The star-progress. (Opelousas, La.) 1917-1921, 1920-08-28
CHICAGO MORE THAN TWICE AS
FAR FROM NEW YORK TODAY
AS IT WAS SIX YEARS AGO

Washington, D. c., Aug. 26.-"Chi
cago is more than twice as far from
New York as it was six years ago
More than that-every place in the
United States is now about twice as
far from every other place as it was
in 1914"
These ratehr startling assertions are
made by Secretary Thompson of the
National Rivers and Harbors ongress
in statement released. The state
ment goes on to say:
"Of course, the number of milei
between New York and Chicago, OF
any other two places that might be
named, is just the same now as il
always was-but miles are not the
only things to measure by. We might
use time, for instance, and it has been
well said by an English writer that II
is not mileage but cost of transporta
ton, which constitutes the true com
mercial measure of distance
Geographically, Chicago is still
1000 miles from New York, but, be
cause of the increase made in freight
rates during the psf six years, the
city On Lake Michigan is now, com
mercially, $1,000 miles from tidewat
er, and every community in the coun
try has been pushed back until it is
twice as far away from the markets
in which it either buys its supplies OF
sells it products as it was in 1914.
"The whole increase was not made
at once-the country never would have
stood for it if it had been. First II
was five per cent in 1914; then fiji
teen per cent in 1917; hten twenty
five per cent, by Mr.. McAdoo's or
der, in 1918; and now an advance
varying from twenty-five per cent fol-
for the Eastern group, and averaging
according to an estimate made by the
Bureau of Railway Economics, 34.5S
per cent for the whole country.
STATED in another way, this means
that for every dollar paid to the rail
roads for freight in 1914 we must now
pay two dollars or more. Now it is
Just as certain as fate itself that every
increase in cost of transportation in
creases both the cost of living and OF
doing business and decreases the ter
ritory in which our products, whether
of farm or factory, can be sold. But
the most vital question today is not
whether we shall pay one price or
another for the transportation Of our
goods, but whether we can get them
carried at all.
an Europe they use waterways as
well as railways. France, Belgium
Holland and Germany Gas it was be-
fore the war; whose combined area
is only one-seventh that of the United
States, have 23,5O0 miles of water.
ways, of which they make contin.
ually increasing use. The tonnage OF
goods transported on the waterways
of Germany in 1905 was five times as
much as was carried in 1875-and it
is more than coincidence that, in
every one of the twenty years ending
in 1913, the foreign commerce of Ger
many, which is $4,000 square miles
smaller than the state of Texas, ex-
ceeded that Of the United States by
hundreds Of millions of dollars.
A further indication of the econo-
mic Importance of the French water
ways is given by the fact that in 1907
no less than 5O,1O9 loaded boats were
received and dispatched at the city
of Paris. The cargoes carried by these
boats amounted to 1O,S45,55S metric
tons, which is equal to 11,955,058 net
tons of 200 pounds.
Holland is the only country in the
world in which the power Of the gov
eminent had to be invoked to prevent
the waterways from crushing the
railways. There is hardly a town or a
village in any part Of the country
which can not be reached by a canal.
on which, as rule, freight charges
are So low that no railway can com
pete with them. Although the rates
are fixed at the lowest point that will
cover the expenses and pay a small
dividend. the railways only carry
about 10 per cent of the traffic and
they would not get that much if the
waterways we're not sometimes froz-
en- up.
Holland, with an area of 1871
square miles, has 2,S7O miles of rail-
ways and 1888 miles of waterways.
OF the latter $50 miles are rivers and
2,408 miles are canals. All the rivers
and 942 miles of the canals are ex-
controlled by the govern
ment, which also exercises partial
partial authority over another 14S
miles of canals. ontrol of the remain
ing canals is divided between provin-
cial, local, and private authority.