Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1911-04-28
FOR Benefit
LESSON FROM EUROPE shoWS
HOW WATERWAY IMPROVE
MENT HELPS RAILROADS.
HAS 4 CREATIVE EFFECT
Construction Of tho Manchester snip
Canal Shown to Have Resuscltateo
Many Dying Towns-Many CIV
Similar Experiences.

Similar Experiences.
In previous articles It was shown
that the waterways carry goods more
cheaply than railways do or can and
compel the railways to carry for less
than they otherwise would. and then
the claim was made that the improve
ment of waterways is q benefit to the
railways with which they compete.
Several instances were given to sup
port this claim and many more might
be given If space allowed, for the
writer, who has studied the subject fcr
rs years, has found many instances
of benefit, and not a single instance
of harm, to railways from the I'M
provement of waterways. 1t is now IN
order to see II we can find a reason
for this rather surprising result.
Waterways, as has been said before,
produce benefits In three principal
ways-by direct saving In the cost OF
Transportation Of goods carried by
water. indirect saving, by the lower
ing of railway rates through the COM
petition of water routes, and by what
may be called a creative effect. 1t
Is this last named effect which We
are now to consider.
Manchester. England. before the con-
struction of the ship canal, was a
dying town. Hundreds OF stores and
factories were closed-some moved
away-and population was decreasing.
With the opening OF the cana all this
was changed. Factories reopened,
new ones were built, the empty houses
were reflled and thousands of new
ones built to accommodate the popula-
ton that came pouring in. And the
benefits were not confined to Manches-
ter alone, but were distributed over
the whole great industrial region, con-
tanning over 100000 people, OF which
Manchester is the center. It was not
only natural, but inevitable, that the
great increase in population and pros
perity In Manchester and the surround
ing region should be reflected In the
business and the profits Of b rail-
ways therein.
Liverpool Also Aided.
Liverpool fought desperately to pre-
vent the building of the canal and the
establishment of the new port Of Man
chester; but instead Of being injured
by the canal, the business OF Liverpool
has increased faster than before. Dur
ing the IL years before the canal wal
opened the increase in the harbor re-
ceipts at Liverpool Vas only $310,OO0;
in the same length Of time after 1t
was opened the increase was $685.
900. The 5000, 900 tons Of traffic at
Manchester have not been stolen from
Liverpool. they have been created by
the canal
Frankfort, Germany, before h
River Main was improved. was no Q
dying city but was decidedly stagnant.
Mannheim and Mayence on the Rhine.
which had been improved. were grow
ing rapidly, while Frankfort Was grow.
tus very little. As 500 as the canal
tzatton OF the river was finished, which
was In 1886, the city began to grow
and has kept on growing ever since.
The population, which was $4,000 IN
1885. has increased to 229, 1000 in 1895.
to $4,000 in 1905, and is probably
more than 400, 1000 now. Evidently the
people Of Frankfort expect their city
to keep on growing. too. They spent
over $1.600.O00 on q harbor when the
river was first improved and are
hard 1t work right now building .
new and much larger harbor at . cost
Of 81. 100000. Just as In the case OF
Manchester. the benefit was not con-
fined to the city of Frankfort; the In
dustrial and commercial life of the
whole region was greatly stimulated.
Mines long closed were reopened. new
industries were started, and today
there IL an almost continuous c
sion Of factories lining the banks OF
the river from Frankfort to The
Rhine.
Everybody Reaps Benefit
Hunt the world around and always
and everywhere we find that the I'm.