Show G no FOR improvement OF WATERWAYS WILL DEVELOP RESOURCES OF EVERY SECTION FREIGHT CARRIED CHEAPLY make a direct saving in in cot cost of ef transportation por tation by theW tr Flie rut utes and nd indal l wr killay I 1 I 1 carrying rite the tha claim has h been made ind la in previous ou 9 articles artl cle and nd acta and figures given to support the claim that r waterways carry freight more moron cheaply than the railways do or caland can and that they compel the railways to carry freight more cheaply than they the otherwise would making a saving ot of hundreds of 0 millions of 0 dollars a year even under present conditions ing a P vast increase in that saying saving it all waterways should be improved and then the surprising assertion was made that the surest twaY way to enlarge the business b and increase the profits of tho the railroads 0 of the united states the waterways of 0 the Is to improve united states the best guide to the future Is the experience of the past so let us see what has actually happened to t railways when waterways have been improved that the improvements in the channels and harbors arbors h ot of the lakes have been ot of great benefit both to the railways which parallel paralle I 1 their shores and to those which run from lake lake cities to the interior Is a fact act so plain that it needs no argument to support it there are no more prosperous and profitable roads iri the country than those that hat serve the region tributary to the lakes but no one questions the wisdom of 0 continuing gabe the improvement I 1 0 of the lakes or of our ocean harbors the real question Is 1 S as to the Improvement of our rivers and it if we wish to study thel the effect ot of river improvement either on railway bere rere or national development we must go to europe results in bohemia during the fifteen years that improvements prove ments were under way on the 1 eabe ibe river in Bohe bohemia the river traffic as a 7 natural greult ot of the better channel increased d fl five ve tord M but iu t traffie traffic t ra f on the competing railways increased still more largely and the dividends on the main line from teplitz to aussig rose to 16 per cent per annum similar results followed the canalization of the river main from mayence en n the rhine to frankfort which was finished in the latter part of 1886 the river traffic to abich amounted to only tons iona in that year began to grow and andaas has kept on growl ngi being tons in 1902 there theire are two railroads between frankfort and mayence marente one on each side of the river what happened to them did their business show i a ie serious tailing failing oft off or were they forced into the hands of olt receiver on the tha contrary their traffic which was tons la in 1886 also began to grow and by 1902 had rea reached chedi i tens or more than double what it was wiles who the railroads liall roads had a practical monopoly of the business of frankfort the mere statement of the increased tonnage does not tell the tha whole truth ot of the matter tor for the tonnage was not only more more than doubled in quantity but greatly raised in grade so that it could pay and did pay a much higher rate per ton per mile fine garman waterway a practically all the railways 0 of germany are state owned and state operated out of a total of miles in round numbers only about 2500 2 miles are operated by private companies urn germany also has one ot of the finest systems of waterways in the world and a study ot of the balance sheet of the german railway system shows that the results which followed the improvement of the river main mal tire are not an exception a mere colnul dence but are the natural working outworking out ng of 0 f a principle plo of general application in III the calendar year after paying tor for operation maintenance repairs renewals renela als new equipment interest on bonds contribution to the tha sinking und fund and every other item which the most careful bookkeeping required to be cli charged arged up the german radl railways ways turned tl of absolutely net revenues into the treasuries of 0 the various arlous states this was per mile of line operated while the corresponding SPOIl sp ding figure on united states railways tor for the fiscal year 7 was ony 1967 a little over one third as much much the greater part ot of the total revenue ot of the german states la Is derived from their railways 71 cents out ot of beery dollar received by prussia in 1907 being so obtained yet german statesmen keep on year after year spending money earned by their railways ays in building and improving water ways to compete with those same railways on which they depend as the Plin principal cipal source of national income in the sight light odthe facts g given iven above it will not do to say that these german statesmen do not know kno w what they are about on oil the contrary they are acting as has been well said in furtherance of a policy the wisdom of which time and experience have fully confirmed always and everywhere the result Is the same the improved improvement ent of i waterway is a benefit to railways lor for this abi s result as tor for adv other there Is a good and reason dut it must be let left for another time to toll tell what that reason is IB |