Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1914-04-23
Some Spanking for Little Mexico!
Admiral Fletcher
Twelve andM any Wounded

or two and one one-quarter tons. Mul-l
tiply the two and one quarter tons by
.22 cents and mills brings the cost
to 81 cents per mile for the load.
For ten mile haul the cost Is $510
which is about the prevailing charge
for man and team per day In our state
On railroads the average cost isl
seven one e-hundredths of q mill per ton
per mile.
On the ocean the cost is three one
sthousandth OF u mill per ton per mile
to take our grain from New York to
Liverpool, England. Exceedingly
cheap we say
The letter follows:
Washington, .. c.. March 20. 1914.
Hon b. G. Issenhuth,
Chairman State Highway commis-1
sion,
Redfield, S. d..
Dear Sir: .8a \
7 have your letter Of March, 10Th,
making inquiry for data dealing with
the question Of public roads from the
stand point pf the cost Of transporta-
tion, with special reference to the com
paratiye cost of transportation over
the railways and public highways.
IN reply will state that stn 1906 an I'M
vestigation was conducted BY the Blu
eau Of Statistics OF the Department,
into the cost OF transporting farm pro-
ducts to market. This investigation
Ideduced an average cost per ton per
mile Of 22.7 cents, based upon replies
to inquiries sent to about $500 coun-
ties. The average haul reported was
Is.4 miles. At that time less than 8
per cent OF the public highways were
improved, 30 that these figures may
be taken to indicate the average cose
Of hauling over unimproyed roads.
The question Of hauling over the pub
lie highways ds dealt with TO q con.
siderable extent in' Farmers Bulletin
505. issued by this Office. q copy Of
which will be forwarded To yor by the
Division OF Publications Of this de.
partment.
AS regards the cost Of hauling over
the railroads, the report Of the Inter
state Commerce Commission for 1910
places 1t for 1906 at .0074S mills per
ton per mile, and for 1910 at .00753
mills per ton per mile.
or course the rates of water trans
portation are much lower. In 1905
and 1906 the average charge for trans
portation Of sugar from Rio Janeiro
Ito New York, distance of about FIVE
Thousand miles, was .00127 mills per
ton per mile. For the year 1906 the
mean ocean freight rate on wheat, rye
and corn, from New York to Liver
pool, a distance Of 3100 miles, was
81. 1.o06 per ton, or .0003 mills per ton
per mile.
/ regret that this office cannot mail
bulletins to the list of farmers as you
suggest. 1t is the policy Of the de-
! partment at this time not to issue re-
prints but to issue new publications
from time to time and the supply Of
this office at this time DIS very limited.
would suggest that you take the
matter up with your Congressman,
and he no doubt will be able to sup.
ply the publications desired Each
congressman has a quota Of about
twelve thousand publications each
year, and feel sure that II yon would
communicate with him he would be
able to comply with your request.
Very respectfully,
IT,. wv. Page, Director.
The above letter IL authentic and
commends itself to every student OF
public affairs Id this state for the val
liable information 1t contains. II rel
veals 4 surprise on the subject OF
transportation. by showing that the
expensive haul is between the home
and the local market. TO be fair We
owe it to ourselves to first build good.
roads before worrying about the rates
charged by the railroads and hipping
concerns. With poor roads = s!sla..l 4 l