Nowhere in the world has the development of the waterway injured the railway. On the contrary, experience shows that the improved waterway increases railway traffic. Rightly used, nothing seems to exercise such a powerful influence in increasing traffic of all kinds as does the waterway.
Consider the Rhine and the railroads which serve its valley and the cities on its banks. Before that river was improved for navigation there was but one railroad, the cities were small and the traffic was light. Since the improvement of the river for navigation traffic has grown to such an extent that doubletrack railroads on either side of the river are required to handle the movement by rail, and a constant procession of boats and barges moves up and down the river. In the last thirty years the cities on the Rhine have grown by leaps and bounds—indeed they have exceeded in growth even the rapidly-growing cities of the United States. Doubtless there were those who pictured streaks of rust and a right of way as all that would be left to represent the railroad when brought in competition with water. Yet no such result followed, nor has it followed in any country or on any river in the civilized world. On the contrary, after the waterways are improved there is more traffic, and more and varied business constantly increasing and growing in every direction. This will ultimately prove to be the case in this state. Many of the opinions which are expressed as to the effect on the railroads of the improvement of waterways seem based upon the idea and theory that there is to be no future growth, that we have reached our limit both of population and production, and that a division of existing traffic between river and rail to the detriment of both will be the only result. This is a fundamental error into which many seem to fall. In truth we are but commencing to grow. The time will come in the Northwest when we will have as dense a population as many of the eastern states, and as we can support it better, every means of transportation will be required to handle the business of the country. This is not true of Oregon only but of the entire country.
