The Yale expositor., 1915-08-12

cine, Marinette,
Green Bay, Manitowoc, Sheboygan,
Duluth and other of our neighboring
cities on the west, Michigan's prod
ucts, while the numerous railroads
not only enter the lake ports of Wis
consin, Illinois and Minnesota, but the
interior points of these states as well,
thus bringing within easy reach such
markets as Minneapolis, st. Paul, Kan
sas City, Omaha and st. Louis and
other large cities of the central West.
On the south the markets of Indiana
and Ohio are but a few hours dis
tant. Indianapolis, Cleveland and To-
ledo are ready customers for Michi-
gan food supplies. Toledo, Cleveland
and Detroit are, so far as Michigan
is concerned, great distributing CEN
tiers to the interior of Ohio and Can
ada. Buffalo too is within easy reach
and should be a choice market not
alone in itself but as a distributing
center for all southwestern New York.
and even New York city is only few
hours distant.
Excellent Rail and Water Transporta-
ton Facilities.
The commercial and industrial prog
ress of a country is bound up with it's
transportation facilities. Just in pro-
portion as the nation, state, city or
community increases it's transporta-
ton facilities for the quick and con-
venient carriage Of people and COM
modities from one section to another,
80 will it's material prosperity and
happiness increase. II is the railroad,
steamboat lines and wagon roads
which has enabled and is enabling
some of the most fertile sections of
the country to develop their latent
possibilities.
1t matters not how productive the
farm or how great the market unless
there is supplied the connecting link,
transportation. 1t would, therefore,
seem that in the development of any
community, the productiveness Of the
soil. the markets and transportation
facilities are so dependent upon each
other that they are almost inseparable
and although something has already
been said in this publication with ref
erence to Michigan's splendid trans
portation facilities, there is still more
TO be said.
Water transportation.
Michigan has a shoreline of ever
1000 miles on the greatest inland
waterway in the world and the more
than fifty Michigan ports on this great
water highway are served by innumer-
able steamship lines, that afford un-
equaled water communication, not
alone between Michigan ports but with
the ports of several neighboring states
and Canada as well. That the extent
of the Great Lakes traffic may be
more readily appreciated, reference
might be made to the annual tonnage
passing through the 500 locks of the
st. Mary's river, connecting Lake SUI
perior with Lake Michigan, and Lake
Huron. Il is said that the annual
tonnage is two and one-half times
greater than that which passes
through the Suez canal and seven
times greater than that which passes
through the Kiel ship canal. It is said
that about 70 per cent of the freight
carried on the Great Lakes annually
passes through the 500 locks, and that
I'm 1910 this amounted to 62,363,OOO
tons. A lake freighter, with capac-
ity Of $4,000 tons, such as can pass
through these locks, can carry load
that would fill eight trains of so cars
each. allowing 30 tons to the car To
carry 62,OO0.00O tons a year past the