Jefferson jimplecute. (Jefferson, Tex.) 1907-1926, 1911-08-18
OUR WATERWAY.

compared with the whole of the
United States, is utterly insig.
niticant; how do they compare in
other respects; for instance, IN
foreign commerce? Germany
alone exceeded the United States
in single year by more than
800, 100000 and Holland and
Belgium by over 24O, 100000, this
does not include transit trade,
but represents imports for con
sumption and exports OF domes-
tic merchandise. Here are three
countries, the combined area
only about one .thirtieth of the
United States, a population
smaller by 1900, 900, less than
one half the accumulated wealth,
and a soil and climate no better.
What do they have which we
have not that makes this astound-
ing difference in the amOnt of
foreign commerce and CONNER
cial greatness? The answer is
not far 10 seek. Their trans
portation facilities. They have
the finest wagon roads in the
world and more of them to the
area. They have system Of
navigable waterways which is
not merely unsurpassed, but
entirely unequalled elsewhere.
Germany has 6,215 miles of i'm
portant inland waterways which
are in constant use. Holland
has $500 and Belgium 1867 miles
of canals and navigable rivers,
making a total of of 10, 542 miles
for the three countries. In Eu-
rope we find the larger cities are
on the waterways and the same
thing is true of the United
States, where we find by the
census Of 1900, twenty four
cities which had population Of
more than $50, 900 each, only one
of which was not on navigable
waterway.
Now we will use a comparison
in this country. 1t was the
general opinion in the earlier
years of the nineteenth century
that Philadelphia would be the
principal city of the Atlantic
coast, and up to 1920 the popula-
ton of Philadelphia was greater
than the combined population of
New York and Brooklyn, but
with the completion of the Erie
canal, New York city easily ont
stripped her competitor in com
MERGE. Beaten in commerce,
Philadelphia sought to maintain
her supremacy in manutactur-
ing, and for a time succeeded,
only to see, a little later, this
prize also slip out of her grasp.
You will perhaps say that even
if the Erie canal were the sole
cause of these changes, this all
happened before the coming of
railways. That is true, but it
will also be noted that the com
ing of railways has not deprived
New York of the lead she gained
before its arrival, a fact that we
can apply to our own case, if we
| had but taken care Of the water
way, we never would have lost
our supremacy in commercial
way. We will never again com
mence to regain it in any great
measure until we have naviga-
ton and cheaper our freight
rates. You can build twenty
railroads to Jefferson and donate
free right Of way and give them
a bonus beside, and town with
one railroad next to you will have
as cheap freight rates and will
| be able to reach out as far as us,
because the extortlonate rates
exacted by the railroads are the
same to every point.
Here is only two modes OF
transportation that builds cities,
and that is road and river, and
it is gratifying to see that the
road part is being looked after
by our present able County
Judge and Commissioners and |
hope to see the day when a great
Macadamized road viii lead out
in each direction from our city,
a road built for and owned by
the people. where the ox-cart