Of Louisiana.
Mr.. Johnson shows that Europe.
where waterway traffic has enjoyed
an extensive growth had the same ex-
perience as this country after the COM
ing of the railways. He says:
Soon after the railways were in
troduced the commerce on waterways,
which had previously been the chief
highways Of long distance traffic, be-
gan to decline in volume and ton
mage. This was true even in Prussia
and France, as well as in other coun-
tries where the present expansion of
water-borne commerce has been espe-
cially rapid. But after the prelimi-
nary period of railroad building, dur
ing which the railroad monopolized
public attention, was past, then the
waterways again came into use.
During the past two or three de-
cades conditions have radically
changed. There has been an enor-
nous enlargement In the tonnage of
traffic that can be economically trans
ported upon inland waterways, and
thus we find that. in the countries
where both rail and water routes have
been kept abreast Of modern require
ments and where both TRANSPORTATION
agencies have been permitted to per-
form their services under equally fav-
orable conditions, the traffic upon in
land waterways, while in no instance
equal in total tonnage to that upon
the railroads, has expanded quite as
fast as has the volume of shipments
by rail-
Mr.. Johnson declares that big fac
tor in populariZing water traffic in
Europe is the policy of those govern
ments of compelling cooperation be-
tween railroads and waterways Two
provisions which he considers indis-
pensable to the proper growth of wat
er traffic in this country as a means
Of effecting such cooperation are:
First-That cities along the rivers
and canals provide harbors large
enough to permit the growth of traffic
and either equip or take such meas
lres as will bring about the equip
ment of these terminals, with facili-
ties for the economical handling Of
Second-That the federal and state
governments regulate railways to the
extent of compelling them to make di-
rect connections with the waterways
at all inland harbors and terminals.
and also to the extent of preventing
he railroads from making destructive
warfare upon the waterways
The Register and Leader holds that
conditions are the same today here
hat they were in Europe some thirty
years ago when both Germany and
france began to work for an internal
water traffic. "The railroad here" it |
says, "has monopolized public atten-
ion as it did there, until here, as
here we are beginning to recognize !
hat unless we are to have four tracks |
IN every railroad it is going to be i'm
possible to move the heavy
reight of the country expo
litiously. In this situation with the
oreign example to go by and with a |
wonderful network of waterways ready |
o be developed, it is almost inevitable
hat we shall utilize water as Europe
g doing and move our heavy time |
reight the country over as we are
low moving it along the great lakes"
The survey Of the Des Moines river
held to be not only a practicable
cheme, but the forerunner of many
uch surveys, with Iowa merely little
head OF the others in getting a start.