TRANSPORTATION AND COMMERCE, Ohio ranks fifth in its total railroad mileage; and in its mileage per 100 square miles of area-21.G1 miles—it is exceeded by only one other of the large States. The first railroad built in Ohio, the Mad River and Lake Erie, now a part of the Rig Four System. was elmrtered in 1832. By 1850 the mileage had increased to 572 in 1870. 3538 miles: in BOO, 7980 miles: and in 1100• 8885 miles. In 1901 there were 100 rail road companies represented in the Stale. Among the longer lines were the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern. the Cincinnati. Hamilton and Dayton. the Cleveland. Cincinnati. Chicago and Saint Louis, the Hocking Valley, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, the New York, Chicago and Saint Louis, the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chi cago and Saint Louis, the Toledo and Ohio Cen tral, and the Wheeling and Lake Erie. In recent years there has been a decided tendency toward centralization of the railroads. In 1901 there were 858,815,080 passengers carried one mile; the average distance which passengers were car ried was 25.7:3 miles; and the average receipt per passenger per mile was $.025. In the same year there were 12,450,261,839 tons of freight transported one mile, the average distance haul per ton being 72.18 miles. and the average amount received per ton mile $.013. Ohio leads every State in the extent of its interurban electrical railways. It is now possible to cross the north ern part of the Commonwealth on electrical lines. or to go from Newark to Cincinnati. Cleveland. Toledo,• Columbus, and Dayton are important centres for electrical lines.
Ohio has three United States customs districts, of which the ports of entry are Toledo, Sandusky, and Cleveland. Cincinnati also is a port of entry in the district of Louisiana for the State of Ohio. These customs ports represent only the foreign imports and exports which the position of Ohio on the lakes, adjoining Canada, and in communi cation with ocean commerce through the Cana dian canals and the Saint Lawrence, enables the local merchants to make direct to and from for eign countries. The same may be said of Cin
cinnati, though its foreign trade has to be car ried much more indirectly through the Ohio and :Mississippi rivers. The foreign commerce of Ohio is, however, insignificant compared with the vast domestic commerce east, west, north, and south, along the State's lakes, railways, canals. and great river. Lake Erie is still the greatest single highway of commerce for the State, and the Government has improved several of its har bors. Those at Cleveland and Sandusky are the finest in the State. Sandusky Bay extends in land about eighteen miles, and admits the largest lake vessels to wharf. Cleveland figures most prominently in the lake commerce. Formerly the canals were expected to be second only to the lake and the Ohio River in volume of commerce, but the railways have far surpassed them in carry ing facilities. The great value of the ca lmls is now to force low rates the railway system by their cheaper, though slower, transportation. The canals now operated comprise the Ohio Canal. completed in 1835, extending from Cleve land to Portsmouth, 309 miles long: the Miami and Erie Canal, completed in 1835, extending from Cincinnati to Toledo, 250 miles long: the Hocking Canal, a branch of the Ohio, completed in 1843, extending from Carroll to Nelsonville. 42 miles long: and the Walhonding Canal, com pleted in 1843, extending from Rochester to Roscoe, 25 miles long. There is also a large mile age of artificial feeders and slack-water navi gation.