The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-08-01


am very glad indeed to be given
this opportunity to speak to your rep-
resentatives of the commercial organi-
cations of Burlington, Fort Madison,
KeokulS. Hamilton, Quincy and Hanni-
bay, and through you to all similar
organizations in the Mississippi Val
ley, on the subject of River Termi-
nails"
and individual competition,
which is constantly increasing, the
problem of providing the best possible
facilities for the interchange and
economical handling and dispatch of
commodities at intermediate and ter
minal stations is one that demands
the attention OF all commercial cities
and ports.
Equally important as the develop
ment of our inland water navigation.
in order to secure its full and inde-
pendent use, is the development OF
harbor and terminal facilities, by the
citizens of every city, situated on a
river, in such manner that their port
and its facilities will be adequate to
meet present modern requirements
and future growth.
The subject bears directly upon the
question of transportation.
In these days we hear great deal
about "the tariff and it's burden upon
the people, which undoubtedly is an
important question and probably de-
serves much of the attention being
given to it; but a question of far more
Importance is that or transportation,
because of it's greater burden upon the
people, yet it is receiving very little
attention from any source and prac-
tically none from the general public.
Notwithstanding transportation is a
charge or tax, and a necessary one,
upon production and consumption, up
on industry and commerce.
1t may be said that the average citi-
zen does not know there is trans
portation question; nevertheless, it af-
fects everything he buys or sells, ev-
erything he eats or wears, in fact all
things with the exception of air, sun
shine and water.
The same average citizen little real
ICES the extent to which his interests
are affected by 1t, due to the fact that,
although he is continually paying 1t,
he seldom pays it direct. 1t is parcel
ed out in every spoonful of sugar he
puts in his cup of coffee, in every yard
of cloth in his coat, and in amounts
larger and smaller, but all equally I'M
known, on everything he buys from
one years end to another. This Is
equally true of his share Of import
duties imposed by the tariff, in fac
of his entire contribution to the sup
port Of the general government. Blu
he knows how much his share of 10
cal taxes is, as 1t is shown by his
check book.
1t is quite natural that maj
should be more strongly impressed
with those taxes he pays dlrectl.
than those he pays indirectly, henc'
his seeming Indifference to the cnarg
of tax he pays for transportation.
4 In the published statement of tn
4 Census Bureau for the fiscal yea
4 1902, it is shown that the total reye
nue. receipts, except from bond issue
of the national government, of all Q
the states and territories, of all of tn
counties. cities and all other mino
civil divisions, amounted to the sros
sum Of 1871, S95, 522, while the gros
earnings of the railways of the Uni
ed States for that year, as reporte
by the Interstate Commerce Commi
sion, was the sum of S1,922,I03, 1896, c
3o,S0S.374 in excess of both the NJ
ton and states for the same year.
may further interest you to know tn;
!, for the fiscal year 1867 the total il
come of the United States railway
exceeded the combined total revenue
Z of the following foreign nations. t
wit: Great Britain, France, German
Italy, Spain, Belgium and Austri
q Hungary, by more than sixty-six m
q lion dollars. The railways revenl
for that year in the United Stat
averaged s3O.S6 per capita. In &c
}. many the railways revenue average
). in the year 1905 about 81 per capita
e give you these figures not in
spirit OF criticism, but merely to CT
your attention to the Importance
r the transportation question, and t
i magnitude of the sum paid for tt
r service to the railroads, all of whie
in the final analysis, Is paid by t
ultimate consumer, the people
IS Within the lifetime Of some OF "
v this country has passed through
n period of development and growth ,
raralleled in all history. With Il
has grown up this new system of re-
Is way transportation, the most pow
Of full human agency ever known. To
is credit is due for the part 1t has play
Ig in the development of the resourc
and commerce of the country. N
withstandine the marvellous devel'
a. ment and expansion of this system I
ia i'll IL rms parallel every river a