Riparian lands of the Mississippi River, past--present--prospective; being a collection of essays and discussions of problems affecting the ... improvement, its levee system and the p - Tapa blanda

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. 1901 Excerpt: ... so far and in such varied directions into the interior of the continent." The mileage here given has been brought down to date, and exceeds that stated in October by 348 miles. III. It is universally admitted that, in these days of low freights by rail, the terminal expenses are an important, if not a controlling, factor in the competition of rival ports. The assessed value of all the real estate in New York (Greater New York) is $2,932,445,464, the area of the city is 307.34 square miles, the assessment per acre $14,908. The assessed value of all the real estate in New Orleans is $103,000,000, the area of the city is 228 square miles, the assessment per acre $706. That is to say, the average of the assessed value per acre of all the land in New York is more than twenty-one times as great as in New Orleans. It is within my knowledge that assessments in New Orleans generally approach to, and often exceed, the actual selling value, and that, in New York, they are generally about 60 per cent thereof, and often less. The transfer to ships of freights, especially the bulkier articles of export, grain, cotton, lumber and the like, require the use of large and ever-increasing areas of land in close proximity to navigable water. Where land is cheapest there will freight be most cheaply transferred to ships. The assessed value of all the real estate per acre in San Francisco and in Philadelphia is fifteen times greater than in New Orleans, in Baltimore it is eighteen times and in Boston more than forty-four times. In this cheapness of land lies one of the advantages of the Southern ports which merits more attention than it has received. That the partial restoration of natural conditions which has been brought about, in a large measure at least, by the railroad...