Albuquerque morning journal., 1910-11-12
WATERWAYS GIVE
CHEAPER TRANSIT
Liquid Highway Of Great Lakes
Makes 1t Easy 10 Market
Large Part Of American
Grain Crop.
Morning Journal Bureau, |
613 AIunsey Building. !
Washington. D. C.. NoY. 10. !

w NdEnlllSlOlii ~ - MY. 1N-
Tho system Of inland waterways
formed BY the Great Lakes has done
much toward making better and
cheaper service in the marketing OF
q large part Of the grain crops of the
United states. Deepening the lake
channels has made it possible to use
larger vessels. and with the increased
size of the carriers have come lower
freight rates. \ review of the past
forty years. covering the principal
events in this growth Of cheap trans
portation. has iast been published by
the DEPARTMENT OF agriculture IN a
bulletin OF the bureau OF statistics.
IN discussing improvements ia lake
channels. the report shows that in
ISL tho ordinary depth of water at
the shallowest points between Buffalo
ana Lakes SUPERIOR ana Michigan was
about IA feet while IN 1908 this depth
had been increased to 81 feet. Deep
ening of the channel was accompanied
bv the building Of 'larlser oouts. Dur
ing 1S71-1S75 Tie average size of the
vessels built on the lakes was 1873 tons
of 100 cubic feet gross displacement
and the average size of those built
in 190B~1009 was ,232 tons. Tho lake
boats built now are more than Tx
times as large as those built when the
channel was feet shallower.
While the average cargo Of grain
received at Buffalo for n season may
be less than one-harf that amount,
100000 bushels is not an unusual car
so to be shipped In one vessel
One ship cleared from Duluth on
November 4, 1908, with 1880 bush
els Of wheat ana sixteen days later
cleared again from the same port This
time with a cargo of 462,344 bushels
of flaXseed and oats. Each of these
loads. IL carried by rail, would have
required ten trains OF about loriy
cars each.
Freight rates charged for carrying
grain on the lakes are much lower
than in the days Of shallower channels
and smaller boats The average rate
for wheat from Chicago To Buffalo
had decreased in l9OG-l909 to less
than one fourth the average for ISL
1875. and in the past several years a
considerable number Of shipments OF
wheat have been carried over the
thousand mile routes from Chicago to
Duluth TO Buffalo far as little as
cent a bushel. Railroad freight rates
on grain have declined also during
the period covered by the depart
ment's bulletin: the average rate from
Chicago to New York by all-rail routes
has been. for the past several years,
less than one-half Of the charges or
thirty-five or forty years ago. During
this time, the size OF the box cars,
the kind used to carry grain, has IN
creased three-fold,
The larger cargoes of the lakes do
not pass through Welland canal. its
depth being but two thirds that OF
the shallowest passages between Buf-
falo and Chicago or Duluth. so the
shipments TO ports Oh Lake Ontario
and the st. Lawrence river are much
smaller than those TO Lake Erie. OF
the total grain shipped by lake from
Duluth (and Snperior) Chicago ana
Milwaukee during the past ten or
more years, only about per cent was
carried to Lake ontario or the st.
Lawrence river.
To ports east Of Niagara. even al
lowing for the longer distance. freight
rates on wheat are much higher than
to ports on Lake Erie. From Chica-
GO the rates 20 Montreal have for the
mast several wears been about three
times those to Buffalo.
4 considerable number Of tables
are given to show receints and ship-
ments Of grain az the different lake
ports and the quantities carried over
various routes