Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1916-10-26

FOUR per cent bonds In an equal
amount. thus effecting a saving II III
In the interest rate by the use Of the
credit OF the Federal Government.
That one per cent saving, IL left with
the Government and compounded
semi.anaually, would. in forty.six
years, furnish a fund sufficient to re.
tire or pay off the original issue OF
bonds. SO that, by paying the interest
on these bonds for forty.six years, the
principal would be paid by the saving
effected In the use OF the Federal
Governments credit. Now this il one
plan and It's something to think about
and study about and ] hope you'll take
1t homavwith you, for the good roads
problem Is n OF the big problems
this government is facing and must
solve and solve now.
Railroad Transportation.
Next in this program must come
the development of our r~aiirOaas. They
must, In soma way. be permitted and
encouraged 10 doubfe.track their sys.
tens; to build more and larger terni-
nal facilities. to increase the amount
of their rolling stock. and to enlarge
their equipment generally. For, be.
fore very long, with the next expan.
sion Of trade In this country, Our
transportation facilities will utterly
break down under the strain and we
will face another such situation as
we faced In 1906 and 1907. Those OF
you In business will remember that
II was impossible for weeks and weeks
and sometimes months, to secure cars
in which to ship merchandise and
goods to fill orders from clamoring
customers. know that in my own
business I waited as much as two
months for cars In which to load burn.
ed clay products and in the central
and western part OF Kansas. to the
west OF my home at Kansas City,
wheat and other grains were stacked
in piles along the tracks for months
and months, waiting for ears. The
late James j. Hill. than whom there
was no better authority In tine United
Z States on matters pertaining to rail
roads, is responsible for the statement
thai with the next era of trade ex
pansion in this country. the railroads
would be unable to get the capital
sufficient to make adequate provision
for equipment to move the freight that
would be offered, and that, even II
they could, they would be unable to
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 care of the freight offered Even
in the last few months, with the I'M
mense movement of food-stuffs, horses
and supplies for export to the eastern
seaboard, some of the roads have been
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 navigable streams.
If a stream is navigable, you cannot
bridge it, or divert the current, or
take water out of it, or pollute it in
any way, without first obtaining a per.
init from the Federal Government, and
l hold that authority of supervision
carries with it an implied responsible.
ity that the Government shall main.
tain these streams in a navigable con-
dition. Whenever the Government
says, Here is the bHnk and there Is
the back of this stream then 1t is
possible for the landowners on either
side to create a levee district and re.
{, claim that land which is now going
to waste, and that Of itself would af-
ford an immense amount of tonnage
Immediately available for river trans
portation. 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 Ut
profitable except at rates lower tha,
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 WI 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 II he had no de-
livery wagons? We are in that very
fix today and we must do something
about 1t. J
Some Of you may think that THIS
constant seeking to expand our mar
kets and increase our foreign trade
and commerce is Just a scheme Of q
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 1t does, no mat
ter how far you live from the sea
board. Take wheat, for instance, tc
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
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