The transportation by river of package-freight, such as flour, meal, meat, canned goods, dry goods, and other commodities, has been almost entirely superseded by rail transportation, except in regard to short-haul local landings, where the river is more convenient, and the railroad may not be available. There is some south-bound shipment of wire, nails, and other iron goods from the Pittsburg district to distributing points like Memphis and New Orleans, but in these cases the consignments are exclusively in barge-load lots. The only other commodity to which these conditions apply is coal. This is taken direct from the mines in the Pittsburg district, and dropped into barges on the Monongahela River; and these are floated down the river, during periods of high water, in fleets of from fifty to several hundred barges at a time.
There is no movement of grain in barges from St Louis to New Orleans, as was the case a great many years ago. The grain for export viâ New Orleans is now largely moved direct in cars from the country elevators to the elevators at New Orleans, from which latter the grain is loaded direct into ships. There is, also, some movement north-bound in barges of lumber and logs from mills and forests not accessible to railroads, but very little movement of these or other commodities from points that are served by railroad rails. Lumber to be shipped on the river must be moved in barge-load quantities, and taken to places like St Louis, where it has to be hauled from the barge to lumber yards, and then loaded on railroad cars, if it is going to the interior, where a considerable proportion of the quantity handled will be wanted. Mills reached by railroad tracks can, and do, load in car-load quantities, and ship to the final point of use, without the delay incident to river transportation, and the expense involved by transfer or re-shipment.
It is not to be inferred from the foregoing that all the distributing points along the river have dried up since the development of rail transportation. In fact, the contrary is the case, because the railroads have opened up larger territories to these distributing points, and in regard to many kinds of goods these river points have become, in a way, initial sources of supply as well as of manufacture. Memphis, for example, has grain brought to its elevators direct from the farms, the same as St Louis, and can and does ship on short notice to the many towns and communities in the territory surrounding. There are, also, flour and meal mills, iron foundries, waggon and furniture factories, etc., at Memphis, and at other places. Many of the points, however, which were once simply landings for interior towns and communities have now become comparatively insignificant.
To sum up in a few words, I should say that the railroads have overcome the steamboat competition on the Mississippi River, not only by affording fair and reasonable rates, but also because rail transportation is more frequent, rapid, reliable, and convenient, and is, on the whole, much cheaper.
FOOTNOTES
[1] That canals also played their part in the transport of passengers a hundred years ago is shown by the following items of news, which I take from The Times of 1806:—
Friday, December 19, 1806.
"The first division of the troops that are to proceed by the Paddington Canal for Liverpool, and thence by transports for Dublin, will leave Paddington to-day, and will be followed by others to-morrow and Sunday. By this mode of conveyance the men will be only seven days in reaching Liverpool, and with comparatively little fatigue, as it would take them above fourteen days to march that distance. Relays of fresh horses for the canal boats have been ordered to be in readiness at all the stages."