The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-12-05
GREAT INCREASE IN POP.
ULA1|ON W0UlObED DERIVED
Continued from Page l.,

CONTINUED. from Page l.,
When roads and highways are fur
ther improved in this state and III
Minnesota. e the river. the hail
from the farm to the river will eX.
coed five miles. The average haul OF
wheat In North Dakota. as given -
the United States department of agri-
culture. is nine miles. Hence it is :.
the area within five miles Of the r:">r.
Traffic on the Red River.
Though we have never had the o.
per facilities for handling traffic on
the river. the tonnage in an average
year is by no means insignificant. In
1909. for instance. the Northern Pa
eiiic handled az cars of grain and
the 500 about 400 cars Of grain. This
is n tonnage turned yer to these
railroads by the Red River Naviga-
ton COMPANY. This makes a total OF
l.142 cars of grain. TO which must
be added about ia cars of other pro-
ducts. like cement. brick. vegetables.
etc. At 1000 bushels per car the
grain handled by boats would be
1,142.000 bushels. The total tonnage
in 1909 would be about $4,000 tons
river navigation company.
T. II is unfair. however,, to attenp. all
estimate of future traffic on the Red
river by. what has been handled in the
past. Given an improved river with
an even flow Of water. and with pro.
per facilities for handling the grain.
the traffic would multiply in no small
Way. What traffic has been handled
under such adverse and unfavorable
conditions only indicates the rich pos
sibilities under more favorable con-
ditionS of navigation.
River Traffic in 1909. ..,.
Cars of grain. turnad over to the
Northern Pacific ............ AZ
Cars Of grain turned. over to the
Cars Of other products 90 per
cent of grain traffic) 10000. ia
Cars Of traffic. .1.256
Tons at 80 ons per 1850
Club Committees Views.
The Commercial club committee.
made up Of Prof. E. F. Chandler, w.
H. McGraw and G. G. Gowran, SUBJ
mtted to Col. Potter q statement COW
ering the general condition of the riv-
err. basing much of the statement on
the investigation made recently by
the chairman, Prof. Chandler.
In part the committee says:
Even in the present uncertain con
dition Of the river there Is a large vol
m Of business ready for the river,
as is shown by the fact that in the
year 1909 (Which was the last of the
before the record breaking low-water
epoch of the past three years. there
were deliverd by boat to tn railroads
at Grand Forks and at Oslo. or ar
ried from them, a total Of about 1900
carloads Of freight, mostly grain.)
All this was from a portion Of the val.
ley only about fifty miles in length.
Attention should be given to the
width and population of the strip
along one or both sides of the river
along nearly its whole length that is
nearer to the river than to any rail-
road line at present in operation or
likely to be built. This consists as a
rule Of the most fertile land in the
YER assured with certainty, so that
the farm products could be hauled to
the river and carried by boat to the
most convenient transfer-point for
loading on the railroad, these people
in the middle valley would be saved
a great needless expense Of long hauls
over the farm roadways.
Would Develope Big Business.
Furthermore, II cheap water trans
p%ortatton could be depended on, there
would develop much business in GER
tain products that could go by boat
directly to the point Of consumption.
but that cannot .advantageously be
freighted n considerable distance by
rail because their weight or bulk are
so great when compared with their
value. For example. Winnipeg has a
continued demand for hay, and for
common brick, both of which could be
exported from nan points along the
lower Red river valley II water trans.
portation were available. There Is. nc
doubt that the Canadians will put the
portion of the river below the inter.
national, boundary into condition a,
least as good as that above.
The improvement of the Red river
may be attempted by the dredging OF
shoals in the effort to maintain a mar.
row chanel of navigable depth. BY
this means satisfactory navigation car
be maintained through the ordinary o,
average year, but not always. In some
years the river is 81 much below It.
ordinary stage that no reasonable
amount of dredging will maintain a
satisfactorily navigable chanel tina,
can be depended on with certaint,
through the whole season.
For example: the low-water mari
oi 1881 on tne JrGnu FORKS gage IN.
dicates Il flow Of only about 500 cubic
feet per second. In ten Of the las
thirty years the river has fallen below
this mark tor Il small or large part OF
the open season. and has been even a.
low as only 900 cubic feet of flow pei
second. This flow was below Crane
Forks: above Grand Forks (whert
the Red Lake river. enters) the quaint.
lty OF water at low stage periods is U.S.
ually only from one-fourth to one.hali
Of that below.
Dredging In Makcshift.
During these not i%nfrequent Low
Stages of the river there is insufficient
water to fill to a proper depth fol
navigation tn" wide chanel that. the
river has secured for itself at .higr
stages. We therefore consider that
unless 's4ci1 ( ]estenst~e:. dredging il
.s'ohe< .as.!S;illI :Aheald>1'le; river. - a..nar.
! row channel along It's Whole length