The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-02-11
at
aCToseC numerical

February 5, 1915, Before the,
las the following will show. Under
section II of the act Of congress ap-
proved August "a. 1912, and section 10
LOT the act of congress to regulate
commerce, as amended June 18, 1919,
railroads engaged In interstate COM
merce are required:
! J.. To make physical connection
with the waterway at the port termin-
lal.
| 2. To exchange traffic with the wat
erway.
3. To issue through bills Of lading
and pro-rate through rates over COM
b1ned rail and water routes; and
4. To secure to shippers the option
OF dispatching freight over all rail, or
| by rail and water line, when choice
or routes is possible.
Practical application and enforce
! ment of these provisions OF law, would
coordinate the rail and water sys-
TENS and make it possible for COM
merce that floats upon the river, to
| find its way to and from interior
points upon the land over the rail-
! ways OF the country. It would make
your port a distributing point of ship
! ment, via the river, for the exports
and imports Of its hinterland. Thus
interior sections OF the country, the
| farmers. merchants. and manufactur-
ers, would share in the benefits OBJ
tainable through shipment of their
commerce by water. A new river
transportation system would be Gre
ated. which, through its economci saw
ings, would contribute to the develop
ment and upbuilding of commerce and
| industry In the valley.
Municipalities Must Control.
ALI of the factors and functions OF
/ the river terminal must be owned.
controlled, and operated, exclusively
/ by the municipality Private owner
| ship of any water terminal is moe
i fensible.
| The early installation OF such ter
minal facilities as I have thus briefly
described, cannot be too strongly
urged upon your city and every other
j city on the river. 1t must not be said,
wait until the traffic warrants" for
without these facilities. increased
traffic on the river will never come.
AS to the wisdom and desirability
OF providing them, there can be no
question. The most skeptical, to be
! convinced, need but study TIL, concf-
tions on any of the rivers in CONT
! mental Europe, for instance on the
! Rhine, where the cities and towns
] have expended large sums on their
harbors and in .eauipping them VITA
every facility for expediting river
traffic, which have been repaid many
times over in the increase of trade,
and thereby the material growth and
prosperity Of the port.
The Davenport Plan.
The cost OF installation OF the ter
minal II properly managed could be
taken care Of out of operating revenue
/ by being spread out over a term Of
| upon thu people. This is demonstrated
! by what has been done at Davenport,
Iowa, the first city to act upon the
ropaganda of the Upper Mississippi
River Improvement association. for
the reclamation of river frontage and
the construction of port terminals.
Under its levese commission it has
constructed approximately $3.50 feet
of revetment wall along its river front
and has thereby reclaimed substan.
tfally twenty acres of valuable land,
which is made additionally valuable
owing to the fact that it lies directly
/ adjacent to and between the deep wat
erway of the Mississippi river and the
main line and yard tracks Of four sep
arate and distinct railway systems. A
conservative estimate of $4,000 per
acre. or total valuation of 100000,
has been placed upon the lands re-
claimed by the commission This has
] been done at total cost to the COM
| mission, not to the tax payers Of the
city, of 1854 ,43s.14. The income Of
the commission has been derived from
two sources. the issue of bonds on
the sum of $15O,000, one-half of which
/ bears 4 percent. and one-half ~ per-
i cent. second from rentals received
/ from lands. This Is not all. The COM
mission has wisely planned and laid
out a number Of lots on the reclaimed
fland adjacent to the commercial ter
minal. to be leased for commercial
/ and industrial purposes. The returns
/ in rentals from existing and prospec-
/ tive tenants upon the newly reclaim
1 ed terminal lots, will regularly care
for not only the interest charges on
/ the outstanding Indebtedness. but the
amortization of principal from year to
year, until the entire Indebtedness
has been retired Based on present
estimates, the commission will not
ONLY be able to take care of existing
Indebtedness. but will also be able to
issue enough additional bonds to COM
pIete it's commercial terminal, and TO
equip it with necessary railway and
] crane tracks. cranes, warehouses, anc
paved roadways. and still be enabled
4 to take care of interest charges and
! amortization OF principal, without
calling upon the tax payers Of the city
( Of Davenport. What that city has
done. and is doing, is an object lesson
worthy OF closest study and emulation
by everv city situated on a navigahle
/ river in this country.
! L. of Minnas nolix- La hllsily en-.