The River

Title: Chart of Shipping Costs
Type: Data
Date: 1926
Source: Minnesota Historical Society

Description: This chart compares the cost of transportation of goods by rail and steamboat.

Activities:

1. This chart shows that in 1926, shipping goods by barge was cheaper in all shown cases than shipping by rail. Why might this be so?
   
   
   
   
   Answer: Barges were cheaper to operate because they didn't require rails and a boat could push more than one barge at a time. Labor costs were also cheaper.
2. What can we learn from the list of commodities transported?
   
   
   
   
   Answer: This list can show us some of the items that were important trade goods at the time. We would probably not see large quantities of oyster shells, molasses and syrup [sic], or cottonseed meal on a list like this today.
3. What is the most expensive item to ship by train on this chart? Why do you think this is?
   
   
   
   
   Answer: The most expensive item to ship is road-grading machinery by rail from the Twin Cities to New Orleans. This is very expensive because of both the distance traveled and the weight of the machinery to be shipped.
4. What item is listed as being shipped from Red Wing? What does this tell you about the popularity of this product at the time?
   
   
   
   
   Answer: Stoneware was the only product listed from Red Wing. The fact that it is listed suggests that the stoneware company was selling fairly large quantities of stoneware to other parts of the state and country.