Waterway Transportation from the Viewpoint of Operation

This paper gives a discussion and comparison of private, contract, and common carriage, as well as common carriage under joint rail and water rates, on three types of inland waterways: Lake type (Great Lakes and connecting channels), per ton-mile cost, 0.64 mill; lock-canal type, closed by ice part of year (New York Barge Canal), per ton-mile cost, 3 mills; and river type, adequate channelopen the year round (Mississippi River, St. Louis, Mo., and South), per ton-mile cost, 1.07 mills. The expense and difficulty incident to the development of, and also the benefits to the general public from, these type of water carriers increase in the order in which they are mentioned. The development of private and contract carriage on the waterways creates monopolies which destroy healthy competition. To prevent this, common carriage should be developed, and the benifits of this type should be extended to communities off the waterways through the establishment of joint routes and rates in which both water and land carriers participate.