Report on the Internal Commerce of the United States (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1885 Excerpt: ... navigable except during freshets. Farmers on the west side of the Sau Joaquin River have to store their grain until autumn or spring, as they have no way of getting it to market except by the river route, which, as stated, is available only at certain times of the year. In the Sacramento Valley the farmers ship by water or by rail, as best suits their convenience, those nearest the river preferring the water route. The navigation of the Sacramento River being attended with more or less risk, on account of snags in the river-bed, farmers who ship by water are put to the extra expense of insurance, averaging about 30 cents per ton. RAIL AND WATER RATES FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF FREIGHTS. Referring to your letter of the 27th ultimo, concerning local freight charges on grain, I would say that tho distance by rail from Marysville to San Francisco is 142 miles via Benicia, or 192 miles via Stockton and Niles, or 203 miles via Stockton and Port Costa. The rate from Marysville to Sau Francisco via Benicia is $2.90 per ton, which is equivalent to more than 2 cents per mile; via Stockton it is $3.30, or about If cents per ton per mile. The Benicia route is the one geneially used, being the shortest and cheapest, but the occasional overflow of the Sacramento River bus at tunes carried away a portion of the road between Benicia and Sacramento, interruptj"K its traffic. At such times tho railroad company has been put to extra expense in bringing grain from tho Sacramento Valley to shipping points on the bay by the long route, and on that account there is a difference of 40 cents per ton in tariff rates. When rail and water lines come into direct competition with each other in the interior of this State, the rates by water are generally about one-third lower than t...