The Bismarck tribune., 1919-04-09

d, Higgins Is Enthusiastic.
Mr.. Higgins resides at Banks, an
inland town in Mckenzie county
whose only outlet is the Missouri
Over this river crops harvested In
the vicinity OF Banks are shipped TO
Williston, and machinery and other
supplies are brought back in the same
manner. Mr.. Higgins visions a great
terminal elevator and flour mill 1t
Bismarck, to which grain from all
points tributary to the Missouri may
be shipped by water, at a fraction OF,
the rail cost, and with the .elimina-
ton of long wagon hauls, now aggre-
eating 90 miles or more. He pictures
tle finished product of the North Da-
kota flour mills and the grain from
its terminal elevator, proceeding down
the. river at this same low freight
cost to Kansas City, st. Louis and
New Orleans, and thence by boat to
New York or the European markets.
Have Built Up Great Myth.
I'VE have built up great myth.
which is mat the twin cities. ares.bur
logical market. There is no other
reason for this than habit" said the
council of defense member addressing
his. Bismarck audience yesterday
Much of the grain we ship to the
Twin Cities comes back through
North Dakota, or goes down to Kan
sas City, Omaha and St. Louis, or on
down to New Orleans. The cOi1sumer,
or the grower, must stand the burden
of an all-rail freight haul, to the. Twin
Cities and another rail rate from
there to the final destination.
I'VE have only to believe and to
have confidence in our conviction ITO
make Bismarck the logical grain cen
ter for the northwest, and to con-
vince, first ourselves, and then the
country at large, and particularly our
national congress, that the Missouri.
grain country, is the logical outlet for
this grain.
Equals 600 Trunk Lines.
II have copy Of the government
engineers report submitted to the
waterways congress held in Bismarck
in 1917 in which he estimates that 1t
would cost no more to make the Mis-
souri, fully navigable from the pres
ent head of navigation to its mouth
than it would cost to build q trunk
railway for the same distance and
provide it with terminals, while the
river, the report says, would carry
500 tintsAeA much freight There Is
no questfUms that water transportation
is cheaper than rail possibly can
be. No one will dispute that water
transportation Is less liable to monop-
oily and abuse.
Il have tackled this proposition af-
ter carefully studying all its angles,
and intend to stay with It until i
see it through" said the Mckenzie
county man. II have all of the peo-
pie in my section of the state with
me- l know that Wilfiston will sec
that it is to its interests to come in
with me. All Of the western part OF
the state will favor the location Of q
terminal elevator and flour mill at
Bismarck, where a trunk waterway
and trunk railway meet. know t1at
If Bismarck takes hold of this with
the right spirit, it can convince the
Industrial commission that this is the
logical location for one of the termi-
nal elevators and flour mills, and I
am confident that if these Industries
are located here it will serve to i'm
press the national government with
the Importance of developing the Mis-
souri, as a waterway"
Old Congress Blew W.
The Missouri waterways congress
was in a flourishing condition WHEN
it met in Bismarck at the invitation. of
Col. w. G.. Gilbreath, then c0mnife-
sioner of agriculture and lAboe, n
1907. Its member states incluAed
Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, NehGA6t,
South Dakota and North Dakota. Mon.
tana was interested. An exteastYo
Continued % Pags T1fss.l