Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1868-06-15
Capt. DeHaVen' Address at the
Chamber of Commerce.

To-day at u o'clock, M, the mer.
chants, bankers, steamboat and railroad
men, and all whs are interested in the
welfare of Memphis, her future growth
and prosperity, are earnestly requested
to meet at the Chamber Of Commerce tc
hear addresses from Capt. DeHAven and
other gentlemen in regard to the great
project OF the Mississippi Navigation
Company.
10 order that all who go thither may
go with some general idea Of the subject
to be brought before them we give 8
synopsis of Capt. DeHsven's remarks
on Saturday evening before the Cham.
Der of Comme;ca:
1t would be but little use, he said, then
and there to go into details, so he wsuld
only speak generally, Teserving a full de-
scrlption Of his plans, drawings and
models until Monday, when he would
build them the steamboat, if they wish
ed, from the kelson to the top of the
chimney, and explain the object, bear
ings and commercial com binations Of
the Mississippi River Navigation Com
-
Now he would simply show some OF the
main points OF his plans, and their COM
mercial and financial bearings upon the
commerce of the North west, on its road
to the sea, via Memphis.
The plans of our steamers are not new;
they are simply novel combinations of
old and we'll known advantages. Low
pressure engines have been known about
as long as high-pressure, and used else
where, but they have never come into
general use, or become generally known
to river engineers of the Southwestern
waters. Loy-pressure steam is to high
pressure as IA is to l50-in other words,
2I2O Fahrenheit will give l47 pounds to
the square inch, and $500 will give 1872
pounds. This difference is made up in
the application.
Let us glance next at the construction
of the hull. The advantages that we
secure by my plans are patent
TO every ole to whom they have
been shown. By combination
of mechanical forces, without sddi-
ten TO the weight or bulk of mate
rial usea-lindeed the weight is al i'm
mense deal less than az thc OLD meth
od), we make a hull eleven times strong
er. 1 have exhibited my plans to engi-
neers, to steamboat and ship builders in
Norfolk, Brooklyn, Fittsburg, Chicago
and elsewhere over the United States,
and received Their fullest commenda-
items and approval-all from the ship
wright who piled the aezs to the most
scientific constructor. Many of my
friends, the steam boatmen, some of
whom are present,a aFst were skeptical,
out an examination never failed to con-
vince them not one now has an objec-
ton to offer. The only question they
then asked was, would it pay ?n and
this he proved to them it would do, and
for fourteen different prominent features
and reasons.
We can show to practical steamboat
man that a boat constructed on these
principles can run and carry grain, corn,
etc and make it pay, at less than half
the present rates of freight and all
steambostmen present know that there
are few steamboats, that make it pay
to carry even at the present rates. We
can run the boats with one half the fuel
or One-half the expense, at the same or
a greater rate of speed, and with absolute
s0jety, In addition our freight is handled
by the same machinery that it takes to
run the boat.