Hermanner Volksblatt. [volume] (Hermann, Mo.) 1875-1928, 1916-07-28

for equipment to move the freight that
would be offered, and that. even II
they could, they would be unable 70
get the men into the mines to mine
the coal and iron, and unable to get
men to cut the timber fast enough
and that it would be impossible for
them to assemble the materials and
build equipment at a rate of speed TO
take arr of the freight offered. Even
in the last few months. with the m
mense movement of food-stuffs, horses
and supplies for export to the eastern
seaboard, some Of the roads have beer
forced to declare ~embargoes.
River Improvement.
Next in the general scheme comes
the development Of our great inland
waterways-the rivers. You know,
under the constitution, the Federal
Government Is given supervision and
jurisdiction over all nayigable streams.
II a stream is nayigable. you cannot
bridge it, or divert the current, or
take water out Of it, or pollute 1t in
any way WillOut IL ObAoAhAh5 ~
NIT from the Federal Government, and
I hold that authority of supervision
carries with 1t an implied responsible
ity that the Government shall main
tain these streams in a navigable con-
dition. Whenever the Government
says, Here is the bank and there is
the bank of this stream then it Is
possible for the landowners or either
side to create a levee district and re.
claim that land which Is now going
to waste, and that of itself would az
ford an Immense amount of tonnage
Immediately available for river trans
p~ortation. In addition, think OF the
large deposits of raw materials, silica
sand, clays, kaolins, bouxite and other
materials. which are now not utilized
that could afford employment to thou
| sands and thousands Of men were they
developed. Many of them are so To-
Gated as to make shipment Of the
finished goods made from them un-
profitable except at rates lower than
the railroads can afford to make.
Then, with the Improvement Of
these rivers, must come their canaliza-
ton and this hooking up with the
great lakes and with each other,
where possible. thus affording a very
network of inland waterways and an
all-water route to the seaboard.
Our Merchant Marine.
"And then we must take steps, too,
to handle this freight when it gets
to the seaboard. The most crying
need of this nation today is for a mer-
chant marine. Here we are-butcher
and baker and candle-stick maker to
all the world, and we have no delivery
wagons. How long do you think a
merchant would last il he had no de-
livery wagons? We are in that very
fix today and we must do something
about 1t.
Some Of you may think that this
constant seeking to expand our mar
kets and increase u foreign trade
and commerce is Just a scheme of a
few bankers and brokers at the sea-
ports to get rich and that there is
no real crying need for a merchant
marine. You say, Why, that doesn't
affect me- Oh, but it does, no mat
ter how far you live from the sea-
board. Take wheat, for instance, to
bring the illustration close to home.
The price of wheat in the interior is
governed by the export price and the
export price is governed by the price
Of wheat laid down in Liverpool,
which is the wheat-buying center Of
the world. l have it on the authority
OF grain merchants that the freight
on wheat at the present time is fifty
cents per bushel in excess Of what 1t
was before the wal began. You say,
Well, that doesn't come out Of my
pocket But 1t does, and you Mr..
Wheat Producer, are receiving fifty
cents less per bushel today than you
would receive were we in a position
TO deliver u own goods to our cus-
toners. and it is stated that we are
today paying the huge sum Of $780,
DOC, 900 per annum to foreign bottoms
to carry our goods at sea. Time was
when the American Clipper ships
were known all W the world, but
with the opening UP of the public do
main in the interior and the increased
opportunity for capital in developing
the middle west and the west, the
attention of business men was di-
verified from the ~seafaring life. We
must re-engage the attention of busy
business men to the end that we may
have a revival Of interests in the
ship-sailing, ship-owning business and
I hope and pray and look forward to
the day when Am~erican-built ships.
manned and differed by American
seamen, carrying American goods and
flying the American flag, may be a
familiar sight in every port Of the
world.
Our National Life.
Il want to talk to you today about
one Of the great questions which is
attracting the attention of statesmen
and economists. That is the question