574 



CONSERVATION 



lake lines carried 14,080,146 passengers in 

 1906; the figures for 1889 were 2,235,993, the 

 increase during the seventeen years being 

 529.7 per cent. There was also an increase 

 of thirty per cent, in the passenger traffic 

 handled on the Mississippi River and its 

 tributaries, the figures for 1889 — 10,858,894 — 

 having risen by 1906 to 14,122,241. It 

 should be noted, however, that this increase 

 was due more largely to the growth in short- 

 distance travel and in ferry traffic than to 

 an increased patronage of the river steam- 

 l)oats operated over the longer routes. The 

 passenger traffic on the other inland water- 

 ways of the United States in 1889 is not 

 known, but it amounted to something less 

 than two millions ( 1,877,889) in 1906. 



A comparison of the United States with 

 some of the leading countries of Europe as 

 to the extent to which the navigation re- 

 sources of each country have been devel- 

 oped, and as to the traffic uses made of in- 

 land waterways will contribute to a clearer 

 appreciation of the facts concerning the 

 United States. 



Great Britain. — Although Great Britain is 

 of small territorial area and has not fol- 

 lowed the policy adhered to by the conti- 

 nental countries of retaining the inland 

 waterways as public highways to be devel- 

 oped by the government, the mileage and 

 traffic of her streams and canals are by no 

 means insignificant. The total coast line of 

 Great Britain, 3,900 miles in length, is sup- 

 plemented by about 4,000 miles of canals 

 and improved rivers. The traffic on these 

 inland waterways, exclusive of the coast- 

 wise maritime commerce, amounted to S7,- 

 426,886 tons in 1898, the latest year for 

 which official Board of Trade statistics are 

 obtainable. 



The five principal estuaries of England — 

 the Mersey, Humber, Wash, Thames, and 

 Severn — are connected by nineteen through 

 canal routes. Nine of these through routes 

 reach Severn ports, nine have London ter- 

 mini, ten reach Liverpool, and five terminate 

 at Hull. The traffic is most active on the 

 canals in central and northern England. 

 The 642 miles of waterways in this highly 

 developed industrial district moved 23,500,- 

 000 tons of freight in 1898. The canals 

 reaching Birmingham had 7,750,000 tons of 

 traffic. 



The water resources of Great Britain have 

 come to be such a valuable asset to the 

 country that the supply and the uses of water 

 must be carefully guarded. If the streams 

 are to be maintained as navigable water- 

 ways, if the municipalities are to have an 

 abundant supply of pure water, the mining 

 companies must not be permitted to continue 

 their reckless waste of water; the disposal 

 of sewage must be carefully planned so 

 as to prevent the pollution of the streams ; 

 and if the valuable fisheries in the tidal and 

 fresh-water portions of the rivers are to be 

 preserved, careful regulation will be neces- 



sar_v. In a word, the necessity for a per- 

 manent waterways commission is becoming 

 apparent. 



France. — France has developed her inland 

 waterways more systematically and com- 

 pletely than has any other of the larger 

 European countries. Three thousand si.xty- 

 two miles of canals are now in operation, 

 and 4,500 miles of her rivers — largely as the 

 resul: of canalization — are used for naviga- 

 tion. Prior to 1880, the greater portion of 

 the English freight business of the country 

 was handled on the waterways. Since then 

 the development of the railroads has natu- 

 rally enabled them to exceed the water- 

 ways in tonnage ; but the waterways have, 

 none the less, transported a steadily increas- 

 ing tonnage. During the twenty years from 

 1885 to 1905 the freight tonnage rose from 

 19,573000 to 34,030,000 metric tons. The 

 ton mileage of the water-borne traffic 

 amounted to 3,178.000,000 in 1905, and was 

 more than double the total for 1885. All 

 the waterways of the country, with the ex- 

 ception of 160 miles (seventy-five of which 

 are owned by the city of Paris) are public 

 ways improved and maintained by the state. 

 Their use is free, tolls having been abol- 

 ished in 1880. 



Gcviiiaiiy. — The policy of Germany in the 

 development of her inland waterways is pe- 

 culiarly instructive. The canals and navi- 

 gable rivers of that empire, not including 

 the tidal portions of the rivers navigated 

 by sea-going vessels, have a total length of 

 about 7,600 miles, of which about 6,250 miles 

 may be considered to be commercially im- 

 portant. Three-tenths of the 6,250 miles con- 

 sist of canals and slack-water river navi- 

 gation, and seven-tenths of river courses 

 improved without the construction of dams 

 and locks. The railway mileage of the 

 country is 34.000, somewhat over six times 

 the length of the waterways actively used 

 for commerce. 



The tonnage of the shipments and re- 

 ceipts of freight transported on the Ger- 

 man waterways in 1875 was 20,800,000 metric 

 tons. The figures for 1905 were 103,400,000 

 metric tons, there having been an increase 

 of nearly 400 per cent. The ton mileage of 

 this water-borne commerce in 1875 was 

 1,812.500,000, and in 1905, 9,375,000,000 — a 

 gain of over 400 per cent. The ton mileage 

 of the railroad freight traffic in 1875 was 

 6.812,500,000, and in 1905 the total was 27,- 

 875,000.000. The gain in the railroad traffic 

 was far greater absolutely ; but the per- 

 centage of increase , in water traffic was 

 larger, although the length of the water- 

 ways in 1905 was not much greater than in 

 1S75. whereas the railway mileage had more 

 than douloled during that period. 



The density of traffic on the German 

 waterways much exceeds that on the rail- 

 roads. The number of tons carried one 

 mile per mile of waterway rose from 290,- 

 000 in 1875 to 1,500,000 in 1905: the corre- 



