Show GOOD FOR COUNTRY improvement OF WATERWAYS L WILL DEVELOP RESOURCES OF EVERY SECTION FREIGHT CARRIED CHEAPLY r make a direct saving in cost of transportation por tation by the water routes and indirectly serve to lower railway carrying rates the claim has been made in previous articles anil and facts and figures given to support the claim ithac that waterways carry freight more cheaply than tho the railways to do or can and that they compel the railways to carry freight more cheaply than they otherwise would making a saying saving of hundreds of 0 millions of dollars a year even under present conditions and indicating inga a vast increase in that savIn saving gIf it all waterways should be improved and then their the surprising assertion was roads made that the surest way to enlarge the business and increase the pro profits t s of 0 the railroads of 0 the united states la is to improve the waterways of 0 the united states the best guide to the future Is the exper experience lence of the lie past so ao let us see what has haa actually hap hall bened to railways when waterways have been improved that the improvements in the chan nes nels and harbors of tile hie lakes have been of 0 great benefit both to the railways which parallel their shores arld and to those these which run front from lake cities s to the interior Is a fact so plain that it needs no argument to support it there are no more prosperous and profitable roads in the country than those that serve the region tributary to the lakes but no one questions the tha wisdom of continuing the improve merit ment of 0 the lakes or of our ocean harbors the real question Is as to the improvement of 0 our rivers and it 1 we wish to study the effect of river improvement either on railway reve or national development we re must go to europe results in bohemia during the fifteen years that improvements prove ments were under tinder way on the elbe river la in bohemia the river traffic as a natural result of the better channel increased fivefold hut but braf fic on thoa competing railways io in creased stillmore still more largel yand the dividends on the tha main line from to aussig aussie rose roe to 16 per cent per ail annum n um similar results followed tile th canalization of the river main alain from mayence on the rhine to frankfort which was finished in the latter part of 1886 the river traffic which amounted to only tons tona in that year began to grow and itai has kept on oil growing growing being tons in 1902 there are two rail railroads ros between frankfort and mayence one on each side of the river what happened to them did their business show a serious falling off ob or were they forced into the hands of a receiver on the contrary their traffic which was waa tons toils in 1886 also began to grow and by 1902 had reached tons or more than double what it was when the railroads had bad a practical monopoly of the business ot of frank tort fort the mere statement of tile tho increased tonnage does not tell the whole truth of the matter for the tonnage tosi nago was not only more than doubled in fit quantity abut greatly raised it in grade so that it could pay anil and lid did pay a much higher rate per ton per mile fine gorman waterways practically all the railways of germany are ara state owned and state operated out ot of a total ot of mlle miles in round numbers only about 25 miles are operated by private co companies germany also has one of 0 th the e finest systems of 0 waterways in th tha world and a study 0 of the balane balance sheet of the german railway system shows that the results which followed the improvement of the river main are not an exception a mere chinel dence lut but are the natural working outworking out of a principle of general application in the calendar year 1907 1901 after paying tor for operation maintenance repairs re neals new equipment In lerent ott on hands Ito nils contribution to the sinking fuu fuyii 1 and every other item which the ali moot careful bookkeeping required to ho li char charged igeI up the german railways turned of absolutely net revenues revenue into the treasuries of the ariosa tates states this was wag per i ille alle of line operated while the corre L bonding figure on united states slates rail ways for the fiscal year I 1 7 wax wa only 1967 a little over one third a much much the greater part of the total revenue of the german states is derived from their railways 71 cents out of 0 every avery dollar received recelle 1 by prussia in 97 1907 belag being so obtained yet german hla keep heep on year after yr ar spending money earned by their rail ways mays in building anil and water ways to compete with those same saint rail ways on oil which they depend as the principal source of national income in the liht light of the llie facts above it will not do to say that these ger mai statesmen do not know what they art arc about on lite contrary thy irl are acting as has been well hald in fur for I 1 therance of a policy tie the wf wisdom sIn of which time and experience have hae fully confirmed always and everywhere the ho result ts Is the sarno samo the improvement of a waterway la Is a benedit to competing rall railways ways for this result as for any other there is a good and sufficient reason but it must be left for another time to tell what that reason in |