APPENDIX IX. A COMPARISON OF AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN WATERWAYS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF WATER TRANSPORTATION. BY MR. E. O. MERCHANT. 471 The growth of water transportation in European countries. The condition of water transportation in the United States. The decline of traffic on the Mississippi... Agitation for waterway improvements.. Factors affecting water transportation.... II. The importance of natural conditions: Favorable natural conditions an essential requirement.. Physical characteristics of the German waterway system.. Physical characteristics of the Dutch waterway system Physical characteristics of the Belgian waterway system.. Physical characteristics of the waterways of Austria-Hungary. Differential in favor of waterways in Germany American rail and European water rates compared... The relative cost of transportation by rail and by water. Difficulty of making exact comparisons. Economic conditions becoming more favorable.. Difficulty of further reducing railroad rates... 556 APPENDIX IX. A COMPARISON OF AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN WATERWAYS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF WATER TRANSPORTATION. By Mr. E. O. MERCHANT. I. THE REVIVAL OF WATER TRANSPORTATION. The history of inland water transportation may be divided into three periods. During the first period, which began with the sixteenth century and closed with the advent of railway building, the waterways furnished the principal means of transportation. Their only competitors were the pack horse and the highway or turnpike, and the advantage which they enjoyed often made them profitable enterprises. The second period was one of competition with the railways, which resulted in a marked decline of water transportation and generally left the waterways in a decadent condition. The third period is marked by the revival of water transportation, which began in France, Germany, and Belgium as early as 1870. The first period was essentially one of canal building. In many cases it was less expensive to build canals along the banks of streams than to improve the streams themselves. Particularly was this the case in England, where the principal use of rivers seems to have been to supply water for the canals. When Brindley, the pioneer in canal building, was before a committee of the House of Commons, a member asked him for what purpose he apprehended rivers were created. He replied, "To feed navigable canals." The construction of canals on level ground had been common since the days of the Egyptians and Babylonians, but it was not until the invention of the chamber lock that it was possible for canals to overcome elevations. The discovery of this simple device led to the rapid spread of canal building throughout Europe. The movement first became prominent in France. The Canal de Briare, connecting the Seine with the Loire, was begun in 1605 and completed in 1642. The famous Languedoc Canal, now known as the Canal du Midi, connecting the Bay of Biscay with the Mediterranean, was begun in 1666 and finished in 1681. This was one of the greatest achievements during the reign of Louis XIV. It was 148 miles in length, and accommodated barges of 100 tons capacity. An elevation of 600 feet was overcome by means of numerous locks, and a further elevation was avoided by a tunnel 700 feet in length. This canal was constructed by private enterprise under a grant from the Government, as were almost all the canals in the early period. During the eighteenth century the 1 J. Phillips, History of Inland Navigation (London, 1792,), p. 99. |